2 décembre 2020 | International, Terrestre
Satory, France, November 26, 2020 - On 13 November 2020, the French Delegation for Armaments (DGA) qualified the command post vehicle (EPC) variant of the GRIFFON vehicle. At the same time, the first examples are being submitted for acceptance by the DGA's quality department at the Roanne site.
Therefore, the three first GRIFFON EPC have been delivered to the Army technical section (STAT) which will continue the operational evaluation of this equipment with its rapid deployment within the regiments in sight.
The GME (temporary grouping of companies) EBMR (Engins Blindés Multi-Rôles) comprised of Nexter, Arquus and Thales is fully mobilized on the production of the first 35 series GRIFFON EPCs to be presented to verification operations by the end of 2020.
Ultimately, the SCORPION program calls for the acquisition of 333 units of this variant, half of which will be delivered by 2025. As a reminder, the SCORPION program aims to modernize the Army's combat capabilities and in particular to improve command through new information resources.
The GRIFFON EPC can accommodate a pilot and a gunner in the front, and five soldiers in the rear of the vehicle. From an external point of view, the silhouette of the EPC does not differ from the VTT Félin variant (troop transport vehicle).
Only the armament changes, with the integration on the roof of a new-generation T2 remotely operated turret armed with a 7.62mm caliber. Inside, on the other hand, the GRIFFON EPC is fully equipped to accommodate a command post: communication means, large screens, a board and a printer.
This variant is designed to accommodate latest-generation electronic equipment for collaborative combat: the vetronics common to the SCORPION platforms, the CONTACT joint radio, the SCORPION Combat Information System (SICS), the ANTARES optronic system offering the crew a 360° vision of the environment, as well as a gunfire location detector (or SLA, for Acoustic Localization System).
In addition, the air-conditioning system adapts to all environments to guarantee crew's comfort and the proper functioning of onboard electronics.
Thanks to its level of protection and mobility, the EPC variant of the GRIFFON enables a command post to be deployed quickly at the heart of operations. The force commander can thus conduct an engagement or monitor the progress of a regimental or brigade-level action.
The arrival of the GRIFFON EPC is complementary to the GRIFFON VTT Félin, with the goal of projecting a joint battle group (GTIA) into a foreign theatre of operations by 2021.
Stéphane Mayer is delighted, on behalf of the GME formed by the three companies Arquus, Thales and Nexter (of which he is Chairman and CEO), that this new milestone has been reached on time: "this qualification marks a new stage in the modernization of the French Army's equipment".
View source version on Nexter : https://www.nexter-group.fr/en/actualites/nos-dernieres-actualites/scorpion-griffon-command-post-qualified.html
18 juin 2024 | International, Terrestre
"If Germany was to opt for PULS, they could not gain access to our missiles,” a Lockheed Martin exec said, referring to a competing system from Elbit.
18 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Zeina Karam, The Associated Press BEIRUT — The use of armed drones in the Middle East, driven largely by sales from China, has grown significantly in the past few years with an increasing number of countries and other parties using them in regional conflicts to lethal effects, a new report said Monday. The report by the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, found that more and more Mideast countries have acquired armed drones, either by importing them, such as Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, or by building them domestically like Israel, Iran and Turkey. China has won sales in the Middle East and elsewhere by offering UAVs at lower prices and without the political conditions attached by the United States. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that countries across the Middle East locked out of purchasing American-made drones are being wooed by Chinese arms dealers, helping expand Chinese influence across a region vital to American security interest. It noted the use of Chinese armed drones across Mideast battlefields, including in the war on Yemen, employed by the Emirati Air Force. Iran has also violated Israeli airspace with armed UAVs from bases in Syria, provoking armed Israeli response on the suspected bases. The RUSI report, titled “Armed Drones in the Middle East: Proliferation and Norms in the Region,” said that by capitalizing on the gap in the market over the past few years, Beijing has supplied armed drones to several countries that are not authorized to purchase them from the U.S., and at a dramatically cheaper price. "China, a no-questions-asked exporter of drones, has played and is likely to continue playing a key role as a supplier of armed UAVs to the Middle East," it said. The report explored where and how each of the states have used their armed drones and whether they have changed the way these countries approach air power. It found that Iran, the UAE and Turkey all changed the way they employ air power after they acquired armed drones. For Turkey and the UAE, armed drones enabled them to conduct strikes in situations where they would not have risked using conventional aircraft, it said. Iran developed armed drones from the outset specifically to project power beyond the reach of its air force, which is hamstrung by obsolete aircraft and sanctions, the report added. The report said it remains to be seen whether and how the loosening of restrictions on the export of armed drones by the Trump administration will alter dynamics in the region. The administration in April permitted U.S. manufacturers to directly market and sell drones, including armed versions, although the government must still approve and license the sales. Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, who authored the report along with Justin Bronk, said proliferation of armed drones in the Middle East is unlikely to stop and could accelerate despite changes introduced by the U.S. administration. “Over the past two years the sales have increased massively and they are likely to increase even more,” she said. “This kind of collaboration is just going to grow especially in cases where countries don't have the capacity to build them themselves.” https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2018/12/17/china-is-driving-use-of-armed-drones-in-mideast-says-british-think-tank
4 novembre 2024 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
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