THALES ET NEXTER ÉQUIPERONT LES BÂTIMENTS DE LA MARINE NATIONALE D’UNE NOUVELLE GÉNÉRATION D’ARTILLERIE

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

  Defense authorization bill delayed until after election

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON — A bipartisan compromise and vote on the 2021 defense policy bill isn't likely before the Nov. 3 elections, but it should come “quickly” thereafter, the House Armed Services Committee's top Republican said Wednesday. The vote would delay a decision from Congress about whether the Defense Department to rename military bases honoring Confederate leaders. It's defining issue for the $740.5 billion defense authorization bill, which includes must-pass provisions like military pay hikes, defense equipment purchase plans and strategic posturing of forces in coming years. “There are more negotiations that have to occur, and part of that negotiation is talking with the White House about the shape of that provision,” Rep. Mac Thornberry, of Texas, said at the Defense News Conference. “Is there a way to get everybody to ‘good?' Of course there is. Is it likely to happen before the election? No, it's not.” Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to back language requiring the changes, though the House requires the names changed within one year and the Senate bill requires them within three years. President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act over the Confederate name changes among other issues. Trump has said Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., personally assured him that Congress will not force the Pentagon to change the names. That's fueled speculation that bipartisan negotiations to reconcile the bills could drag on. The summer's sustained protests over racial injustice have buoyed the provision, while Trump has argued that changing the names would dishonor troops who have served at the sites and that Confederate symbols aren't racist. “We can't cancel our whole history,” he told Fox News last month. Thornberry, who had offered a softer alternative as a House amendment, said Wednesday that both sides have political incentives not to compromise on the base renaming provision, among other issues. “I don't know how that will come out in conference, but I do think we are in a time when neither party is rewarded for compromise, and coming together and getting things done,” he said. “On the other hand, I think we should be able to get a conference report pretty quickly after the election.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/09/09/no-defense-authorization-bill-before-election-says-thornberry/

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  29 octobre 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Boeing has another overrun on the KC-46, but its CEO says there’s reason for hope

  Valerie Insinna   WASHINGTON — Boeing reported another $67 million charge on the KC-46 tanker program in third-quarter earnings disclosed Oct. 28, capping off a difficult quarter defined by continued hardships on its commercial side. The increase in KC-46 costs was “due to continued COVID-19 disruptions and productivity inefficiencies,” Boeing's chief financial officer, Greg Smith, told investors during an earnings call. However, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun expressed confidence that the program would turn the corner in 2021 and become profitable for the company. “The tanker has been a drag on us for three or four years in every way you can think of with respect to investors,” he said. “But we are continuing to clear the hurdle with our customers with respect to its performance in their fleet and their need for that tanker. "That whole relationship, I believe, will begin to transition next year, and opposed to being a drag on our franchise — which it's been — I believe it will become a strength in our franchise.” Previous charges on the KC-46 program amount to about $4.7 billion — almost equal to the $4.9 billion sum of the company's firm fixed-price contract with the U.S. Air Force, which it signed in 2011. In July, a $151 million charge was attributed to the decline in commercial plane production driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. That slowdown has made it more expensive to produce commercial derivative planes like the KC-46, which is based on the Boeing 767 and made on the same production line in Everett, Washington. Overall, defense revenues slightly decreased to $6.8 billion “primarily due to derivative aircraft award timing,” the company said in a news release. But that impact paled in comparison to Boeing's commercial business, where revenues dropped from $8.2 billion in 2019 to $3.6 billion in 2020. As a result of those continued difficulties, the company plans to lay off an additional 7,000 workers by the end of 2021, Calhoun announced. At that point, Boeing's workforce will have been cut by almost 20 percent, down from 161,000 earlier this year to about 130,000 employees. Smith characterized 2020 has a “year of transition” for defense programs like the MQ-25, T-7 trainer and the Air Force One replacement, which are in development. Once those programs move into production, Boeing expects to see “modest growth,” he said. But Calhoun added that global defense spending is unlikely to greatly increase in the coming years, meaning that growth in Boeing's defense portfolio will be limited. “In fact, we believe there will be pressure on defense spending as a result of all the COVID-related spending that of course governments around the world have been experiencing,” he said. “I don't think we're looking at that world through rose-colored glasses. I expect real pressure on that market.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/10/28/boeing-has-another-overrun-on-the-kc-46-but-its-ceo-says-theres-some-reason-for-hope/

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  26 mai 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  British ‘Team Tempest’ is itching to enter new fighter design phase this summer

  An announcement by the Ministry of Defence on a contract starting the next phase of work on the British-led Tempest future combat air program is expected in the next few weeks.