27 décembre 2022 | International, C4ISR
Pentagon, intelligence community eye cloud collaboration
The Department of Defense will work closely with the intelligence community as it establishes its cloud infrastructure.
3 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
Mattis says US-France in talks about loosening export limits on cruise missile
By: Pierre Tran
PARIS – U.S. defense officials are in detailed talks with French counterparts on a request for the sale of American components built into French cruise missiles, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said.
Asked by a French journalist about Washington blocking the sale of the Scalp long-range weapon to Egypt and Qatar, Mattis said American and French staff were meeting on that very issue even as a press conference was being held.
“We discussed this,” he said. “We also have our staffs meeting. We have an invitation out to France to answer two final questions. The meetings are going on as we speak.”
Mattis, on his first visit to Paris as defense secretary, was speaking at a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly, held at Brienne House.
The two issues to be resolved target “certain technologies” that the United States only shares with its closest allies, including France, and whether that technology can be further transferred, and how France can protect that technology, he said.
“Right now we don't have a final answer but it is all going in the right direction,” he said. “And it was a very fruitful discussion today. Our staffs are working this forward right now.”
The conundrum stems from the French sale to Egypt and Qatar of Scalp cruise missiles to arm Dassault Rafale fighter jets. The weapons include U.S. parts, leading Washington to evoke the International Traffic in Arms Regulations regime.
Parly, meanwhile, thanked Mattis, for help in gaining U.S. authorization for arming French Reaper drones, cleared for fitting by the end of the year.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to come to Paris to mark the Nov. 11 Armistice Day, she said.
That date is highly significant for France, marking the end of World War I, in which millions of troops died in the trenches.
Mattis said he was not concerned about a drive by France and Germany to build a stronger European defense, as there were some issues which were “of interest only to Europeans.” As long as the European drive would not duplicate NATO or compete for alliance forces, “we see this in a positive direction,” he said.
Mattis earlier met French President Emmanuel Macron and would go on to Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting.
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22 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial
TRUMP: «ET N'OUBLIEZ PAS D'ACHETER NOS JETS M. MAURER!..»
PAR ERIC FELLEY Zurich-Washington aller-retour, dix-huit heures d'avion pour aller discuter pendant 40 minutes avec Donald Trump dans le bureau ovale de la Maison Blanche. Tout cela n'est pas très écologique... Mais au diable le CO2, c'était ce jeudi jour de gloire pour Ueli Maurer. L'UDC aura ressenti beaucoup d'émotion à serrer la main de l'homme le plus puissant de la planète, dont son parti partage le style conservateur désinhibé. Cela valait la peine d'attendre 27 ans avant de retourner visiter un président américain. Tout doit rester secret... Le contenu des discussions entre les deux présidents n'a pas été rendu public. On pense qu'elles ont tourné autour des bons offices de la Suisse avec l'Iran dans cette période de tension entre les faucons américains et le régime de Mollahs. L'autre aspect de la rencontre serait un accord de libre-échange entre la Suisse et les Etats-Unis, qui serait une formidable opportunité pour l'économie suisse. A condition que la Suisse verte et agricole accepte les OGM, ce qui est moins sûr que la fonte des glaciers. Six milliard à dépenser Mais la vraie raison de cette visite est sans doute d'ordre commercial plus terre à terre. Dans les airs, dira-t-on. La porte d'entrée de cet accord de libre échange pourrait bien être l'achat par la Suisse des avions de combat pour six milliards de bons francs suisses. Hasard du calendrier, le même jour, la conseillère fédérale Viola Amherd présente à Berne sa stratégie pour faire passer le fameux achat devant le peuple, probablement en 2020, sans préciser le type d'avion. Boeing ou Lockheed-Martin ? Or, ici, c'est le nerf de la guerre pour le Conseil fédéral. Parmi les candidats qui veulent vendre des jets à l'armée suisse figurent les deux mega compagnies américaines: Boeing (F/A-18 Super Hornet) et Lockheed-Martin (F-35A). Elles sont en concurrence avec les européennes: Saab, Suède (Gripen E), Airbus, Allemagne (Eurofighter) et Dassault, France (Rafale). Nul doute que Donald Trump serait flatté si la Suisse dépensait ses milliards de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique. Retour d'ascenseur ? «Together ahead» a écrit Ueli Maurer sur le livre d'or de la Maison blanche. Il se trouve que c'est le slogan publicitaire de la firme d'armement Ruag de la Confédération, qui est active dans l'aéronautique. «Les avions sont notre passion, écrit la société sur son site. RUAG est leader de la fourniture, du suivi et de l'intégration de systèmes et de composants pour l'aéronautique civile et militaire.» Le message semble clair. Quand le peuple aura approuvé les yeux fermés l'achat d'avions de combat, on verra si la visite de Maurer à Trump aura été suivie d'effets. (Le Matin) https://www.lematin.ch/suisse/Trump-Et-n-oubliez-pas-dacheter-nos-jets-M-Maurer/story/30262949
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1 octobre 2018 | International, Terrestre
India approves S-400 buy from Russia, amid expectations for more bilateral deals
By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India has quietly approved a $5.43 billion program to buy five S-400 Triumf air defense systems from Russia, just a week before Russian President Vladimir Putin's Oct. 5 visit to the country. The program was approved earlier this week by the Indian government's highest defense approval body, the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When asked about India's decision in relation to U.S. objections over the purchase, a top Ministry of Defence official said: “We already have communicated our stand on the subject to Washington.” A formal government-to-government contract is expected to be announced during the 19th India-Russia summit on Oct. 5. “Apparently, the Indian defense establishment is convinced that S-400 Triumf system is ideally suited to fill a critical gap in our existing capabilities. That being the case, there is no reason for India to buckle under the U.S. pressure to roll back procurement of hardware from Russia,” said Amit Cowshish, a former former financial adviser on defense acquisition for the MoD. U.S. embassy diplomats were unavailable for comment. Indian defense forces have been apprehensive about the fate of armament supplies from Russia following U.S. sanctions on Russian entities under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. India and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement on the sale of five S-400 units during 17th India-Russia summit in October 2016 in Goa in the presence of Putin and Modi. The Russian-built S-400 is capable of intercepting and destroying airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) and can simultaneously engage up to six targets. Each S-400 unit comprises tracking and search radar systems, eight launchers, 112 guided missiles, and command and support vehicles. The first missile system will be delivered by the end of 2020. Further cooperation India is also expected to announce a $2.2 billion government-to-government contract with United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia for two Krivak-class stealth frigates. In addition, an intergovernmental agreement will be inked for the joint production of AK-103 assault rifles in India. U.S. sanctions against Russia compelled India early this year to freeze payments of more than $2 billion, temporarily halting several ongoing defense programs receiving assistance from several Russian defense original equipment manufacturers. Until last month, CAATSA also affected India's purchase of spare parts, components, raw materials and other assistance for which Indian entities are dependent on Russia for domestic licence manufacturing and maintenance of existing equipment, according to another MoD official. Following an April 7 verdict by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, India's national bank, the State Bank of India, stopped all payments to Russian arms trading company Rosoboronexport. “This [problem] is more or less rectified now," the official added. India now wants a new 10-year framework agreement with Russia to manufacture and upgrade at least a dozen types of Russian armament systems in India, including for Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters, Mi-series helicopters, Kamov helicopters, T-90 tanks, artillery guns and Smerch multi-barrel rocket launcher systems. Cowshish noted that India cannot afford to distance itself from Russia, if for no other reason than the fact that it requires Russia's continued support to maintain and operate in-service equipment, a large proportion of which is of Russian-origin. Russia remains the largest defense supplier to India, but its share of the Indian market has fallen sharply. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/09/28/india-approves-s-400-buy-from-russia-amid-expectations-for-more-bilateral-deals