India Prepares For New Fighter Tender

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  13 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  UK Ministry of Defence orders Leonardo/Thales protection system for RAF Shadow ISTAR fleet

  London September 11, 2019 - The UK Ministry of Defence has contracted Leonardo and Thales, under a single source procurement, to deliver an integrated UK Defensive Aids System (DAS). The procurement will equip the RAF's fleet of eight Shadow R1 intelligence-gathering aircraft, providing an advanced DAS which will protect the aircraft against latest-generation of Infra-Red (heat seeking) missiles. Designed, developed and manufactured in the UK, the system provides a sovereign capability which will be able to evolve in anticipation of changing threats to air platforms. The contract will be delivered by a combined MOD/Leonardo/Thales team under a Leonardo prime systems integration contract, with the equipment being integrated onto the platform by Raytheon UK. Initial Operating Capability is targeted for early 2021. The system consists of the following subsystems: Thales “Elix-IR” Threat Warner Leonardo DAS Controller Leonardo “Miysis” Directed Infra-Red Counter Measure (DIRCM) Thales “Vicon” Countermeasures Dispensing System The single source selection by the MOD follows the recent SALT III international trials hosted by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration in Sweden. There, the integrated Miysis/Elix-IR system, using a jamming waveform developed by the UK MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, proved its ability to defeat Infra-Red missiles in live fire exercises. How the system works: The integrated DAS brings together world-class capabilities in threat warning, self-protection co-ordination, countermeasures dispensing and in DIRCM. At the heart of the system, the DAS Controller is able to assess multiple threats to the aircraft and prioritise the appropriate response using the Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) and Miysis DIRCM. Elix-IR is constantly on the lookout for missile and gunfire threats, providing long range, rapid and accurately-located alerts when they occur. The dual-head fit of the Miysis DIRCM provides 360 degree protection and the ability to defeat multiple threats simultaneously by accurately directing a jamming laser onto the missile's seeker, confusing its guidance system and steering the missile away from the aircraft. The integrated and optimised threat-warning/threat-defeat chain ensures that sequential incoming missiles are thwarted quickly and effectively. Shadow: The RAF's fleet of Shadow aircraft, which are based on the King Air 350CER, are operated by 14 Squadron out of RAF Waddington. Because of the ISR role of the aircraft, it may be required to fly through hostile airspace, necessitating protection from enemy forces. A particularly deadly and prevalent threat are heat-seeking, Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems (MANPADS), which are widely employed around the world. The Shadow's new defensive aids suite will effectively counter this threat, being able to rapidly defeat incoming missiles. About Leonardo Leonardo, a global high-technology company, is among the top ten world players in Aerospace, Defence and Security and Italy's main industrial company. Organized into five business divisions, Leonardo has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA, where it also operates through subsidiaries such as Leonardo DRS (defense electronics), and joint ventures and partnerships: ATR, MBDA, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Avio. Leonardo competes in the most important international markets by leveraging its areas of technological and product leadership (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cyber Security and Space). Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2018 Leonardo recorded consolidated revenues of €12.2 billion and invested €1.4 billion in Research and Development. The Group has been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index since 2010.http://www.leonardocompany.com >For the RAF Shadow, Leonardo will draw on its experience providing protective systems for the UK's Eurofighter Typhoon and AW159 Wildcat, AW101 Merlin, Puma and Chinook helicopter fleets. The Company was also contracted in April to provide a UK sovereign defensive aids suite for the British Army's new fleet of Apache AH-64E helicopters. >While being smaller, lighter and drawing less power than other DIRCM systems on the market, the Miysis DIRCM still offers the full spherical coverage required to counter advanced threats. Its Laser Pointer Tracker offers sophisticated tracking to counter long range threats and exceptional response speed to counter short range threats. A multi-band IRCM can defeat even advanced threats. Miysis has been selected by customers in Canada and the Middle East. Contact: Leonardo Press Office pressoffice@leonardocompany.com +39 0632473313 About Thales Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets. With 62,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €14 billion in 2016. With over 22,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its exceptional international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world. https://www.thalesgroup.com > Elix-IRTM is a passive multi-function Threat Warning System that uses single wide spectrum colour Infra-Red sensing technology to deliver simultaneous and unimpeded Missile Approach Warning, Hostile Fire Indication and Situational Awareness from a single sensor system to increase overall platform survivability and help to mitigate the ‘Risk to Life'. Elix-IRTM is an ITAR free UK sovereign capability, developed in collaboration with the UK MOD that ensures Freedom of Action that assures a rapid and timely response to countering evolving threats and supporting new theatres of operation. Designed from the outset to provide the capabilities required to support a DIRCM and output data in support of off-board countermeasures, such as Smart Stores, it enables greater exploitation and utilisation of platform capabilities that support broader operational employment and increased mission success rates. Contact Thales Media Relations – Justine Degez, Media Relations – Land and Naval Defence justine.degez@thalesgroup.com +33 6 89 34 53 09 https://www.epicos.com/article/481146/uk-ministry-defence-orders-leonardothales-protection-system-raf-shadow-istar-fleet

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  29 avril 2021 | International, Terrestre

  Point Blank throws hat in ring to design US Army’s Bradley replacement

  Here's a look at the latest nontraditional business to emerge as a competitor to build the U.S. Army's optionally manned fighting vehicle.

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  7 mai 2019 | International, Naval, Sécurité

  Coast Guard commandant talks domestic challenges and threats in the Arctic

  By: Jeff Martin and Geoff Ziezulewicz From home port inspections to transiting the Taiwan Strait, down to Antarctica and through riverine waterways, the Coast Guard has arguably the most diverse mission set of the armed services. But despite these responsibilities, the Coast Guard remains a red-headed stepchild of sorts, a military branch that falls under the Department of Homeland Security. That designation resulted in a lack of payment for Coasties during the 35-day government shutdown of December 2018 and January 2019. But in a chat during the 2019 Sea-Air-Space conference, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said his service is back on track, even as it grapples with the same readiness challenges faced by other services. He also opined on why the Arctic matters more than ever, as well as the difference between the current heavy icebreaker and the coming polar security cutter. The Coast Guard was hit hard during the government shutdown. What is the service doing to recover? The shutdown was a shutdown. Obviously going 35 days without pay was tough on our members. Not having appropriations challenged us from a readiness standpoint. I think we have recovered. Some of the things like boat maintenance periods, dry dock availabilities, we lost some calendar days on that. That's tough. But going forward, the Coast Guard's ready to do the nation's business. What's the main message you try to convey to lawmakers on Capitol Hill regarding the last shutdown's impact on the Coast Guard? I've been on the same message since I did my Hill visits before my confirmation hearing in April 2018. The Coast Guard's challenge is readiness. In a budgeting environment we've been flatlined for the good part of eight-plus years. The president rolled out a conversation about national security. It's fantastic and good for [the Department of Defense], they got a 12 percent [funding] bump in 2018. Being in DHS, we weren't part of that conversation. We are a capital-intensive organization like the other armed forces, and we've got some bills. We've got some maintenance we've been kicking the can on, so since before I even assumed the duties of commandant I've been having this conversation about the readiness of the Coast Guard and testified recently about being at a readiness tipping point. We just need to enhance the understanding, the fact that it's a readiness conversation. We need to take ownership of it, and I need to convince folks that this is important for the nation. Your predecessor hammered the need for icebreaker capacity. Where is the Coast Guard at regarding its next icebreaker? Two weeks ago today, we award the contract to [VT Halter Marine] down in Mississippi to build the first polar security cutter. We used to talk about heavy icebreakers, now we talk about a polar security cutter. We just rolled out in April what we call the Arctic Strategic Outlook. It's a refresh on what was our Arctic strategic plan in 2013. We talk about the Arctic through a different lens now. We talk about the Arctic as a competitive space. We've seen China, we see Russia investing extensively. China built icebreakers in the time since we updated our strategy. China's been operating off the Alaskan Arctic for a good part of the last six years on an annual basis. We're championing increased capabilities in the Arctic, we're championing better communications, better domain awareness, we're talking about innovation, we're talking about resiliency, we're talking about rule-based order. I want to see the Arctic remain a peaceful domain. China's a self-declared Arctic state. They're not one of the eight Arctic nations, so for me, for the service, its presence equals influence. Right now, with one 43-year-old heavy icebreaker, Polar Star, that ship is basically a one-trick pony. It goes down to [McMurdo Station, the U.S. scientific outpost in Antarctica] every year and does the breakout, so the National Science Foundation can maintain their operations down there. The first polar security cutter, which probably hits the waterfront late 2023, 2024, is going to be almost a one for one. It's when we get to the second or third polar security cutter that we start to have some capacity. And again, presence equals influence. I'd like to see us in the Arctic, I'm not saying a fully annual basis, but on a lot more persistent presence up there. That's where we need to be as a nation. What's the difference between today's heavy icebreaker and the future polar security cutter? It's a designation change, it's the lexicon of adding “security” to the title. We thought it was more artful to capture the reflecting reality in how we talk about that ship. I think that narrative helped raise the bar in understanding. https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-navy/2019/05/06/coast-guard-commandant-talks-domestic-challenges-and-threats-in-the-arctic