Réglementation ITAR : la France veut réduire sa dépendance aux Etats-Unis

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  18 mars 2020 | International, Naval

  With coronavirus on the loose, US shipyards make adjustments but keep building

  By: David B. Larter and Courtney Mabeus WASHINGTON — U.S. shipyards are adjusting to meet the new coronavirus threat, but work continues across the country. In the wake of news that Fincantieri's shipyards in Italy has suspended operations for two weeks to help stem the spread of the illness, US shipyards have responded with more modest changes: suspending international travel, limiting domestic travel and suspending participation in conferences and trade shows for shipyard employees. Yards are also changing leave policies to allow workers time to adjust to restrictions that have closed schools and businesses across the country. While to date the changes have been minor, several company officials told Defense News that the situation was evolving and more could be coming down the pike as the government responds to the unfolding crisis that has rocked the country over the past week. Huntington Ingalls Industries' president and CEO Mike Petters addressed employees in a video message posted to the company's website Monday. Peters said he is meeting regularly with division leadership and the company has posted links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which he urged employees to check for the most accurate information. Employees who are experiencing symptoms or believe they may have been exposed should let the company know, he said. “Now more than ever we need to work as a team and look out for each other,” Petters said. Also on Monday, HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division president Jennifer Boykin extended "liberal leave" policies through second shift on March 20. In a post on the company's website, Boykin added that work would be "minimized" during the weekend and that with some exceptions, parking lots at the yard – the nation's only aircraft carrier manufacturer – would be open through Friday with no reserved spaces. Newport News Shipbuilding spokesperson Duane Bourne said the health and safety of workers remained the primary focus, calling it "premature to speculate on the impact of COVID-19 on our contracts." "We are having ongoing discussions with our customers and will continue that dialogue in preparing contingencies and future plans," Bourne wrote in an email. Fincantieri's Marinette shipyard in Wisconsin has suspended all international travel, all noncritical domestic travel and has suspended intracompany travel to prevent any potential spread between shipyards, said Eric Dent, the company's spokesperson. However, to date the company has seen no delays in operations. “So far, we have experienced no production delays,” Dent said. “Obviously like other businesses and shipyards, we have to balance force health protection and production as we work through this.” At General Dynamics' shipyards, both Bath Iron Works and submarine builder Electric Boat are continuing work, though they – like all the other yards – are allowing anyone who can work from home to do so, said Jeff Davis, a GD spokesperson. GD has likewise curtailed travel and ceased company participation in trade shows, Davis said. Electric Boat spokesperson, Liz Power, said the submarine builder is following all government recommendations. “Electric Boat remains open for business,” Power said. "Our ongoing mission is to provide our Navy with the high-quality submarines they require to complete their missions. “We have initiated all government-recommended measures to mitigate spread of the disease and continue to work closely with our employees, customers, suppliers, stakeholders and our community to keep them informed.” The ship repair industry is also taking precautions. Colonna's Shipyard Vice President Bob Boyd said the company is also asking its estimated 700 employees to follow the CDC's guidelines and advising anyone who feels sick to stay home. The company is doing additional screening with non-employees at its entrance, asking about recent travel and contacts, and talking with subcontractors about policies, Boyd said. With schools closed throughout Virginia, Colonna's "just taking it day-by-day." Dock landing ship Gunston Hall left Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk last week and the company is currently working on Coast Guard vessel as well as Military Sealift Command's expeditionary fast transport ship Burlington, Boyd said. He said he couldn't speculate on what an order to stop work to counter the spread of the virus could mean for federal contracts. “Obviously, if they're shut down or we're ordered not to perform work, then you know, we'll follow those orders and resume work once we're cleared, but you know, it hasn't happened,” Boyd said. "We can't speculate that it will. So, we don't really know what will happen if and when those types of decisions are made, but so far they have not. " https://www.defensenews.com/coronavirus/2020/03/16/with-coronavirus-on-the-loose-us-shipyards-make-adjustments-but-keep-building/

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  22 juin 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Rheinmetall signs framework contract worth around 2 billion euros: 4,000 military trucks for the Bundeswehr

  Rheinmetall has won another major order for logistic vehicles. Germany's Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has entered a framework contract with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) for delivery of up to 4,000 swap body systems, many of which will feature armoured driver's cabs. Running from 2021 to 2027 for Rheinmetall the framework contract represents around €2 billion in total sales volume. To begin with, the Group will supply the Bundeswehr with an initial tranche of 540 vehicles. Worth around €348 million including VAT, they have now been taken under contract. Of these 540 vehicles, 230 will be protected. Delivery will start early next year, making sure that the Bundeswehr has an adequate number of vehicles in 2023 when Germany takes over leadership of NATO's spearhead: the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, or VJTF. The protected swap body systems enhance the survivability and sustainment capability of the Logistics Corps, as well as strengthening its tactical flexibility. Unlike the Unprotected Transport Vehicle (UTF), likewise supplied by RMMV, these systems will be predominately deployed in forward operating areas, where, for instance, they will be used for supplying ammunition to frontline combat units, e.g. artillery batteries. Assuring excellent off-road mobility, RMMV's robust, all-terrain-capable HX 8x8 vehicles can be optionally fitted with a protected cab. Standard features include a hook loader developed by the Hiab company, which can quickly lift and set down the accompanying flat racks. In addition, the vehicles can accommodate an interchangeable platform or a container via the standardized 20-foot ISO interfaces. Identical operator interfaces and a high degree of commonality and component uniformity with the UTF vehicle family facilitate training, operations and logistics. Owing to the significant reduction in training time for crewmembers and maintenance personnel as well as the extensive commonality of spare parts and special tools, full utilization can be achieved faster – coupled with greater economic efficiency for the procurement authorities and user alike. This new order widens Rheinmetall's lead as one of the world's foremost makers of logistic systems and vehicles. Since the award of the 7-year UTF framework by BAAINBw on 5 July 2017, 1,250 out of a total of 2271 vehicles have already been shipped. Most of the principal components – the engines, axles, transmissions and build-ons – are made in Germany; assembly of the vehicles takes place at the RMMV plant in Vienna. Especially when it comes to multinational operations, the extensive global presence of RMMV vehicles offers major advantages with regard to interoperability and logistics. The current circle of user nations includes – among others – the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. Norway and Sweden have also placed substantial truck orders with Rheinmetall. https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/rheinmetall_ag/press/news/latest_news/index_20736.php

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  10 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Industry could wait months for COVID reimbursements from Pentagon

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — As the defense department seeks billions in emergency funding to reimburse industry for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pentagon's top acquisition official pledged not to rush that money out the door. Speaking at the annual Defense News Conference, Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said it will likely take five to six months before any reimbursements to industry under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act will take place as the department seeks a “very data driven approach” to that money. Section 3610 of the CARES act allows firms serving the federal government to seek reimbursement for pandemic-related expenses, but Congress hasn't passed corresponding appropriations. Defense officials have said they need roughly $10 billion, and that without added funding from Congress, the Pentagon would have to dip into modernization and readiness funds. “We believe we need that appropriation to maintain readiness because if we do not get that what we are going to find is we are not going to get the number of units delivered, we are not going to maintain warfighter readiness, we're not going to move forward in modernization,” Lord said. “We would like to take the one-time hit and then see where we go from there.” Should Congress appropriate the requested funds, the Pentagon would issue a request for proposal, with the large primes gathering data from up and down their supply chains before returning with their requests to the Pentagon. That process will likely take two to three months, Lord said. “Then we want to look at all of the proposals at once. It isn't going to be a first-in-first-out and we have to rationalize using the rules we've put in place, what would be reimbursable, and what's not,” she added. “So overall, we think five to six months, in terms of a process.” When the COVID pandemic struck in March, hundreds of defense subcontractors had to close up shop. As of now, only 30 remain shuttered, Lord said, although she acknowledged that the department is keeping a wary eye on the situation. “What we are looking for is whether or not we're maintaining warfighter readiness for our production programs, and then relative to modernization, whether we are hitting key milestones relative to development programs,” she said. “We have seen some slowdowns. We are carefully monitoring, using monthly metrics, where we are.” While the most recent round of quarterly earnings reports from public defense companies did not show a major slowdown from COVID, Lord warned that those reports “in large part don't reflect the hits that were taken by business,” warning of a “delayed response” in terms of the diseases' economic impact on the sector. “I would contend that most of the effects of COVID haven't yet been seen, because most companies gave their employees time off, they stretched out production, paid a lot of people for working 100% when perhaps they were only getting 50% of the hours in and so forth,” she said. “So I think the system has absorbed it up to this point in time. Now when we get to the point where we're having payments and incentive fees and award fees earned, and if we haven't done the deliveries, that's where you're going to see the hit.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2020/09/09/industry-could-wait-months-for-covid-reimbursements-from-pentagon