Here’s what Japan’s Defense Ministry wants to do with $50.5 billion

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  17 juillet 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Helicopter drone loses weight, lengthens endurance, but will the change attract customers?

  By: Beth Stevenson FARNBOROUGH, England — UMS Skeldar has launched a new version of its flagship unmanned helicopter that has a longer-endurance capability, as the company continues its aggressive campaign to promote the system for a number of ongoing international naval requirements. The Skeldar V-200B has a five-hour endurance due to a 10-kilogram weight reduction in the aircraft, something the company claims will up its appeal because of the increased performance and reliability. The new model is now the baseline offering that UMS Skeldar will pitch to customers. UMS Skeldar is a joint venture between Saab and UMS that formed in 2015 to primarily promote the V-200, a UAV that had previously struggled to secure customers despite years of development and marketing by Saab. “It [the V-200B] is almost a completely new aircraft — a new build since the Saab days,” David Willems, head of business development at the company, told Defense News. The "B" model is the result of work carried out under the partnership, he added, and features new GPS antennas and software in addition to the weight decrease, as well as better fuel consumption due to engine modifications. Endurance can be increased, or an extra 10 kilograms of payload can be carried by Skeldar, Willems said. Notably, the way the V-200B has been developed will allow for the drone's industrialization, moving from one-off manufacture, as was the case with the previous variant, to serial production. The Asia-Pacific region is the most active market for Skeldar, Willems says. The company is seeing potential in South Korea, and it has been specifically targeting Australia for some time now, where it is expanding its industrial base to potentially support work transfer. “It is a very interesting time there, and we are building a small Australia ecosystem,” he said. Australia is acquiring a number of types of unmanned systems under ongoing programs, seeking systems such as ship-based UAVs under its Project Sea 129 Phase 5 effort, supporting its aim to operate a comprehensive fleet of unmanned aircraft that includes the Insitu ScanEagle and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton. Skeldar is most often pitched against Schiebel's unmanned Camcopter helo, a system that has seen more commercial success in both the military and civil markets, although UMS Skeldar has been demonstrably active in marketing its system since the joint venture was formed. A heavy-fuel variant of Camcopter has been undergoing trials in Australia under work that will act as risk-reduction efforts for the Project Sea 129 Phase 5 program. UMS is also active in Germany where it is teaming with ESG to pitch to the Navy for similar requirements to Australia. The company has delivered Skeldar to Indonesia, which has used it to assess operating a UAV of this type, although little news on the outcome of that work has been revealed by either the Indonesian government or the company. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/farnborough/2018/07/16/helicopter-drone-loses-weight-lengthens-endurance-but-will-the-change-attract-customers/

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  5 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Eurofighter submits updated proposal to HX programme

  January 31, 2020 - Eurofighter has offered Finland the chance to join Europe's largest combat aircraft programme in an updated proposal to the HX fighter acquisition programme. The proposal has been submitted by the UK Government with the support of the Governments of Germany, Italy and Spain, the nations which are represented in the Eurofighter industry consortium. It offers Finland sovereign control of its defence capability and security of supply as well as a combat proven, swing-role aircraft which will form the backbone of European defence for decades to come. The detailed proposal updates on the original offer made to the HX fighter acquisition programme to replace the Finnish Air Force's F-18 Hornet aircraft. John Rossall, Campaign Director at BAE Systems which is working alongside the UK Government on the offer to Finland, said: We are delighted to present our updated proposal to Finland on behalf of the Eurofighter consortium. Our proposal is an invitation to Finland to join leading nations in Europe with a shared defence objective. By choosing Eurofighter, the Finnish Air Force would not only be acquiring the most advanced, multi-role aircraft on the market, it would be choosing everything Finland needs to operate, maintain and control its own aircraft in peacetime and in times of crisis. In January, Eurofighter took part in the HX Challenge Flight Evaluation Trials, led by the Finnish Defence Forces in Tampere. The trials saw two Royal Air Force jets perform over a five-day period to demonstrate many of the capabilities which form the offering of the Eurofighter consortium, which teams BAE Systems alongside leading European defence contractors Airbus and Leonardo. Ahead of the trials, representatives of the Governments of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain confirmed their commitment to a capability roadmap which will keep Eurofighter in the frontline of European defence for decades to come. View source version on Eurofighter: https://www.eurofighter.com/news-and-events/2020/01/eurofighter-submits-updated-proposal-to-hx-programme

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  7 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Eastern European NATO allies ramp up drone buys to protect their borders

  By: Jaroslaw Adamowski WARSAW, Poland — As Russia's military activities in the Baltic and Black seas are mounting pressure on NATO's eastern flank, a number of Eastern European countries are developing programs to acquire unmanned aerial vehicles for their militaries. In Romania, local analysts say the country's Ministry of National Defence aims to boost the military's surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence (SRI) capabilities by acquiring new drones, ensuring the country's armed forces can efficiently monitor Romanian borders. “Romania wants to increase its SRI capacity in the Black Sea, taking into account that the militarization of the region by Russia is intensively continuing,” George Scutaru, head of the Bucharest-based New Strategy Center think tank and a former member of parliament and government adviser, told Defense News. “At the end of last April, the joint Defense Committees of the Romanian parliament adopted the request of the Ministry of National Defence to start the procurement procedures for five new programs, including the acquisition of UAV systems. Within this program, an acquisition of seven tactical-operative UAV systems is to be carried out.” Romania's previous attempt at purchasing drones for its military came in 2018 under a procedure to buy tactical UAVs for some 250 million lei (U.S. $56 million). The bidders included American firm AAI Corporation, Israel's Aeronautics Limited, BlueBird Aero Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, as well as Romanian company Ymens Teamnet. However, a Romanian court canceled the tender after some bidders filed complaints. George Visan, the coordinator of the Black Sea Security Program at the Bucharest-based think tank Romania Energy Center, told Defense News it was “known that Romania would like to acquire at least six medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs as well as a number of smaller tactical UAVs.” Similarly to the failed drone tender from 2018, the new competition is expected to attract bids from the United States, Israeli and Romanian companies. Anticipating the forthcoming procedure, last May, Israel's Elbit Systems signed a memorandum of understanding with local state-run aircraft companies Avioane Craiova and Romaero. “Elbit Systems can easily sell in Romania what it manufactures in Israel, but depending on the order, it is willing to integrate and transfer production here. Avioane Craiova used to produce trainers, IAR-99 aircraft and aero-structures for various manufacturers,” Visan said. The analyst says that, in parallel to its drone procurement programs, the ministry is also funding the development of two UAVs, the medium-range Ultra-20 VTOL and the combat Ultra-20 V drone, by the state-run Research Agency for Military Hardware and Technologies, hoping to secure foreign partners and ensure transfer of technology. “This doesn't preclude other acquisitions,” Visan said. Poland eyes combat, surveillance drones Meanwhile, Poland's Ministry of Defence is developing several acquisition programs to acquire UAVs. To date, the ministry has ordered short-range drones and mini drones, with more programs to procure surveillance and combat drones underway. “In the long-term, the Polish Armed Forces are planning to acquire about a dozen sets of mid-range UAVs under the Gryf program, several MALE combat-reconnaissance UAVs under the Zefir program, and vertical take-off and landing short-range UAVs for the navy under the Albatros program,” a spokesperson for the Polish ministry told Defense News. In 2018 and 2019, Polish privately-owned defense company WB Group secured two orders to deliver a total of 48 mini-drones to the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF), a military branch which comprises volunteers. “We have supplied two types of drones to the Polish military. The first one is FlyEye which, in addition to the TDF, is also used by the artillery forces and special forces in Poland. It can be used in a variety of missions, including reconnaissance, artillery guidance, search and resuce, but also to extend the range of battle management systems. This drone can guide missiles, becoming the heart of an anti-tank system. We have developed FlyEye for more than ten years, and new variants continue to be designed,” company spokesman Remigiusz Wilk told Defense News. “The second one is Warmate which combines reconnaissance capabilities and combat capacities as loitering munition, owing to which it's a highly precise weapon system.” WB Group is also exporting its drones, with Warmate's deliveries to four allies carried out through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. Most recently, the manufacturer established a subsidiary in Ukraine where its UAVs have been operated by the country's military. “Our drones are combat-proven, and to date, not a single one has been lost over Ukrainian skies carrying out hundreds of challenging missions,” Wilk said. Other countries in the region that plan to acquire drones include the Czech Republic. Last November, Czech President Milos Zeman spurred controversy when he called on the government to buy Israeli UAVs for the armed forces. Combat drones are to be acquired under the country's military modernization program 2027, worth 100 billion koruna (U.S. $4.25 billion). https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/08/06/eastern-european-nato-allies-ramp-up-drone-buys-to-protect-their-borders/