23 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre, C4ISR
La sauvegarde de la BITD française a été abordée lors du Paris Air Forum. Récemment, les ventes des sociétés Photonis et Fichou ont fait l'objet d'un veto de la part de l'État français de projets de rachat respectivement par un groupe américain et par un groupe indien, rappelle La Tribune. La direction générale de l'armement (DGA) et la direction générale des entreprises (DGE) ont ensuite orienté leur vente vers des acheteurs « connus favorablement » par les services de l'Etat, soit respectivement le fonds d'investissement HLD, pour Photonis, et le groupe HEF, pour Fichou. La DGA joue un rôle clé parmi les outils dont la France s'est dotée pour contrôler les investissements étrangers et protéger les 4 000 entreprises de sa base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) : « Nous avons traité 138 dossiers d'investissements financiers étrangers » en 2020, souligne François Mestre, chef du service des affaires industrielles et de l'intelligence économique à la DGA. Par ailleurs, « nous avons formé cent cadres de la DGA à conduire des audits dans les sociétés. Ils ont ausculté 1 200 entreprises de la BITD pour avoir une vision de leur état ». Une démarche qui a été suivie de 130 procédures de remédiation, détaille-t-il. Le Service de l'information stratégique et de la sécurité économique au ministère de l'Économie (SISSE) est par ailleurs doté d'un dispositif de protection économique.
La Tribune du 23 juin
26 septembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial
If the U.S. is serious about deterrence in space, it must be serious about building the war-winning space forces capable of achieving space superiority.
1 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: The Air Force is expanding a key data tool, the cloud-based Unified Data Library (UDL), that may underpin the service's ambitious Multi-Domain Operations push. Air Force leaders (including acquisition chief Will Roper) believe the UDL will be able to mesh data from all types of sensors to provide space situational awareness (SSA) and command and control (C2) for most Air Force missions. The small $37 million contract, awarded Tuesday to Bluestaq LLC, will “expand the Advanced Command and Control Enterprise Systems and Software (ACCESS) project for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Data Program Management Office and the Directorate of Special Programs, Space Situational Awareness Division.” ACCESS will feed the UDL, integrating data “from a wide range of sources spanning commercial, foreign, Department of Defense (DoD) and the Intelligence Community (IC),” according to a company press release. The contract, awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, appears to fulfill exactly what Roper and other Air Force acquisition officials are pressing for: drawing in small and innovative companies that can move fast to help the service get inside the speed of Moore's Law instead of taking years or decades to develop new software systems. “We can't specify all specific data sets over the next three years because prioritization is dynamic, but the goal is to eventually integrate all of AFSPC data there along with other sources such as commercial space (already there but more coming), multi-domain data from such as air, land, sea, data from other agencies, and even academia,” an Air Force Space Command spokesperson told Breaking D yesterday. The spokesperson noted that the expansion will support Space Command's National Space Defense Center, designed to run future combat operations in space and to integrate Intelligence Community data with that of the military. It also will support the Combine Space Operations Center (CSPOC), that shares space domain awareness information with allies, the spokesperson said, as well as administrative functions. UDL is the brain child of Maj. Gen. Kim Crider, Air Force Space Command's (AFSPC) data integration guru. Crider is charged with developing AFSPC's classified Enterprise Data Strategy and Roadmap to underpin multi-domain command and control (MDC2) operations. “The Unified Data Library consumes, processes, and distributes millions of unique data products daily originating from dozens of commercial, academic, and government organizations across the world to a diverse user base spanning 25 countries,” according to Bluestaq. “The Unified Data Library storefront provides a robust interactive online API to assist users or developers with education and discovery of available dashboards, data streams, services, structures, and formats. The Air Force plans to expand the Unified Data Library to allow different security classification user access levels and fuse data from all types of sensors to provide command and control for most Air Force missions.” Indeed, AFSPC said in its email, “UDL data is available to any partner organization today, depending on clearance, authorization of the data provider, and classification of the data in question.” The UDL also is being tested by the Commerce Department as it readies itself to take over the mission of providing space situational awareness (SSA) information to commercial and foreign satellite operators. To get some idea of how different the culture is at this company note this comment by Andy Hofle, Bluestaq chief engineer and co-founder: “It has been exciting to see the growing community interest in the data management platform over the last 18 months, and our team has had a tremendous amount of fun playing a role in the development of the project.” https://breakingdefense.com/2019/10/air-force-hires-startup-to-build-up-mdos-unified-data-library
21 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is one of the continent's biggest defense spenders but its military is increasingly stretched as the country faces recession and a weakening currency. This week's biennial Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition is a showcase for the country's military, which is one of the top 20 contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions and helps with anti-piracy operations off Mozambique's coast. Concerns also are growing about possible corruption linked to state-owned defense conglomerate Denel, part of a wider inquiry into the alleged plundering of state resources under former President Jacob Zuma. South Africa's military "has got a lot on its plate," said Guy Martin, editor of defenceWeb, an industry news site. The country has a defense budget of more than $3 billion. However, the weakening South African currency and the economic recession are making it harder for the military to acquire new equipment and training. President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the fair this week with a speech acknowledging the "economic reality" and pledging support for the defense industry, a key earner of foreign currency. Despite the problems, soldiers at the five-day trade fair were enthusiastic. Capt. T.G. Netshineulu encouraged a group of schoolchildren to consider joining the military after they finish their studies. “I can die for this country,” he said. “And I'm willing to do so.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2018/09/20/how-a-defense-expo-reflects-troubles-for-south-african-military