La France commande 367 nouveaux missiles air-air à MBDA

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  21 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Italian government praise for F-35 shows early doubts waning

  By: Tom Kington ROME – Italy's populist government has given its clearest sign yet that it is firmly backing the F-35, following early pledges to scrap the program by the Five Star party, one of two parties making up Rome's governing coalition. “It is obvious we cannot deprive our Air Force of a great air capability that puts us ahead of many other countries,” said junior defense minister Angelo Tofalo during a speech in Italy's parliament this week. Tofalo is a member of the Five Star party, which formed a governing coalition in June this year with the League party after courting votes with its condemnation of the fighter program. Last year, the party said it would cancel Italy's plans to buy 131 aircraft. Since taking office, the new government's defense minister Elisabetta Trenta — who was tapped for office by the Five Star party — has said the government will consider slowing down orders, rather than cancelling the program. Last month, a government source told Defense News Italy would buy six or seven aircraft in the next five years instead of the previous plan to buy around ten. Tofolo's statement took the positive appraisal of the F-35 one step further. “We have talked about the F-35 for many years in Italy, often in a distorted way, whereas you often need to really know and evaluate information,” he said. “The F-35 program is now moving, and is 20 years old, and contrary to what is often said it is an aircraft which surely has the benefit of optimum technology, maybe the best in the world at this time,” he added. Italy has so far taken delivery of 10 F-35As and one F-35B, which were assembled at the country's final assembly line in Cameri, northern Italy. The Italian aircraft based at Amendola air base have totalled 2,000 flying hours, and in a first for Europe the fledgeling fleet were given Initial Operating Capability status on Nov. 30. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/12/20/italian-government-praise-for-f-35-shows-early-doubts-waning

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  17 avril 2020 | International, Naval

  Berlin is reportedly brokering a deal to consolidate German naval shipbuilders

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German government is facilitating talks between major naval shipbuilders in an effort to set up a national conglomerate rivaling industry champions like Naval Group in France and Fincantieri in Italy, according to a local media report. Negotiations to that effect have been ongoing behind closed doors since the beginning of 2020 between ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, German Naval Yards Kiel, and Lürssen, broadcaster NDR reported Thursday. Top executives from the companies confirmed the developments on Twitter, though without elaborating on the status of the negotiations. News of the consolidation plan comes in the wake of German Naval Yards Kiel and TKMS losing a multibillion-dollar contract for new Germany Navy frigate-type ship, dubbed MKS 180. Dutch bidder Damen won the competition in January. The Dutch company has teamed with Lürssen for the program, vowing to do most of the construction work in Germany. Still, the MKS 180 award angered industry lobbying groups in Germany, who argue that the country's good-faith effort to carry out a European Union mandate for bloc-wide competition in major public programs backfired. Other European countries tend to keep such defense-related work within their own industrial ecosystems, the argument goes. “The need for a German consolidation in naval shipbuilding has been repeatedly emphasized by us and our owner, Privinvest, during the past few years,” German Naval Yards Kiel CEO Jörg Herwig was quoted as saying in a statement. “Only a strong German player will be able to remain globally competitive and strengthen the German technology sector.” Privinvest is owned by French-Lebanese businessman Iskandar Safa. A request for a statement from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy was not immediately returned on Thursday. The idea of a unified German naval industry cluster runs counter to the narrative that the European defense market should focus less on national retrenchment and instead bank more on efficiencies through cross-continental mergers. “I think we have to be honest with ourselves and admit that European defense acquisition will be mostly national, and maybe binational or trinational,” said Sebastian Bruns, a naval analyst with the University of Kiel in northern Germany. Bruns said Lürssen's role in the consolidation talks will be interesting to watch because the company has its foot in the door of the MKS 180 program — through Damen — and at the same time would benefit from a German industry conglomerate with the Navy as a guaranteed customer. All the while, German Naval Yards Kiel has begun the legal process of challenging the Defence Ministry's pick of Damen for the business. Letting the litigation play out in the courts is all but certain to cause a delay in the eventual delivery of the vessels to the sea service. But in the course of future consolidation talks, the government could use its leverage as the broker — and ultimate approval authority — to put the protest by German Naval Yards Kiel to rest and let the MKS 180 program proceed swiftly, Bruns said. “In the end, the most important question is what actual results will come out of this,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/04/16/berlin-is-reportedly-brokering-a-deal-to-consolidate-german-naval-shipbuilders

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  29 avril 2024 | International, Sécurité

  Germany approves software development of NH90 - Army Technology

  Germany approves software update investment for its existing 82 Army and 18 Navy NH90 helicopters, which will provide display information.