17 juin 2022 | International, Terrestre
The proposal at the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris adds a new angle to the discussion in Europe about a next-generation tank for the continent.
26 août 2021 | International, Aérospatial
With critical design review complete, Lockheed Martin can move forward with fabrication and integration of the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared GEO satellites.
6 mai 2020 | International, Terrestre
With defense budgets expected to be coming in flat under even best-case scenarios, the time for tough decisions might be coming. By PAUL MCLEARY WASHINGTON: The Pentagon may slash older weapons programs to buy new ones in coming years if the federal government's COVID-19 response takes a big bite out of budgets, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today. Before the global pandemic slammed American society and ground the economy to a halt, Pentagon leaders were already looking at flat defense budgets and were casting about for fat to trim. But the trillions Congress and the Trump administration has pumped into the economy, which falls on top of an already exploding budget deficit, could make predictions of flat budgets look optimistic. Esper told reporters at the Pentagon he would target older programs: “We need to move away from the legacy, and we need to invest those dollars in the future. And we have a lot of legacy programs out there right now — I could pick dozens out from all branches of the services” that could be cut or curtailed. As Army Secretary in 2018, Esper's “Night Courts” saved the service some $33 billion through scrapping oler programs with an eye to pumping cash into new weapons programs. The Navy is undergoing a review that aims to shave $40 billion in the coming years, and the Marine Corps is aggressively getting rid of troops, tanks, helicopters, and — possibly — trimming the F-35 to make room for modernization investments. In particular, the massive modernization of the nuclear delivery systems will not be touched. Esper said “we're not going to risk the strategic deterrent we need to modernize,” if budgets trend downward, but acknowledged that cutting old weapons systems before their replacements were ready “would mean probably accepting some near term risk, but I think [modernizing is] important given the trajectory that China is on, and we know where Russia may be going in the coming year.” Earlier this week, Esper said he was concerned that exploding budget deficits would put an end to the dream of 3% to 5% yearly defense budget growth, which he had targeted for Pentagon modernization. “There is a concern there that that may lead to smaller defense budgets in the future at the critical time we need to continue making this adjustment, where we look at China, then Russia, as our long-term strategic competitors,” he said at the Brookings Institute. Some lawmakers are bracing for the coming cuts. “I am extremely concerned about that,” House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Mike Gallagher told me recently. “I think it is going to require defense hawks, like myself, to make not only more energetic arguments, but new and creative geopolitical arguments,” to advocate for spending on modernization programs. “If you assume downward pressure on the defense budget, it means that DoD will need to get the most out of every dollar spent.” Those arguments will be critically important for the services as they pitch their latest modernization efforts. “I think the budget comes down sooner rather than later,” Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said during a recent webinar Adding fuel to that view was Todd Harrison, DoD budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Security, who added, “what has historically happened is, when Congress's fiscal conservatives come out and get serious about reducing the debt, reducing spending on defense is almost always part of what they come up with for a solution,” he said. “So, we could be looking at a deficit-driven defense drawdown coming.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/old-weapons-under-fire-as-covid-debt-rises/
13 juin 2019 | International, Naval, Autre défense
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is launching ‘Intelligent Ship – The Next Generation' – a multi-million pound competition for the future Naval operating environment. This competition is seeking proposals for novel and innovative projects that enable and facilitate the wider use of ‘intelligent systems' within future warships, with the potential for wider use across defence. The future sees elements of automation, autonomy, machine learning and artificial intelligence being more closely integrated and teamed with human decision makers. The aim of this competition is to de-risk and evaluate technologies and approaches that could provide alternative, revolutionary future fleet concepts that can maintain or enhance UK military advantage within complex, cluttered, contested and congested operating and data environments. £1m is available to fund multiple innovative proposals that form phase 1, with an additional £3m potentially available to fund follow-on phases. Further details are available in the competition document The competition closes on 23 July 2019 at midday. Queries should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/join-dasa-to-launch-the-search-for-the-future-of-the-naval-operating-environment