Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires

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  21 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Germany to form A400M Multinational Air Transport Unit with Hungary

  Gareth Jennings Germany is establishing a new multinational unit to operate the Airbus A400M transport aircraft, with Hungary committed as its first partner. The Bundeswehr announced on 17 September that the Multinational Air Transport Unit (MNAU) was being established at Wunstorf Air Base in northern Germany, home to the Luftwaffe's A400M force. This new international unit will relocate to Lechfeld Air Base in the far south of the country with 10 of the Luftwaffe's 53 contracted A400Ms, as well as additional A400Ms that might be provided by partner nations. Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, inspector of the German Air Force, was quoted as saying, “The establishment of the implementation team of the Multinational Air Transport Unit is another milestone in multinational, military air transport. With the integration of the first technical officer of the Hungarian Air Force [HuAF], the cooperation with our Hungarian partners begins.” As noted by the Bundeswehr, the genesis of the MNAU dates back to 2017, when the Federal Ministry of Defence enabled the Luftwaffe to set up a new air transport association with multinational participation. With the Luftwaffe planning to field 40 A400Ms, this new multinational unit would operate all or some of the remaining 13 contracted to Germany. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/germany-to-form-a400m-multinational-air-transport-unit-with-hungary

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  2 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Growing threat at high altitude: innovation to fight drones

  Over the past ten years, the growing availability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, has been a blessing for video enthusiasts and other tech addicts. But it also created a headache for safety authorities. To respond to this flourishing market, countermeasures are being developed in parallel, and represent a full-fledged business today. Very early after their appearance on the market, drones invited themselves on the battlefield. In 2014, the Islamic state was already using versions (Phantom 3 or 4) for reconnaissance. Then came the suicide drones, fitted with makeshift grenades. Conventional armies are also increasingly relying on them. If the United States used to have a quasi-monopoly on offensive UAVs at the beginning of the 21st century, countries such as China, Russia, and even Iran are constantly trying to fill the gap. In 2019, a wave of Iranian-made Qasef drones operated by the Houthi rebels took Saudi Arabia by surprise. Despite the presence of modern anti-aircraft missile systems such as the Patriot, the refineries of Abqaiq and Khurais, eastern Saudi Arabia, were heavily damaged, putting half of the country's oil production to a halt. Even in times of peace, UAVs can constitute a threat. In January 2019, drones caused a panic at London Gatwick Airport (LGW), United Kingdom, in the days preceding Christmas. The airport was closed for three days, creating a financial loss of several millions of pounds. The following months, less successful drone incidents also disturbed traffic at Changi Airport (SIN) in Singapore and at London Heathrow (LHR). To raise awareness of this danger and the lack of readiness, Greenpeace activists intentionally crashed several drones against French nuclear plants. A drone to rule them all In a similar fashion to the airports that have decided to rely on falconry to prevent birdstrikes, Fortem Technologies has decided to fight fire with fire. The US-based company offers several solutions to secure sites at risk from drone threats. A centralized system called SkyDome relies on an array of sensors, cameras and radars to monitor the surroundings and identify potential threats. The integrated artificial intelligence is capable of differentiating a bird from a drone, and to judge if the latter poses a threat or not. Once the threat is identified, SkyDome sends the HunterDrone capable to intercept the culprit and to fish it out of the air using a projectable net. Fortem Technologies has recently caught the interest of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). On February 3, 2020, the company announced it had been awarded a contract through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). While the price of the contract is unknown, it appears that the DoD chose to acquire the whole set of solutions. “Fortem has a number of technologies that can help protect military bases without adverse effects to local communities,” the manufacturer said. The Israeli company Rafael also offers a centralized system, but with a different solution. Named DroneDome (in reference to the Iron Dome that defends Israel from missile threats) it relies either on a precise jammer, or on a powerful laser. It was this system that put an end to Gatwick's mayhem. It was also used in 2018 to secure the G20 Buenos Aires summit. Man-portable solutions also exist. During the last national day in France, the military presented to the officials two anti-drone rifles (the Nerod F5 by the French-based MC2-Technologies and the DroneGun Tactical by the Australian company DroneShield). The purpose of those Star-Wars-like devices is not to destroy the enemy drones as one could expect, but to jam their signals. When they lose contact with their control base, drones usually go back to their takeoff point or stay in stationary flight until they run out of battery. That solution avoids for dangerous debris to fall and create collateral damages, for example onto a crowd during an event. https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.charpentreau/24617-growing-threat-at-high-altitude-innovation-to-fight-drones

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  18 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  China is driving use of armed drones in Mideast, says British think tank

  By: Zeina Karam, The Associated Press BEIRUT — The use of armed drones in the Middle East, driven largely by sales from China, has grown significantly in the past few years with an increasing number of countries and other parties using them in regional conflicts to lethal effects, a new report said Monday. The report by the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, found that more and more Mideast countries have acquired armed drones, either by importing them, such as Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, or by building them domestically like Israel, Iran and Turkey. China has won sales in the Middle East and elsewhere by offering UAVs at lower prices and without the political conditions attached by the United States. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that countries across the Middle East locked out of purchasing American-made drones are being wooed by Chinese arms dealers, helping expand Chinese influence across a region vital to American security interest. It noted the use of Chinese armed drones across Mideast battlefields, including in the war on Yemen, employed by the Emirati Air Force. Iran has also violated Israeli airspace with armed UAVs from bases in Syria, provoking armed Israeli response on the suspected bases. The RUSI report, titled “Armed Drones in the Middle East: Proliferation and Norms in the Region,” said that by capitalizing on the gap in the market over the past few years, Beijing has supplied armed drones to several countries that are not authorized to purchase them from the U.S., and at a dramatically cheaper price. "China, a no-questions-asked exporter of drones, has played and is likely to continue playing a key role as a supplier of armed UAVs to the Middle East," it said. The report explored where and how each of the states have used their armed drones and whether they have changed the way these countries approach air power. It found that Iran, the UAE and Turkey all changed the way they employ air power after they acquired armed drones. For Turkey and the UAE, armed drones enabled them to conduct strikes in situations where they would not have risked using conventional aircraft, it said. Iran developed armed drones from the outset specifically to project power beyond the reach of its air force, which is hamstrung by obsolete aircraft and sanctions, the report added. The report said it remains to be seen whether and how the loosening of restrictions on the export of armed drones by the Trump administration will alter dynamics in the region. The administration in April permitted U.S. manufacturers to directly market and sell drones, including armed versions, although the government must still approve and license the sales. Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, who authored the report along with Justin Bronk, said proliferation of armed drones in the Middle East is unlikely to stop and could accelerate despite changes introduced by the U.S. administration. “Over the past two years the sales have increased massively and they are likely to increase even more,” she said. “This kind of collaboration is just going to grow especially in cases where countries don't have the capacity to build them themselves.” https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2018/12/17/china-is-driving-use-of-armed-drones-in-mideast-says-british-think-tank