20 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The United States has tested a new ground-based cruise missile that is capable covering 500 kilometers in range, less than three weeks after officially exiting an arms treaty that banned such systems.
The test occurred 2:30 PM Pacific time Sunday at San Nicolas Island, California, according to a Pentagon announcement. The missile “exited its ground mobile launcher and accurately impacted its target after more than 500 kilometers of flight,” the release said. “Data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense's development of future intermediate-range capabilities.”
The United States exited the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty Aug. 2, following through on a decision made late last year that the treaty no longer benefited American interests.
The INF was a 1987 pact with the former Soviet Union that banned ground-launched nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,000 kilometers. However, the United States and NATO allies have for years declared Russia in violation of the agreement.
American officials have stressed they do not plan on building a nuclear ground-based cruise missile capability, but Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has said his department will “fully pursue the development of these ground-launched conventional missiles as a prudent response to Russia's actions and as part of the joint force's broader portfolio of conventional strike options.”
Imagery of the test shows the weapon was launched from a Mark 41 Vertical Launch System, the same launcher used in the Aegis Ashore missile defense system. That is notable, as Russia has often claimed the Mk41 presence in Europe as a violation of the INF treaty, with the belief that the Aegis Ashore systems in Poland and Romania could be converted to offensive systems.
“The launcher used in Sunday's test is a MK 41; however, the system tested is not the same as the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System currently operating in Romania and under construction in Poland," Lt. Col Robert Carver, a Pentagon spokesman, said. “Aegis Ashore is purely defensive. It is not capable of firing a Tomahawk missile. Aegis Ashore is not configured to fire offensive weapons of any type.”
The weapon itself is a variant of the Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile, and was made by Raytheon, Carver said.
During a recent trip to the Pacific, Esper also said he would like such weapon systems to end up in Asia as a deterrent to China. The governments in both Australia and South Korea quickly denied that any discussions about such a deployment had occurred, and Esper later downplayed his comments as a future objective.
Congress will have a say in how such systems are developed or deployed. On Capitol Hill, a flashpoint in the fight is $96 million the administration requested to research and test ground-launched missiles that could travel within the agreement's prohibited range.
The Democrat-controlled House passed a spending bill that would deny the funding ― and a defense authorization bill that would deny it until the administration shares an explanation of whether existing sea- and air-launched missiles could suffice. Senate Republicans are expected to fight that language during the reconciliation process.
14 novembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
The U.S. Army is paying particular attention to what's known as deep sensing: the capacity to find, monitor, target and kill from greater distances.
21 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre
Par Challenges.fr La ministre des Armées Florence Parly a annoncé que le budget des armées 2019 qui sera présenté lundi sera de "35,9 milliards d'euros, soit 1,7 milliard de plus qu'en 2018", dans un entretien au Parisien paru vendredi. La ministre des Armées Florence Parly a annoncé que le budget des armées 2019 qui sera présenté lundi sera de "35,9 milliards d'euros, soit 1,7 milliard de plus qu'en 2018", dans un entretien au Parisien paru vendredi. "Cette année, ce sera la première fois que l'on démarre une nouvelle programmation sur des bases très saines," se réjouit la ministre qui précise que la part des investissements dans ce budget s'élèvera à 19,5 milliards d'euros. "Un budget sincère" Mme Parly affirme qu'en 2025 "l'engagement pris par le président de la République de consacrer 2% du PIB à notre défense (NDLR : 1,82 % aujourd'hui) sera bien atteint." Elle assure également qu'il ne devrait pas y avoir de surcoût lié aux opérations extérieures et à Sentinelle. "Dans le budget 2019, la provision sera de 850 millions d'euros. Nous aurons un budget sincère", précise-t-elle en relevant que "sous la précédente mandature, une provision notoirement insuffisante avait été inscrite en 2017." A l'époque, c'est l'actuel ministre des Affaires étrangères, Jean-Yves Le Drian, qui était à sa place à la Défense. Six drones armés en 2019 La ministre a également annoncé la livraison de six drones armés en 2019, l'arrivée en octobre à Istres du "premier avion ravitailleur de nouvelle génération, un Airbus A330", ainsi que de 89 véhicules blindés "Griffon" (nouvelle génération) en 2019. (avec AFP) https://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/defense/le-budget-des-armees-2019-en-hausse-d-1-7-milliard-d-euros_614271
12 mai 2020 | International, Terrestre
Shawn Snow While the Corps plans to scrap its tank battalions the Marines are still in pursuit of a new armored reconnaissance vehicle to replace the legacy light armored vehicle. It's called the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle, and Marine Corps Systems Command noted in a news release that prototypes from two vendors should be ready for evaluations by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020. The Corps says it expects a final request for prototype proposal by spring 2021. In 2019, the Corps announced it had selected two vendors, General Dynamics and SAIC, to design and build full-scale prototypes of the new ARV vehicle. Marine Corps Systems Command detailed in the news release that an assessment had “identified shortfalls and gaps in capability” when the legacy LAV was pitted against a peer threat. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger has said that current light armored reconnaissance battalions across the Corps are outmoded for the high-end fight against adversaries like Russia and China. “Light Armored Reconnaissance today is built great for another Desert Shield, Desert Storm,” Berger said previously said. “I don't see that likelihood as being very great.” But the top Marine noted that reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance was vital to a fight against near-peer rivals. “No question in my mind” when going up against a capable adversary “that it pays to be spread out and dispersed,” Berger told reporters in April. “What we have to do now is transition to a lighter footprint, more expeditionary, more in support of a littoral environment,” Berger said. The top Marine said a future LAR unit should be able to collect information even potentially offshore. Marine Corps Systems Command said in the news release that it wants a “battle management system, enhanced vision technologies for increased situational awareness, and target tracking and engagement capabilities,” for its new ARV. An industry day for the ARV was slated to run in May 2020 but has been pushed back to fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, the release said. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/05/11/no-tanks-but-the-corps-is-still-looking-for-an-lav-replacement/