NATO chief urges members to boost defence spending as only 7 hit target

Sur le même sujet

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  21 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Le futur avion de combat européen va décoller industriellement en janvier 2019

  Par Michel Cabirol La France et l'Allemagne sont tombées d'accord pour lancer l'avion de combat de sixième génération. Airbus et Dassault Aviation vont signer un contrat sur des études d'architecture et de conception du futur système de systèmes. En outre, Paris et Berlin signeront en juin au Bourget deux contrats de démonstrateurs (avion et moteur) sous leadership français (Dassault et Safran). Décollage imminent du futur avion de combat européen. La France et l'Allemagne se sont mises d'accord pour entamer les études d'architecture et de conception du futur programme SCAF (Système de combat aérien du futur), le futur avion de combat de sixième génération sous le leadership de la France. Une première pierre importante car jusqu'ici aucune étude commune n'avait été lancée par les deux pays. La France avait quant à elle lancé des premières études portant sur l'architecture générale du SCAF. Berlin et Paris vont également lancer le développement de deux démonstrateurs en juin 2019 (avion et moteur). Ce qui est une véritable bénédiction pour Dassault Aviation. Car l'avionneur a un besoin urgent de donner de la charge de travail à ses bureaux d'études. La Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) sera l'agence contractante pour les trois contrats. "Nous sommes en train de proposer l'architecture la plus adéquate pour répondre aux menaces", a expliqué mi-octobre à l'Assemblée nationale le chef d'état-major de l'armée de l'air, le général Philippe Lavigne. Un contrat sous leadership conjoint Dassault et Airbus Cet accord a été validé lundi à Bruxelles par les deux ministres - Florence Parly et Ursula von der Leyen - à l'issue d'une réunion qui a mis sur les rails de façon effective et d'une manière ferme le programme SCAF, a précisé le cabinet de la ministre. Paris et Berlin ont réussi à définir le contenu technique du programme, le calendrier ainsi que l'organisation industrielle. Cette étude servira à déterminer ce que sera précisément le système de systèmes, notamment l'avion et son escorte de drones qui serviront à leurrer les défenses adverses et à donner de l'allonge aux missions, la connectivité des plateformes. Le délégué général pour l'armement Joël Barre a d'ailleurs souligné dans une audition à l'Assemblée nationale que ce système constituait la partie du programme la plus difficile à définir, car elle n'a guère de précédent. Play Video Dans ce cadre, les deux pays vont lancer en janvier - ce qui est d'ailleurs extrêmement ambitieux - un contrat d'études d'architecture et de conception de SCAF d'une durée de deux ans sous un leadership conjoint Dassault Aviation et Airbus. Thales sera également sur la photo... Dassault Aviation et Airbus devront faire de la place à l'électronicien français, qui est considéré comme le champion européen de la connectivité et du système de systèmes. Par ailleurs, la France et l'Allemagne ont également convenu de signer au salon du Bourget (17-23 juin) deux contrats portant sur le développement de deux démonstrateurs : l'un sur l'avion, sous leadership de Dassault Aviation avec comme sous-traitant Airbus, l'autre sur le moteur sous leadership Safran avec comme sous-traitant le motoriste allemand MTU. Le démonstrateur permettra de valider les choix technologiques en vue d'avoir un appareil de sixième génération qui volera en 2035. Ces trois contrats ne vont pas épuiser toutes les problématiques technologiques du SCAF. Ainsi, Paris et Berlin devront par ailleurs lancer des études sur les senseurs, les radars et la guerre électronique... L'Espagne va rejoindre le programme L'Espagne, qui a demandé à être observateur, va rejoindre le programme SCAF, une fois que celui-ci sera stabilisé. D'ici à la fin de l'année, les espagnols vont rejoindre l'accord de haut niveau (HL Coord), qui avait été signé entre la France et l'Allemagne en avril à Berlin. Enfin, Madrid devrait signer au premier trimestre une lettre d'intention pour participer au programme SCAF. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/le-futur-avion-de-combat-europeen-va-decoller-industriellement-en-janvier-2019-798120.html

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  13 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  How the US Air Force is assembling its northernmost F-35 squadron amid a pandemic

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic could make it more difficult for the U.S. Air Force's newest F-35 squadron to organize its personnel and jets on schedule. On April 21, the 356th Fighter Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, became the service's northernmost fighter squadron after receiving its first two F-35s. Pilots began flying those jets for training three days later, and another four F-35s on loan from Hill Air Force Base in Utah flew to Alaska on April 27. But a couple key challenges could hamper the assemblage of the new squadron, said Col. Benjamin Bishop, commander of the base's 354th Fighter Wing. “We're actually on timeline,” he told Defense News in an exclusive interview on April 28. “We have the pilots and maintainers already here to support operations throughout the summer. However, as you know, the Department of Defense has put a stop-movement order through [June 30], and that is something we're working through on a case-by-case basis.” Under the current order, pilots and maintainers who are moving through the training pipeline have been granted a blanket exception to transfer to Eielson. But more experienced pilots, maintainers and support personnel coming from an operational base like Hill Air Force Base will need to receive an exception. Getting additional F-35s to Eielson could also be an obstacle, as Lockheed Martin assesses whether it must slow down deliveries of the F-35 due to disruptions to its supply chain. In a statement to Defense News, Lockheed spokesman Brett Ashworth could not say whether the company was on track to deliver F-35s to Eielson on schedule. “Lockheed Martin continues to work with our suppliers daily to determine the impacts of COVID-19 on F-35 production,” he said. “We are analyzing impacts at this time and should have more detail in the coming weeks.” If the coronavirus pandemic delays the pace of F-35 deliveries to Eielson, the squadron will have to mitigate the shortfall in jets, Bishop said. “Currently, we're at a good pace on the road to readiness for our F-35 program here, and we'll continue to adapt and adjust to bring this mission capability to its full potential in the Indo-Pacific theater,” he noted. Despite COVID-19 and the potential logistical challenges involved in sending people and F-35s to Eielson, day-to-day training operations have continued as normal, said Col. James Christensen, 356th Fighter Squadron commander. Having six F-35s on base allows maintainers to use the jets for training while also maximizing flight hours for the eight pilots currently in the 356th. “We still do the mission the way we always have. We have the masks and the wipe procedures and social distancing,” Christensen said. “So [we're] being creative but still being able to get the mission done.” There are strategic benefits to being the U.S. Air Force's northernmost fighter squadron, starting with access. With support from an aerial refueling tanker, the F-35s at Eielson can reach and target any location in Europe or the Asia-Pacific, Bishop said. And even the harsh climate of Eielson has its perks. It's a short flight away from the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the Defense Department's largest instrumented training range, with 77,000 square miles of airspace, according to the 354th Fighter Wing. “The F-35 is going to be able to fly in that airspace, but they're not going to be alone,” Bishop said. F-35s training in that area will regularly be joined by F-22s based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, as well as the F-16s in Eielson's 18th Aggressor Squadron that simulate enemy combat jets. “You're going to see amazing fifth-generation tactics and integration tactics emerge,” he said. Russia is investing in its Arctic infrastructure, and the U.S. military must make its own improvements to how it operates from and trains in the region, said Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, who leads U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. “It's great to see some of the additional forces that are going in, whether it's the F-35s going to Eielson, whether it's the work of the Coast Guard to develop icebreakers,” he said during a May 4 event. “These are all relevant things for us to be able to operate in the Arctic. And that is absolutely, to me, key to our ability to defend ourselves.” As the 356th stands up and becomes combat-ready, it will participate in the next Red Flag-Alaska, a multinational air-to-air combat training exercise slated to be held this August. The squadron is also looking for opportunities to deploy around the Asia-Pacific so that pilots can acclimate themselves to the long geographical distances that characterize the region, Christensen said. “Everyone is excited just to have F-35s here because of the awesome training we can do, but we're also thinking about at some point we have to project this air power out into the Indo-Pacific theater as a combat force. And transitioning everyone, including the wing and including [Pacific Air Forces] — they all have to adjust the mission of Eielson,” he said. Unlike other fighter bases, which usually swap out existing aircraft of existing squadrons with new jets, the two F-35 squadrons coming to Eielson aren't replacing anything, and infrastructure needs to be built to accommodate the anticipated growth in both people and aircraft. When the first members of the 356th Fighter Squadron arrived on base in July 2019, Eielson was home to about 1,750 active-duty personnel, Bishop said. By December 2021, that number is expected to double, with the addition of about 1,500 airmen. In that time, 54 F-35s will be delivered to the base for a total of two squadrons — a notable increase from the 30 F-16s and KC-135s previously at Eielson. An estimated $500 million will be spent on military construction to support the buildup at Eielson, including new operations buildings, a simulator building, heated hangars and other maintenance facilities, and a new cafeteria. A total of 41 facilities will be either built or refurbished with that funding, with 29 of those projects finished and others still under construction to support a second F-35 squadron, Bishop said. And everything — from constructing new facilities to maintaining runways — is tougher in the subzero temperatures of the Arctic. “Early on in this job, I learned that there are two seasons in Alaska,” Bishop said. “There's winter and construction season, with the former a lot longer than the latter. From a beddown perspective, how you put your construction plan together, you have to maneuver around that season.” “In order to maintain efficiency of fighter operations up here, one of the things we did is we built walled weather shelters for our aircraft, so all of our aircraft are actually housed in weather shelters," he added. "That's not necessarily for the aircraft. That's more for the maintainers because having that insulated and heating facility, now you can do maintenance around the clock.” Corrected at 5/12/20 at 2:53 p.m. with the correct size of the JPARC, which was recently expanded to 77,000 square miles of airspace. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/frozen-pathways/2020/05/11/how-the-us-air-force-is-assembling-its-northernmost-f-35-squadron-amid-a-pandemic/

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  10 octobre 2024 | International, Terrestre

  HII is Awarded $75 Million Contract to Support U.S. Navy Integrated Training Systems

  HII has performed similar work for the U.S. Navy for two decades.