Here’s who will lead the DoD group that could decide the future of military shopping

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  14 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Deadline Tomorrow: USAF B-21 Training Systems Futures Challenge

  Innovators, The USAF is in the process of inviting selected prototypes from the first challenge! Don't miss the next opportunity to potentially be selected as a viable future concept for integration into B-21 Training Systems. Deadline is TOMORROW Wednesday 14 April 2021 at 7:00PM EST. Submit your innovations in Vulcan . U.S. Air Force B-21 Training Systems Futures Challenge Deadline: WEDNESDAY 14 April 2021 The U.S. Air Force opportunity expiring TOMORROW is for transformative and future capabilities that can significantly enhance and/or accelerate cost savings, flight time optimization, and human performance within USAF training cycles. U.S. Air Force end users and program personnel will select compelling concepts for virtual demonstration and potential integration into future technology roadmaps. IT TAKES A NETWORK!

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  27 janvier 2021 | International, Naval

  Australia invests in advanced maritime weapons, minehunters

  By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's defense minister announced initiatives Monday that will fund early development work on a range of advanced guided weapons and new mine countermeasures/hydrographic ships for the Royal Australian Navy. The guided weapons program, to be developed under Project Sea 1300, is part of a 20-year, AU$24 billion (U.S. $19 billion) investment in maritime weapons that will deliver long-range anti-ship missiles, extended-range surface-to-air missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes and maritime land-strike capabilities to the Navy. Under Project Sea 1300, the Australian government will continue to invest in the international development program for the Evolved Seasparrow Block 2 surface-to-air missile. Funds will also be used to further develop the SM-2 Block IIIC and SM-6 Block I missiles. The weapons upgrades will be integrated into the Navy's current and future major surface combatant fleet, beginning with the eight Anzac-class frigates, which are undergoing a series of upgrades via a midlife capability assurance program. “All of these new weapons will enhance the protection of our maritime resources and also our nation's border. They will also hold potential adversaries out to much greater distances — up to 1,500 kilometers [932 miles],” Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said. Reynolds added that the investment is in line with the recent Defence Strategic Update, which noted that “a number of nations” in the Asia-Pacific region are developing maritime capabilities, including sophisticated long-range strike weapons. “These announcements are not about any one nation in particular. They are about ensuring Australia has the sovereign capability in the maritime, land and air domains to protect our nation from any potential threats,” she said. Reynolds also announced that the government will acquire eight new, role-adaptable ships for mine countermeasures and hydrographic missions under Project Sea 1905. The new ships will be a variant of the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels currently under construction for the Navy and will be built at Henderson in Western Australia. The government previously promised to build three vessels for the mine countermeasure and hydrographic roles; the new commitment for five more ships will attract an additional investment of AU$5 billion. “[The Department of] Defence has also released an invitation for Australian industry to provide us with a toolbox of robotic and autonomous systems for these eight new vessels,” the minister said. “And I would encourage all Australian companies — and we have many companies who are at the leading edge of autonomous systems, vehicles and vessels — to have a look at this and to work with Navy to develop options,” she said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/26/australia-invests-in-advanced-maritime-weapons-minehunters/

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  14 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  The coronavirus threatens NATO. Let’s move to protect the alliance.

  By: Sophia Becker , Christian Mölling , and Torben Schütz The global fight against COVID-19 has devastating economic consequences which might soon be felt in the defense sector. First estimates by OECD and national institutions conclude that the initial economic impact of the measures to fight the virus will by far exceed that of the 2008 financial crisis. The severe socio-economic consequences may tempt European governments to prioritize immediate economic relief over long-term strategic security and defense considerations. The good news is: there is no automatism – it remains fundamentally a political decision. If European governments do decide to slash defense spending as a result of the current crisis, it would be the second major hit within a decade. Defense budgets have only just begun to recover towards pre-2008 crisis levels, though capabilities have not. Nationally, as well as on an EU and NATO level, significant gaps still exist. European armies have lost roughly one-third of their capabilities over the last two decades. At the same time, the threat environment has intensified with an openly hostile Russia and a rising China. With European defense budgets under pressure, the United States might see any effort to balance burden-sharing among allies fall apart. A militarily weak Europe would be no help against competitors either. The US should work with allies now to maintain NATO's capabilities. Improve coordination to avoid past mistakes Europe's cardinal mistake from the last crisis was uncoordinated national defense cuts instead of harmonized European decisions. In light of the looming budget crisis, governments could be tempted to react the same way. This would be the second round of cuts within a decade, leaving not many capabilities to pool within NATO. If domestic priorities trump considerations about procurement of equipment for the maintenance and generation of military capabilities the system-wide repercussions would be severe. NATO defense, as well as the tightly knit industrial network in Europe, will suffer. Capabilities that can only be generated or sustained multinationally – like effective air defense, strategic air transport or naval strike groups - could become even more fragile; some critical ones may even disappear. If Europeans cut back on capabilities like anti-submarine warfare, armored vehicles of all sorts and mine-warfare equipment again, they could endanger the military capacity of nearly all allies. Ten years ago, such capabilities for large-scale and conventional warfare seemed rather superfluous, but today NATO needs them more than ever. This outcome should be avoided at all costs, because rebuilding those critical forces would be a considerable resource investment and could take years. Europe would become an even less effective military actor and partner to the US, resulting in more discord about burden-sharing. Uncoordinated cuts would also affect the defense industry, as development and procurement programs would be delayed or cancelled altogether – hitting both European and American companies. Moreover, their ability to increase efficiency through transnational mergers and acquisitions and economies of scale is limited due to continued national sentiments in Europe. Companies might decide to either aggressively internationalize, including massive increase of defense exports, or leave the market as national armed forces as otherwise reliable clients drop out. Technological innovation would suffer from a shrinking defense industrial ecosystem and duplicated national research and development efforts, risking the foundation of security for the next generation of defense solutions. To safeguard NATO's strategic autonomy, lean on lead nations In order to prevent the loss of critical capabilities and infrastructure within NATO, the US should immediately start working with its European partners to preemptively plan for increasingly tight budgets. NATO should take stock of existing capabilities and offer alternatives for consolidation. Based on a coordinated effort to redefine NATO's level of ambition and priorities, it should offer plans for maintaining the military capacity to act while retiring unnecessary and outdated resources. Such a coordinated effort should include close cooperation with the European Union. Building on the NATO Framework Nations Concept, the United States should work with a network of larger member states, better equipped to weather the economic shock of the current crisis, to act as lead nations. These countries could safeguard critical defense capabilities and provide a foundation of essential forces, enabling smaller partners to attach their specialized capabilities. Such an arrangement allows for a comparatively good balance of financial strain and retention of military capacity. Additionally, NATO should look beyond the conventional military domain and build on lessons learned from hybrid warfare and foreign influence operations against Europe. The way ahead is clear: As ambitions for European strategic autonomy become wishful thinking in light of the current crisis, allies should focus on retaining NATO's strategic autonomy as a whole. For the foreseeable future, both sides of the Atlantic have to live by one motto: NATO first! The authors are analysts at the Berlin-based German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/09/the-coronavirus-threatens-nato-lets-move-to-protect-the-alliance/