9 avril 2020 | International, Naval, Terrestre

The Marines want to get rid of their tanks. Here’s why.

Shawn Snow

A series of wargames conducted between 2018 and 2019 helped inform the Corps' decision to divest of tanks and outmoded units and equipment that will have trouble surviving in fight with peer adversaries like China, according to a Marine Corps force redesign report.

From those wargames the Corps learned that the unit that shoots first has a “decisive advantage” on the battlefield and forces that can operate inside the range of enemy long-range precision fires “are more operationally relevant than forces which must rapidly maneuver to positions outside the ”weapons engagement zone, the report reads.

The Corps' decision to divest of tanks, cut ground cannon artillery and light attack air platforms has stoked some criticism. Tanks historically have had success in high-end and urban warfare for decades boasting devastating firepower highly lethal to ground forces.

But tanks and armored vehicles have had trouble surviving against the threat of precision strike and the plethora of drone and reconnaissance systems flooding conflict zones across the Middle East.

For recent evidence, a Turkish launched operation targeting Syrian regime army troops in late February decimated more than a hundred tanks and armored vehicles, dozens of artillery pieces and hundreds of Syrian forces, according to the Turkish National Ministry of Defense.

Turkey posted videos highlighting a mixed role of drones, Paladin artillery systems and aircraft pounding Syrian armor from the skies over the course of several days. The Syrian army appeared helpless to defend from the onslaught of long range systems. Even tanks camouflaged by buildings and bushes were no match for sensors and thermal imaging watching from the skies.

The problem is exacerbated by the number of sophisticated anti-tank systems flooding counterinsurgency conflicts across the globe and access to long range drones once only in control by state actors are now being operated by militia groups.

In Libya, the Libyan National Army has the upper hand in its drone war with the UN-backed Tripoli government. It's equipped with an alleged UAE-supplied Chinese drone known as the Wing Long II that boasts a 2,000 km range through a satellite link and is reportedly armed with Chinese manufactured Blue Arrow 7 precision strike air-to-surface missiles.

“Mobility inside the WEZ [ weapons engagement zone] is a competitive advantage and an operational imperative,” the Marine Corps report reads.

The Corps instead is looking for mobile systems and units that can survive within the reach of precision fires to “attrit adversary forces," create dilemmas for the enemy and “consume adversary ISR resources,” according to the report.

“The hider-versus finder competition is real. Losing this competition has enormous and potentially catastrophic consequences,” the report reads.

Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance capabilities will be key on the modern battlefield.

“We have sufficient evidence to conclude that this capability [tanks], despite its long and honorable history in the wars of the past, is operationally unsuitable for our highest-priority challenges in the future,” the report said about the divestment of Marine tanks.

But tanks aren't disappearing from the fight. The Corps says heavy ground armor will still be provided by the Army.

The Corps says it plans to develop heavily into unmanned ground and air systems and rocket artillery and long range fires. According to the report, the Corps is increasing its rocket artillery batteries by 14 to 21 over a 10-year period.

Wargaming that inferred the Corps' force redesign efforts were carried out by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, among others.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/flashpoints/2020/03/26/the-marines-want-to-get-rid-of-their-tanks-heres-why

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13 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial

SCAF : la phase du démonstrateur est lancée
Les gouvernements français et allemands ont notifié à Dassault Aviation, Airbus, MTU Aero Engines, Safran, MBDA et Thales le contrat cadre initial de démonstrateur du Système de combat aérien du futur (SCAF) Les gouvernements français et allemands ont notifié ce jeudi 13 février le contrat cadre initial de démonstrateur du Système de combat aérien du futur ou SCAF aux industriels français et allemands associés au programme. En l'occurrence, Dassault Aviation, Airbus et leurs partenaires MTU Aero Engines, Safran, MBDA et Thales. Cette notification était attendue à l'occasion du dernier salon du Bourget en juin 2019, puis avait été repoussée pour l'automne. En parallèle aux discussions serrées entre partenaires industriels sur la répartition du rôle de chacun, les gouvernements français et allemand devaient trouver un accord concernant l'exportation des systèmes, dont le SCAF. Un véritable enjeu pour les industriels impliqués dans ces programmes car leur permettant de trouver des débouchés commerciaux et de pérenniser leurs activités. Et le 16 octobre 2019, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées, pouvait annoncer : « Décision fondamentale qui acte une confiance mutuelle : un accord a été conclu aujourd'hui entre France et Allemagne. Il permet l'exportation d'équipements issus de nos coopérations. Etape essentielle pour construire sereinement une Europe de la défense ambitieuse ». Florence Parly indiquait également que le contrat visant à lancer de démonstration pour le NGF ou "New Generation Fighter" devait être signé "dès janvier 2020" et que "le premier vol devant ensuite être réalisé en 2026". « Cet avion de combat du futur et les drones qui l'accompagneront entreront dans nos forces à l'horizon 2035/2040 », avait précisé Florence Parly. Le contrat cadre notifié aujourd'hui porte sur une première phase (Phase 1A) de 18 mois et lance donc les travaux qui mèneront au développement d'un démonstrateur du NGF avec pour rappel Dassault Aviation associé à Airbus pour le NGF, Airbus et MBDA sur les "remote carriers" à la fois drones et missiles et dont le rôle sera de saturer les défenses ennemies, mener des missions de brouillage, désigner des cibles ou même larguer des missiles; Airbus et Thales sur le "combat cloud" (mise en réseau informationnelle et opérationnelle de tous les éléments du SCAF), et Safran et MTU Aero Engines sur la motorisation du SCAF. "Les entreprises concernées développeront conjointement un environnement de simulation visant à garantir la cohérence des différents démonstrateurs". https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/scaf-la-phase-du-dmonstrateur-est-lance-22559
9 juillet 2022 | International, Aérospatial

Thales : un atelier d’excellence pour le Rafale
1 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Lockheed, Pentagon agree on $70.6M settlement over F-35 parts problems
Ed Adamczyk Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin will invest nearly $71 million to correct an ongoing problem with spare parts for the F-35 fighter plane, an agreement the Pentagon states. The agreement, announced on Tuesday, will be formalized within two weeks, a Defense Contract Management Agency spokesman said. The deal refers to over 15,000 F-35 spare parts delivered to the U.S. military without "electric equipment logs," which permit the parts to the identified and absorbed into logistics systems. Incorrect or unavailable information delays the uploading of data, and the dispute centered on at least $183 million in Defense Department expenses owing to the problem. The parts in question were rejected for installation only because of the lack of tracking data -- no flaws in safety or manufacturing were inferred, officials said. The action was initiated after the Pentagon's inspector general discovered the problem in a 2019 audit, and recommended that the Defense Department should seek $303 million in refunds. Instead of a direct payment from Lockheed, the defense contractor will "compensate the government with Lockheed Martin investments" to ensure that future spare parts are delivered with accurate EELs, company spokesman Brett Ashworth said. RELATED Lockheed, Boeing and Saab bid on Canada's fighter jet contract The House Oversight and Reform Committee was critical of Lockheed during a July hearing, but on Wednesday, committee members Rep. Carolyn Mahoney, D-N.Y., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., applauded the resolution of the dispute. "We applaud the Department of Defense for its efforts to hold Lockheed Martin accountable for failing to meet its F-35contract requirements," Mahoney and Lynch said in a joint statement. "While we believe Lockheed should have reimbursed American taxpayers for a greater share of the funds DOD spent to address the inefficiencies uncovered by our committee's investigation, this is a step in the right direction. We look forward to seeing the final signed agreement that codifies Lockheed Martin's commitment to improving the F-35 program," they said in the joint statement. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/09/30/Lockheed-Pentagon-agree-on-706M-settlement-over-F-35-parts-problems/5021601494979/

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The Marines want to get rid of their tanks. Here’s why.

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Thales : un atelier d’excellence pour le Rafale