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  12 octobre 2023 | International, C4ISR

  The Army needs a near-term strategy for the 2020s

  The U.S. Army must close the munitions gap, improve the survivability of tanks and strengthen competencies within the electromagnetic spectrum.

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  1 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  The European Union’s defense ambitions are still showing signs of life

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — A new budget proposal for the European Union shows that the bloc's defense plans are back on the table as the continent pushes to revive its economy following the coronavirus crisis. Two flagship programs to that end — the European Defence Fund and the Military Mobility initiative — are set to receive €8 billion (U.S. $9 billion) and €1.5 billion (U.S. $1.7 billion), respectively, in the seven-year plan beginning in 2021, according to a proposal unveiled this week by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Those figures are lower than the initial proposal of €13 billion and €6.5 billion for the two budget lines. But they represent an uptick compared with recent negotiation positions that envisioned defense-related spending slashed even more. Defense spending remains an unbeloved subject in many European countries, and it is notable that there is no dedicated political narrative around building military prowess in the context of the bloc's recovery plan, dubbed Next Generation EU during a May 27 speech by von der Leyen. Still, the fact that the European Defence Fund — designed to foster intra-continental defense cooperation — remains in the mix is in itself a statement, according to analysts. Defense-spending advocates in Europe believe a robust military can strengthen the EU's hand in trying to assert its role on the world stage with other players like China and Russia. The new proposal of €8 billion for the European Defence Fund may not seem like much, given the high, upfront costs for multinational military equipment projects, said Sophia Besch, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform. “But it's a win for the [European] Commission in the current political context,” she added. “COVID-19 has shifted the priorities, and even before the crisis there were signs that defense was losing ground in the traditional budget battles,” Besch said. Given that, the new proposal is “better than nothing,” she argued. At the same time, the de facto reduction would make it harder to prove for the commission that the intended effects can be achieved with the amount envisioned, Besch predicted. Funding through the European Defence Fund and its associated channels ensures that certain projects in many member states can happen at all, said Yvonni-Stefania Efstathiou, an Athens, Greece-based defense analyst specializing in the emerging European defense-cooperation framework PESCO, or Permanent Structured Cooperation. “Allocations to the EDF have the potential of triggering more defense cooperation, as those funds will be used to finance collaborative research and common capability development projects,” she said. What is still missing, however, is an overarching context of where the EU wants to go with its defense ambitions, she argued. “The impact of these funds will be limited unless there is also progress on the common definition of strategic priorities and military requirements.” The cut to the budget line for military mobility means member states stand to pay more of their own money for updating bridges, roads and rail networks to ensure military equipment can quickly move along the continent in the event of a standoff with Russia. The work is seen as a critical interface between the EU and NATO, and alliance officials previously expressed hope for a funding injection that could speed projects along, especially in Eastern Europe. “Unless we have the full costings of how much bridges and roads will cost, it is hard to evaluate whether the funds are sufficient,” Efstathiou said. “What is easy to predict, however, is the dissatisfaction of the Eastern European states.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/29/the-european-unions-defense-ambitions-are-still-showing-signs-of-life/

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  16 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Raytheon awarded $37M for Blackjack sensors

  Nathan Strout The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Raytheon $37 million to develop sensors for Project Blackjack, according to a June 12 contract announcement. Project Blackjack is a demonstration constellation being developed and fielded by DARPA to show the military utility of an on-orbit mesh network made up of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. The agency expects to launch flight demonstration satellites this fall before beginning to launch the full constellation of about 20 Blackjack satellites in 2021. As part of the June 12 contract, Raytheon will research, develop and demonstrate Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) sensors that will be integrated into the Blackjack constellation and the Pit Boss system, an autonomous, space-based command and data processor which is the brains behind Blackjack. Work is expected to be completed in April 2023. DARPA has awarded a number of Blackjack contracts as it prepares for its first Blackjack launches in 2021. In April, the agency selected SEAKR Engineering as the prime contractor to develop Pit Boss. That same month, Lockheed Martin announced that it has been awarded a contract for the first phase of satellite integration for Blackjack, which entails defining and managing interfaces between the bus, payload and Pit Boss. Blue Canyon Technologies was awarded a $14 million contract for phase 2 and 3 work on the Blackjack buses on June 9, and on June 10 was issued a $16 million contract for phases 2 and 3 work on the payload side of Blackjack. Blue Canyon had received a phase 1 award for spacecraft design work in 2018. The payload effort is expected to be wrapped up in March 2021, with the bus work completed in June 2021. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/06/15/raytheon-awarded-37m-for-blackjack-sensors/