8 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

Romania eyes new maritime drone to counter Russia

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NATIONAL HARBOR — The Romanian Navy is exploring the purchase of a new drone for its expansion and modernization plans, the chief of the Romanian Naval Forces said Monday.

Amid growing tensions with Russia on the Black Sea, the service is looking at a “totally new” unmanned aerial system for the maritime and riverine domain, Vice Adm. Alexandru Mirsu said at the Sea-Air-Space forum here.

The capability would be used by Romania's Danube flotilla and for coastal surveillance, operated from the shoreline, Mirsu said. He did not provide a timeframe or a budget for the possible acquisition.

Plans are underway to buy four new multipurpose corvettes as the core of the Romanian navy, and to modernize its Type 22 frigates. Also expected are purchases of new coastal missile batteries and three new submarines — all part of Romania's commitment to spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense for the next decade.

The idea is to expand Romania's presence in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and elswhere as needed by allies, and to maintain a submarine program beyond 2030.

Mirsu has previously said the submarines are needed to ensure Romania's operational capacities in the Black Sea, as the one Kilo-class submarine does not meet that need. Its Delfinul submarine was reportedly withdrawn from service and was being used for training purposes.

Mirsu also pointed to “a new iron curtain” of Russian anti access/area denial (A2/AD) hubs in Kaliningrad, Sevastopol and Syria.

He lauded major multinational exercises and NATO operations on the Black Sea for sending a message that the Black Sea is open, and an international body of water.

Romania led NATO's Poseidon antisubmarine exercise on the Black Sea in March. Also notable, the Romanian-led Sea Shield in April involved 20 ships and crews from Romania, Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey, all working with maritime patrol aircraft from the U.S. and Turkey.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/navy-league/2019/05/07/romania-eyes-new-maritime-drone-to-counter-russia

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  • Air Force Acquisition Chief: Reaper Replacement Plan Should Come in FY ’22 Budget Request

    17 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Air Force Acquisition Chief: Reaper Replacement Plan Should Come in FY ’22 Budget Request

    The Air Force is conducting a study that will inform how the service will continue its critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions as it begins to phase out production of its MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems, acquisition chief Will Roper said March 10. The service plans to reduce the General Atomics Aerospace Systems Inc.-developed MQ-9 Reaper combat lines from 70 to 60 by eliminating 10 contractor-operated lines while maintaining all MQ-9 aircraft in the fiscal year 2021 budget plan. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) member Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) sought clarity on why the production line would be reduced in a Tuesday hearing on Capitol Hill. “Why the major change in plans, and how will the Air Force address its ISR gap?” he asked. Roper told the committee that the Air Force is planning to build the “next generation” of ISR drones with a mixture of options, including “more high-end, unique” systems that will require lots of money to ensure their survivability, as well as commercial platforms that can “push the price point down” and provide attritable systems for added capacity. “We're doing studies now to see what our mix could be, and I anticipate that will be one of our major decisions in our FY '22 budget for the Air Force,” Roper said during the hearing. The study is being led by the Air Force's Program Executive Office for ISR and Special Operations Forces at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, he told a small group of reporters after the hearing. He expects it to be complete before the end of the fiscal year to inform the service's FY '22 Program Objective Memorandum (POM), which is currently in development, he added. “It's a really great time to give [PEO ISR & SOF] an innovative program because as their portfolio appears to be trending down ... it's important that they have something that's the new version of them that's innovative, that's indicative of their future,” he said. The Air Force has to work on dropping the cost of the counter-violent extremism mission, both in manpower and unit price, Roper said. He added that employing commercial drone services in the defense industry could help smaller, newer companies begin to scale their production while offering the service a “much lower, much cheaper” way to sustain cost. “Working with the Defense Department, you don't need the kind of production capacity that the globe does, so we're a pretty good first stop,” he said. He also told the committee that while the Reaper had “undeniable overmatch in a low-end fight and has certainly saved many lives, ... as we look to the high-end fight, we just can't take them into the battlefield.” Roper warned that if the Defense Department does not move quickly to engage builders of large UAS, the market could go the same way of small, hobbyist UAS and be saturated by Chinese products, as was seen with DJI's Phantom drone. The service's ISR portfolio could look very different in FY '21 if Congress approves its proposed FY '21 presidential budget request, released Feb. 10 (Defense Daily.) It includes the retirement of 24 Block 20/30 RQ-4 Global Hawks, including three EQ-4B drones equipped with Northrop Grumman's Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) system, as well as reducing the MQ-9 lines. In order to provide sufficient levels of ISR with the divestment of the Global Hawk 20/30 assets and reducing MQ-9 combat lines, the Air Force will maintain and modernize the U-2 [Dragon Lady ISR aircraft] and the Global Hawk Block 40 fleets and maintain 60 government-owned/government operated MQ-9 combat lines, the Air Force previously told Defense Daily. The service also plans to procure one Bombardier E-11A BACN-enabled aircraft through the five-year future years defense plan (FYDP), with plans to bring the total fleet up to eight by FY '26. One E-11A aircraft suffered a fatal crash in Afghanistan last month, leaving the Air Force with three in its current inventory. Vela also asked whether the Air Force's proposed MQ-9 retirements could affect other services operating the Reaper. Marine Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, the service's deputy commandant for aviation, said during the hearing that while the Marines recently welcomed their first MQ-9 operators at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, he is also looking at the “wide-open” unmanned systems industry for the service's next generations of drones. “We hope to be able to continue to operate with the Air Force,” he told Vela. However, “We're ready to step out on our own system,” he added. https://www.defensedaily.com/air-force-acquisition-chief-reaper-replacement-plan-come-fy-22-budget-request/budget/

  • Outgoing Pakistan Navy chief reveals details of modernization programs

    15 octobre 2020 | International, Naval

    Outgoing Pakistan Navy chief reveals details of modernization programs

    Usman Ansari ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Navy is racing to plug operational and technological gaps as part of an unprecedented modernization effort, according to the outgoing naval chief, but analysts are divided on whether the move will deter adversaries. Adm. Zafar Mahmood Abbasi was speaking during the an Oct. 6 change-of-command ceremony when he detailed measures he enacted, prioritizing “combat readiness and offensive capability” for the historically undersized force amid tension with India. In addition to reorganizing the Navy's force structure, he outlined acquisition and development programs, some of which were mentioned for the first time or had new details confirmed. These included: Expanding the Navy to more than 50 warships (more than doubling major surface combatants to 20, with plans for six additional large offshore patrol vessels). The apparent free transfer of a Chinese Yuan-class submarine to train Pakistani crews for its eight Hangor subs. 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The planned gunboats could free up the new frigates to perform tasks the Pakistan Navy is currently not able to do as often,” he said. The Hangor program is probably the most noteworthy because of China's involvement, Waldwyn added. “Although local build of Hangor submarines is planned to be complete before the end of the decade, regenerating that industrial capability will be a big effort, and I expect that Chinese assistance in doing so will be crucial.” But one factor depends on whether Germany provides export clearance of diesel engines for the submarine. Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Production, the Navy's public relations department, the German embassy in Islamabad, and Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control all declined to respond to Defense News' inquiries about the engines. It is unknown whether the program is now proceeding with Chinese substitutes. Weapons and platforms Announcement of a contract for unmanned combat aerial vehicles, however, appears to be official confirmation the Chinese Wing Loong II deal first reported in October 2018. Though photographed undergoing testing in Pakistan, there was never official confirmation of a contract. Air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, Justin Bronk, said it “is probably one of the most effective options for armed UAV acquisition available to Pakistan.” “It has proven fairly satisfactory in service with the [United Arab Emirates] and others, and can carry a wide variety of cheap and effective Chinese munitions. Its sensor capabilities are not up to U.S. standards, especially in terms of stabilization. But given that sales of MQ-9 and other comparable U.S. systems are restricted, and Israeli UAVs are seldom exported with acknowledged weapons capabilities, Wing Loong II is probably the best option available,” Bronk explained. In regard to what aircraft Pakistan will choose to replace its P-3C Orion fleet, Defense News asked the Navy and the Ministry of Defence Production, but neither provided details by press time. A small number of business or regional jets from Brazil, Russia or Ukraine with non-Western systems (to avoid sanctions) could readily be converted to suit Pakistan's requirements. However, there is no official, publicly available notice or hint of sale to Pakistan from these countries' manufacturers, and there was no response to related queries. Such a conversion could be locally done, as wider naval modernization is underpinned by Pakistan's in-house research and development program. Still, the IISS analyst added, it's not essential the work be performed domestically. On the modernization effort as a whole, Waldwyn noted that “developing the local capability to design and build this equipment is not a prerequisite to providing conventional deterrence in the short term, and importing equipment from abroad can sometimes be less expensive.” “However, there is value to developing the defense industrial base and sovereign technological capabilities, as it can protect you against geopolitical changes going forward,” the IISS analyst added. For Ahmed, domestic work would demonstrate Pakistan “is determined to maintain the required level of modernization” — particularly with directed-energy weapons. Meanwhile, he said he's uncertain what new purpose the P282 missile will serve. He is unconvinced the P282 is a hypersonic cruise missile intended to replace the current ship- and submarine-launched Harbah cruise missile. 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  • IAI unveils Scorpius electronic warfare system for multi-threat confrontations

    15 novembre 2021 | International, C4ISR

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