Textron Systems awarded Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated Contract for three Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) by U.S. Navy

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  26 janvier 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Le projet de rapport du Centre commun de recherche (JRC) de la Commission européenne : une menace pour l’industrie de la Défense

  DÉFENSE Le projet de rapport du Centre commun de recherche (JRC) de la Commission européenne : une menace pour l'industrie de la Défense La Tribune signale que la société de gestion d'actifs spécialisée Ossiam, filiale de Natixis Investment Managers, a décidé d'intégrer à partir de cette semaine des critères ESG à la stratégie de gestion de son ETF (fonds indiciels cotés) équipondéré. Dans ce cadre, Ossiam a décidé d'exclure, notamment, les industries du secteur de l'armement. « La stratégie applique des filtres d'exclusion supplémentaires pour les sociétés de l'industrie du tabac, de l'énergie liée au charbon, et du secteur de l'armement », indique le communiqué. La société précise à La Tribune que dans la plupart de ses fonds actions, les secteurs de la défense et de l'aéronautique ne sont pas exclus. La Tribune rappelle que le Centre commun de recherche (JRC), le service scientifique interne de la Commission européenne, travaille sur la mise en place de nouveaux critères de label écologique de l'UE pour les produits financiers. Tel qu'il est proposé aujourd'hui, ce nouveau label aurait de graves conséquences sur les industries de défense européennes, qui risqueraient leur mise à l'index par les banques et les organismes financiers européens. « Il me semble majeur d'insister sur le fait qu'il n'y aura pas d'activités soutenables sur le long terme s'il n'y a pas, au préalable, des pays stables et des économies stables elles-aussi », avait expliqué le PDG de Thales, Patrice Caine, dans une interview accordée en octobre dernier à La Tribune. « Il faut bien considérer que la stabilité et la sécurité sont des prérequis à la durabilité, une réalité qui est parfaitement comprise et admise par les Américains : « No Sustainability without Stability ». Les investisseurs américains estiment qu'investir dans la défense est légitimement un investissement socialement responsable ». Six fédérations d'industriels européens de la défense - BSDI (Belgique), AFDA (Finlande), CIDEF (France), BDSV (Allemagne), NIDV (Pays-Bas) et FSi (Norvège) - ont cosigné une lettre sur la thématique des critères RSE et du financement, qu'ils ont remise auprès de leurs autorités nationales. « Il n'y a pas de durabilité sans sécurité », déclarent-elles, rappelant que l'un des rôles essentiels de la défense est « de protéger la démocratie et les libertés dans un environnement mondial très instable ». La Tribune du 25 janvier

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  7 mai 2019 | International, Terrestre

  Turkish, Indonesian firms team up on medium-weight tank

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish armored-vehicles manufacturer FNSS and its Indonesian partner PT Pindad have signed a contract to co-produce scores of medium-weight, new-generation battle tanks for the Indonesian army. The deal was signed during this year's IDEF defense and aerospace show in Istanbul Apr. 30-May 3. The companies will initially produce a batch of 18 Kaplan MT tanks within two years. The second stage of the contract involves mass production of the Kaplan MT. FNSS and PT Pindad have designed, developed and built two prototypes of the Kaplan MT under a 2015 deal. The prototypes have passed field tests in Turkey and Indonesia and were certified by the Indonesian military. The deal is part of a defense industry cooperation agreement between Turkey and Indonesia. The first prototype of the Kaplan MT tank was exhibited during IDEF'17. The tank was showcased in Indonesia during a military parade on National Armed Forces Day in October. The Kaplan MT is equipped with a battlefield management system, a wireless crew intercom system, a navigation system and an automatic fire extinguishing system. The tank is fitted with a CMI Cockerill 3105 turret mounting a Cockerill 105 mm high-pressure gun. The lightweight gun features an advanced autoloader to deliver rapid fire. The 105 mm gun can fire NATO-standard ammunition and can engage targets at a maximum distance of 10 km. The secondary weapon system includes a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the left side of the main gun. The Kaplan MT is powered by a new-generation diesel engine coupled to a fully automatic electronic-controlled transmission. The fuel is supplied from two separate fuel tanks. The tank has a maximum road speed of 70 km/h and a minimum operating range of 450 km. It can negotiate a gradient and side slopes of 60 percent and 30 percent, respectively. It can climb a vertical obstacle of 90 cm and can cross a trench of two meters. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/05/06/turkish-indonesian-firms-team-up-on-medium-weight-tank

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  22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Indian Air Force restructures $17 billion fighter jet program

  By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force is overhauling its plan to induct 114 medium-weight multirole fighters, with a senior service official saying the aircraft will be built in India with significant foreign technology transfer and no foreign procurement. The effort will cost about $17 billion under the Make in India economic policy. The Air Force official said the project is very much alive, but that the “final nitty-gritties have yet to be worked out, and that will take time because it will require manufacturing capability building in the country.” Daljit Singh, a retired Indian Air Force air marshal and current defense analyst, agreed that India must move quickly to create the capability to manufacture high-tech systems at home. “The main aim should be to extract the maximum [transfer of technology] from the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and start manufacturing subcomponents through Indian companies," Singh said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Saturday that the government will create a separate budget for domestic procurement of weapons and equipment to help reduce the imports bill. A Ministry of Defence official said a formal budget allocation of about $17 billion for the multirole fighters project will be granted sometime next year, and will be launched under the Strategic Partners procurement policy. Under that policy, the multirole fighters will be manufactured by domestic private defense companies with one of the original equipment manufacturers approved by the government. The process for selecting contractors is yet to begin, but the MoD official said the businesses will be selected within three years. No private defense company in India has made fighter jets before, but several have expressed interest in participating in the program, including Tata Advanced Systems, Adani Defence, Reliance Defence, Mahindra Defence and Bharat Forge Limited. Reliance Defence has created a joint venture with France's Dassault Aviation, which currently manufactures components for Rafale fighters. Meanwhile, Tata Advanced Systems has teamed with Lockheed Martin, an American company that produces the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Adani Defence has announced a teaming arrangement Sweden's Saab AB, which makes the Gripen jet. Another Indian Air Force official said a request for information was sent in June 2018 to foreign original equipment manufacturers for the multirole fighters. Among those who have responded to the RFI are: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation, Saab AB, Airbus Defence and Space, Russian Aircraft Corporation, and Sukhoi Company. The Indian Air Force plans to induct all 114 multirole fighters within 12 years after the contract is awarded. The official added that the RFI included the requirement for transfer of technology, including the transfer of design, development, manufacturing and repair expertise. It also included the requirement for the unilateral capability to integrate weapons, systems and sensors. The capability to upgrade the aircraft and a provision on exporting the aircraft is also part of the program. India is also seeking transfer of technology for stealth technology, active electronically scanned array radars, avionics, electronic warfare systems and engines. “The advantage of making a fighter aircraft in India is that the customer can select the types of sensors, EW equipment, avionics and weapons, as per operational requirements. Subsequently, the customer is assured of full logistic and upgrade support without any restriction. However, it is important to embed most of these systems in the aircraft design itself to ensure low observability and systems compatibility,” he said. However, Singh, the defense analyst, said any transfer of technology agreement would need to make business sense to the OEM. “Propriety Items could still be under the control of the OEM,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/05/21/indian-air-force-restructures-17-billion-fighter-jet-program/