PODCAST: The Navy Budget And Transformation – Opportunities And Challenges Ahead

Sur le même sujet

• 

  30 novembre 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Rheinmetall unveils new ground robot for armed reconnaissance

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Rheinmetall has unveiled a new scouting configuration of its Mission Master ground robot, ratcheting up competition in a European market segment that is set to heat up in the coming years. The new version features a suite of sensors mounted on a collapsible, 3.5-meter mast, including an infrared sensor, a surveillance radar and a 360-degree camera. A laser rangefinder and target designator are also included on the vehicle, as is a 7.62mm gun on a remote-controlled weapon station, according to a company statement. “The Mission Master-Armed Reconnaissance is designed to execute high-risk scouting missions and deliver a real-time common operating picture without putting soldiers in danger,” the German company said. The six-wheeled vehicle's autonomous functions are powered by Rheinmetall's PATH kit, which the company advertises as a means to turn any vehicle into an unmanned platform. Multiple vehicles can be combined to operate as part a “Wolf Pack” cluster, a technology enabling communications, cueing and targeting toward a common mission objective, according to Rheinmetall. Ground robots with varying degrees of autonomy are rapidly becoming critical for ground forces worldwide. Cargo transport and surveillance are some of the most obvious applications. While some of the new robots carry weapons, Western manufacturers have shied away from connecting their most advanced autonomy algorithms to the process of firing them. Rheinmetall's Mission Master series is something of a counterpoint to Estonia's Milrem Robotics, which has been making inroads with European ground forces through its tracked THeMIS vehicle. Milrem has advertised its operational experience by way of a THeMIS deployment with the Estonian military to the French-led Barkhane counterterrorism mission in Mali. Milrem also sits atop a smattering of European companies charged with developing a common architecture for unmanned ground vehicles under the umbrella of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme. The effort is named iMUGS, which is short for “integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System,” and it received roughly $36 million in European Union funding over the summer. “The ambition is no less than developing an F-16 [fighter jet] of unmanned ground systems,” Kusti Salm, director general of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, was quoted as saying by the Baltic Times website in 2019. The iMUGS effort centers around Milrem's THeMIS vehicle as a prototype platform. Notable European land warfare companies are part of the consortium, including Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter. Absent from the EU-endorsed roster is Rheinmetall, which has mounted its own marketing and outreach campaign for the Mission Master series. Earlier in November, the company announced it had given a sample vehicle to the Royal Netherlands Army for experimentation. The robot will undergo a two-year evaluation toward what Rheinmetall described as “Future Manoeuvre Elements” to aid Dutch ground forces during operations. The Dutch previously ordered the THeMIS from Milrem. During the spring, Rheinmetall delivered four Mission Master vehicles configured for cargo transport to U.K. forces. “These unmanned ground vehicles will form part of the United Kingdom's Robotic Platoon Vehicle program,” Rheinmetall said in a statement at the time. “This program is designed to determine the extent to which unmanned vehicles can boost the combat effectiveness and capabilities of dismounted troops at platoon level.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/29/rheinmetall-unveils-new-ground-robot-for-armed-reconnaissance

• 

  13 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Britain moves to protect its defense industry from foreign influence

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – Defense and space industries are among nearly twenty sectors named by the British government in the introduction of new legislation Nov. 11 aimed at tightening regulations allowing it to block potentially hostile direct foreign investment. The government said the National Security and Investment Bill will strengthen its ability to investigate and intervene in mergers, acquisitions and other types of deals potentially posing a threat to British national security. Artificial intelligence, robotics, military or dual-use technologies, satellite and space technologies, defense and critical suppliers to the government were among 17 industry sectors included in the new legislation. The new powers allow the government to act against investors from any country, including the United States. “Under the National Security and Investment Bill, the government will be taking a targeted, proportionate approach to ensure it can scrutinize, impose conditions on or, as a last resort, block a deal in any sector where there is an unacceptable risk to national security,” said the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy in a statement. The acquisition of sensitive assets and intellectual property, as well as the acquisition of companies is covered by the legislation. The government said the move brings British legislation into the 21st century. Reporting of deals in the sectors covered by the legislation will be mandatory and companies could face heavy fines and the transactions made void if they fail to get approval from the Business department. Britain's effort to shut the door on unwelcome investors like the Chinese is part of a growing trend among Western nations. Earlier this year the United States introduced mandatory notification requirements for transactions concerning specified types of businesses as part of a broader program of reform. The Australian government have also introduced legislation requiring foreign investors to seek approval to acquire a direct interest in sensitive national security businesses. The powers pending before parliament are similar to those already in place with allies like France, Germany and Italy, said the government. Paul Everitt , the chief executive of the defense, aerospace and security lobby group ADS, welcomed the move but said it was important the government didn't deter overseas investors. “The government's plans must strike an appropriate balance between putting protections in place and continuing to ensure the UK remains an attractive environment for international investment,” said Everitt. Consultant Howard Wheeldon, of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory, also supported the government action, but he cautioned: “Does it [the legislation] have sufficient teeth? We certainly need to protect our specialist industry but we must also ensure and expect the playing field to be kept level.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/12/britain-moves-to-protect-its-defense-industry-from-foreign-influence/

• 

  18 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  10 winners chosen in International Space Pitch Day

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — Ten winners have emerged from the first International Space Pitch Day, a joint venture between the U.S. and the U.K. designed to encourage and reward innovation that could benefit the two nations' military endeavors in space. The event was modeled on the U.S. Air Force pitch days — “Shark Tank”-inspired competitions where nontraditional companies can directly present their technology solutions to acquisition officials and walk away with same-day contracts. The Air Force has held dozens of topical pitch days over the last two years as officials try to identify “defense unicorns.” The first space-specific pitch day was hosted by the Air Force in November 2019, though the since-established U.S. Space Force has taken over those pitch days. “Pitch Days open the government's aperture to work with commercially-focused companies,” according to Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “Competing for technology outside of our fence lines has been a major U.S. Air Force and Space Force theme. Partnering with our allies to compete globally is the natural evolution.” Open to companies and entrepreneurs from all over the world, the inaugural International Space Pitch Day was jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force and the U.K.'s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the British Royal Air Force. Representatives from those organizations, U.S. Space Force, U.K. Strategic Command and NATO worked through the various proposals, with 15 companies invited to present their solutions during the Defence Space Conference in London. Ultimately, 10 companies were awarded same-day contracts each worth up to $66,000, according to an announcement from the U.K. government. That funding will help the vendors fast-track their solutions. “It is the first time two nations anywhere in the world have come together to award defense contracts based around a pitch-style event, similar to Dragon's Den/Shark Tank,” said Vice-Marshal Harvey Smyth, the U.K.'s director for military space and air. “It is also the first time two nations have awarded joint defence innovation contracts to an overseas-based enterprise in this way.” While most of the winners are from the U.S. or the U.K., one company from India and another from Australia won contracts. The ten winners were: 114 AI Innovation Limited (India) Clearbox Systems (Australia) Clutch Space Systems (U.K.) Cognitive Space (U.S.) precursor SPC (U.S.) Riskaware Limited and Telespazio Vega UK (U.K.) Rocket Communications (U.S.) Slingshot Aerospace (U.S.) Spire Global UK (U.K.) Swim.ai (U.S.) https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/11/17/10-winners-chosen-in-international-space-pitch-day/