Norway plans to purchase NASAMS air defence and new missiles

Sur le même sujet

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  3 décembre 2021 | International, Naval

  Le futur porte-avions de nouvelle génération (PANG) est sur la bonne voie

  Le magazine Air & Cosmos consacre un dossier au porte-avions de nouvelle génération, dont le programme a été officiellement lancé par le président Emmanuel Macron en décembre 2020 qui avait précisé que le futur porte-avions serait à propulsion nucléaire. La construction du PANG est prévue de 2031 à 2034, avant des essais en mer en 2036 et une entrée en service en 2038. Pour l'amiral Chaperon, conseiller marine de Thales, le PANG représente « le SCAF du naval, le programme qui va porter le combat collaboratif (...) L'activité aérienne, autour de ce porte-avions, comprendra des NGF, mais aussi des remote carriers, le drone va prendre une importance considérable et trouvera sa place à bord du PANG ». D'ici là, l'état-major de la Marine doit obtenir que la problématique RH soit convenablement prise en compte par les Armées, alors que la Marine nationale aura besoin d'un noyau de 300 marins pour permettre de constituer un vivier qualifié à l'horizon 2033. Un chantier dans le chantier. Air & Cosmos du 26 novembre

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  24 septembre 2018 | International, Terrestre

  UK takes steps forward in major land system competitions, but budget uncertainty looms

  By: Andrew Chuter MILLBROOK, England — Major procurement programs were top of the mind at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics show, with the UK Ministry of Defence and industry pointing to notable progress for two of the largest system buys on the horizon. And yet, budget uncertainty looms, leaving market executives to question how the British military will fund programs long term. Boxer buy Recently appointed Defence Procurement Minister Stuart Andrew announced that the Ministry of Defence last week issued a request for quotations with the intention of purchasing an initial batch of 500 Boxer mechanized infantry vehicles for the British Army. The Artec's Boxer was nominated in March as the preferred choice for the requirement after the MoD controversially opted to select the vehicle without a competition. The MoD previously said it would purchase 500 vehicles over a five-year period, with the first Boxers delivered in 2023. Cost is put at £4.4 billion (U.S. $5.8 billion), although that includes the first 10 years of support. The British intend to use the Boxers alongside General Dynamics' new Ajax family of tracked vehicles and other platforms, meant for two strike brigades currently being created by the British Army. Boxer is a German-Dutch program managed through OCCAR. The move announced by Andrew gives the green light for Artec — a joint venture between Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann — to begin signing up British supply chain companies ahead of a final go-ahead decision by the MoD in late 2019. Artec has signed a memorandum of understanding with a number of companies in the U.K., including Pearson Engineering, Thales and Raytheon as it tries to meet its commitment to perform 60 percent of the manufacturing in the U.K. Challenger 2 update Rheinmetall's program targets in the U.K. are not limited to Boxer. The company is embroiled in a second possible land procurement effort in the U.K. — the update of the British Army's Challenger 2 main battle tank in a life-extension program. Rheinmetall and BAE Systems, which built the Challenger 2, have conducted competitive assessment phase contracts for the MoD ahead of selection of a winning contractor, who would lead the program starting sometime next year. The assessment phase officially concludes at the end of this year, but both sides have delivered their proposals to the MoD ahead of the Army' preliminary design review next month. The life-extension program began as a means of combating the obsolescence of several Challenger systems rather than a capability upgrade. But the emergence of the new Russian T-14 tank and the perceived threat by Moscow and other potentially hostile states has driven a more ambitious approach to improve Britain's tank capability. And industry has responded with options to boost the platform's capability. Rheinmetall has offered to swap the Challenger's 120mm rifled gun for a smoothbore weapon, while the BAE-led partnership Team Challenger 2 offered to fit an active protection system. The Army would probably like both, but given the dire state of the defense budget, affording even one of those options is problematic. “At the moment, the assessment phase excludes the gun and an active protection system. However, Team Challenger 2 [members] have planned in an APS from the start, and it is designed for, but not necessarily with, a system,” said Simon Jackson, the head of land vehicle upgrades at BAE. The Team Challenger 2 partnership also includes General Dynamics, Leonardo, Qinetiq, Safran and Moog. “The gun is outside the requirement, but if MoD decide they want a smoothbore, we have already done the work fitting a new gun to Challenger 2 in 2006. It's not difficult. You need to change turret stowage for the new ammunition and make fire control modifications. It's not difficult, but it takes time,” Jackson added. “Today, the rifled gun with the Charm 3 ammunition meets the need, but it depends to an extent on how long the Army want to keep Challenger 2 in service as to whether they want a smoothbore or not. It's also got to be an affordability question. “It's not a disadvantage for us; we have fitted a smoothbore on Challenger before. We clearly know all about the interfaces with the turret, which our rivals do not." However, Rheinmetall is among the world leaders in 120mm smoothbore weapons. Peter Hardisty, the managing director at Rheinmetall Defence UK, said despite “some challenges, they are completely manageable.” “We have informed the MoD we have a cutting-edge smoothbore weapon available on the Leopard 2 tank if required,” Hardisty said at the DVD event. Some analysts wonder if the expected release of an invitation to tender for the program could be delayed so the Army can consider its options for a gun and active protection system. Some executives Defense News spoke to said they expected the invitation imminently, but Hardisty said he doesn't expect the invitation to tender until "the first or second quarter of next year.” Team Challenger 2 made a surprise announcement ahead of the show that it was bringing to DVD a demonstrator vehicle known as Black Night, equipped with a suite of new sighting systems, fire control systems, a laser warning capability and other upgrades meant to keep the aging tank viable through to its current 2035 out-of-service date. The main item of interest on Black Night was the provision of an Iron Fist active protection system supplied by Israel's IMI Systems. BAE and General Dynamics each have experience installing the Iron Fist, but Jackson said any active protection system could be fitted. The MoD is sticking to its request for a makeover for 227 Challengers 2 tanks for now ; but like most other defense equipment programs, it's hostage to possible change caused by budget shortfalls. The MoD's defense modernization program review may have to balance a significant mismatch between available funds and commitments. Hardisty believes the Challenger 2 update isn't especially vulnerable to the review, but added that the review will likely impact a host of vehicle programs required by the Army. “There is always uncertainty, it's the nature of the sector. We feel comfortable about Boxer and the mechanized vehicle requirement, and reasonably comfortable about Challenger 2,” he said. Budget uncertainty However, many executives here acknowledge that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has probably lost his fight for a substantial spending boost. And as Britain's impending departure from the European Union could damage the economy, the British defense sector is bracing for even tougher times ahead. An MoD spokesman at the DVD event said the ministry intends to publish the outcome of the defense modernization program review by late autumn. Some industry executives, however, think it's more likely the review will be released piecemeal over time to reduce the impact of program and capability cuts. Britain has been in an almost perpetual defense review for the last four years. U.K. defense commentator Howard Wheeldon offered the view last week that a further defense review delaying spending decision is possible next year — a sentiment shared by a number of senior executives at DVD. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/09/21/uk-takes-steps-forward-in-major-land-system-competitions-but-budget-uncertainly-looms

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  25 septembre 2018 | International, Naval

  With a big cash infusion, Congress is all-in on the amphibious Navy

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — Congress sent a message this year that it wants the Navy to build amphibious ships, and it's going to put up the money to do it. Overall the Navy's shipbuilding account got a $2.2 billion boost over the $21.9 billion it asked for, but amphibs fared especially well in the deal. The minibus spending bill that advanced out of the Senate and is headed to the House for its final vote funded $350 million for accelerated acquisition of the LPD-17 Flight II, a somewhat streamlined version of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. That move comes on the heels of the Navy awarding Huntington Ingalls Industries a $165.5 million contract for purchasing long-lead time materials in August. The ship, which is destined to cost $1.64 billion for the first ship and $1.4 billion for each subsequent ship, will replace the old dock-landing ships designed to launch both helicopters and amphibious vehicles onto the beach. But the spending spree on amphibs didn't stop with LPD-17 Flight II. Congress added three ship-to-shore connector craft for a total of eight in 2019, a $182.5 million plus-up over what the Navy requested. Congress also added $350 million for the advance procurement of Landing Helicopter Assault Ship 9, and added an expeditionary fast-transport ship (a fast ferry) to the budget for a total of $225 million. The congressional largess toward amphibious shipbuilding is driven both by Congress' desire to push the Navy to a 355-ship fleet as fast as possible, and by the evolving role played by amphibious ships in the Navy's strategic thinking, said Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Clark, who worked on one of the Navy's recent studies to choose a composition of the future fleet, said the Navy is increasingly using the amphibs and their aircraft in combat roles and keeping the carriers in more blue water environments. “They are using the amphibs more as front-line capital ships, with the carriers being more of a strategic force that you keep maybe not as close to the enemy shoreline,” he said. Anti-access, area denial This move is being driven by China and Russia, which have made the capability of long-range anti-ship strike from shore batteries a priority in order to keep the U.S. Navy's carriers at bay. But to combat this dynamic, the Navy has increasingly looked to the Marine Corps and its amphibious force as a way to throw off the calculations of adversaries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, said Dakota Wood, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and now analyst with The Heritage Foundation. The thinking goes that the Marine Corps can slip into the range of Chinese missiles, land a force on a feature or island, and start fighting back with missiles and sensors of their own. This will force the Chinese to expend resources to address the Marine threat, creating opportunities for the Navy to use its hefty strike capabilities. “A Marine landing force on an island or feature has to present a problem to the enemy that is credible — anti-ship cruise missiles, short-range air defense, a sensor node contributing to the air or surface picture,” Wood said. “It has to be able to thin out the enemy's fire power, sensor grid and attention span to give the Navy the chance to get inside the envelope, close and have an impact.” Jobs Congress is also worried about attracting and keeping shipyards in business and skilled workers in the shipyards to support a growing fleet. Pumping money into shipbuilding is the best way lawmakers know to do that. “The plus-up is really across the board in shipbuilding,” said Clark, the CSBA analyst. “You look at the three littoral combat ships Congress is buying, two of which the Navy didn't ask for. They are buying as many attack subs as the industrial base can deliver, and they are pushing toward allowing the Navy to procure two carriers at once to get the economic order quantity there.” But in the case of amphibs, Congress is doing something new by spending on advance procurement. Generally the Navy has purchased amphibious ships one at a time, without multiyear contracts or a lot of advanced procurement money, Clark said. Even for a 13-ship class like the LPD-17 Flight I, the ships were purchased as the money became available. Congress adding money to advance procurement is an attempt to save funds by creating a more regular rhythm for the way the service buys its destroyers, littoral combat ships and attack submarines, Clark said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/modern-day-marine/2018/09/24/with-a-big-cash-infusion-congress-is-all-in-on-the-amphibious-navy