30 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Joe Gould , Aaron Mehta , and Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department is backing the sale of as many as 50 F-35 joint strike fighters to the United Arab Emirates in an arms deal worth an estimated $10.4 billion, according to multiple reports.
The news came as the Trump administration informally briefed Congress on its plan to sell the advanced F-35 fighter to the United Arab Emirates Thursday. It follows weeks of speculation and behind-the-scenes debates about how to structure an F-35 deal with the UAE without cutting into Israel's qualitative military edge.
If the sale is permitted by Congress and the UAE opts to buy the full number of F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants covered by the deal, it would have parity with Israel, which has 50 F-35 “Adir” jets under contract, although the country is considering buying 25 more. (The quantities and values of such deals often change from initial estimates.)
Amid reports the Trump administration is fast-tracking the F-35 sales, key Democratic lawmakers are continuing to urge a deliberate approach, citing concerns for Israel's security and the security of the warplane's sensitive technology.
“This technology would significantly change the military balance in the Gulf and affect Israel's military edge," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a game-changing stealth platform boasting advanced strike capability and unique sensor technology. The export of this aircraft requires very careful consideration and Congress must analyze all the ramifications. Rushing these sales is not in anyone's interest.”
The consultations came days after Israel said last week it will not oppose the U.S. sale of “certain weapon systems,” widely considered to mean the F-35. That followed an agreement between Israel and the United States to upgrade its capabilities to preserve its edge.
Engel said he plans to weigh the U.S. legal obligation to maintain Israel's military superiority in the region, as well the question of whether the sale would drive demands from other Middle Eastern nations to buy the F-35 in exchange for normalized ties with Israel. (The Trump administration recently brokered such a pact between Israel and the UAE.)
“Israel currently has exclusive access in the region to the F-35, which has guaranteed its military edge over the last several years. As Congress reviews this sale, it must be clear that changes to the status quo will not put Israel's military advantage at risk,” Engel said.
“This technology also must be safeguarded from our greatest global adversaries. With Russia and China active in the region, the American people will require unimpeachable assurances that our most advanced military capabilities will be protected.”
For decades, the State Department has informally consulted with the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees before formally notifying Congress of sales, which affords lawmakers a chance to block them. Though lawmakers typically consider such deliberations sensitive and rarely speak publicly about them, Engel broke the news Congress had been informally notified.
Assistant Secretary Bureau of Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper told reporters Wednesday the department plans to honor that process.
Though Reuters has reported there is a goal to have a letter of agreement between the U.S. and the UAE by Dec. 2, Cooper said “there are no dates associated with the work that's being done.” He declined to provide specifics of a potential deal and the State Department declined to comment on Thursday.
F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin referred questions to the State Department.
Israeli opposition would be fatal to the deal in Congress, where Israel enjoys strong support. Two key Democrats introduced legislation earlier this month that would place restrictions on F-35 sales to Middle Eastern nations to address their concerns about both the Israel's security and the security of F-35 technology.
On Thursday, Engel invited colleagues to join him in legislation, “to ensure that the sale of these types of weapons adhere to our most important national security goals.”
https://www.defensenews.com/2020/10/29/uae-could-get-up-to-50-f-35s-in-10b-sale/
25 avril 2023 | International, Terrestre
Two German companies who between them build the Leopard 2, one of the world's most advanced battle tanks, have become embroiled in a legal spat over its intellectual property rights even as they ride a defence boom due to the war in Ukraine.
10 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Pierre Tran PARIS — France has linked its search for independence from U.S. export rules with the Franco-German project for a future fighter jet, in a bid to boost foreign sales of the aircraft, the French armed forces minister said. France's effort to become less dependent on U.S. components and promote exports were written into the same letter of intent signed in June with Germany for the FCAS project, Florence Parly told AJPAE, the aeronautics and space journalists association, on Sept. 6. “The exportability of the (Future Combat Air System) is a key element to ensure the economic viability of the program,” she said. “We have to think as upstream as possible to secure this exportability.” The minister previously told parliamentarians the French government aims to cut its reliance on U.S. components in the wake of an American refusal to authorize the sale of parts for a French Scalp cruise missile requested by Egypt. French attempts to persuade Washington to lift restrictions under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations have failed. Parly declined to give examples, but she said the problems Paris has encountered in the pursuit of foreign arms sales “stemmed in appearance from strategic factors and in reality from commercial competition." “We are not dupes,” she said. France needs to gradually cut its reliance on certain American components, although it is impossible to be completely independent, she admitted, adding that there is a plan to reduce that dependence. “Experience has led us to undertake this action,” she said. Companies should take the responsibility for greater independence, as they faced the consequences of failed export efforts, she said. “They are in the front line,” she said, noting that the government is in dialog with industry and that some companies already understand the situation and are fully committed. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/09/07/we-are-not-dupes-france-takes-step-away-from-us-with-fighter-program
27 novembre 2020 | International, Naval
Il y a une dizaine de jours, les équipes de MBDA ont réalisé le dernier tir de qualification du missile antinavire Sea Venom/ANL sur le site d'essai DGA de l'Ile du Levant. Le missile Sea Venom/ANL qualifié Réalisé le 17 novembre dernier, cet ultime tir de qualification du missile Sea Venom/ANL de MBDA avait pour but de valider les performances du missile en termes "de discrimination de cible en environnement naval dense et complexe". "Les essais précédents avaient permis de tester le domaine de séparation et de tir, le vol rasant à basse altitude, ainsi que les modes d'engagement du missile, tels que l'accrochage après tir (LOAL), l'accrochage avant tir (LOBL), l'opérateur dans la boucle ou encore la sélection du point d'impact", rappelle MBDA. Premiers essais sur hélicoptère Lynx Les premiers essais avaient commencé en 2017 sur un hélicoptère Lynx Mk 8 de la Royal Navy. Des essais d'embarquement et de largage du Sea Venom/ANL. Puis en avril 2018, avait suivi un tir depuis un hélicoptère Airbus Panther "avec vol du missile à très basse altitude et accrochage de la cible en milieu de course ». "La conduite de ce tir anti-navires a permis de mettre en lumière la capacité du missile à naviguer « au raz de l'eau (sea-skiming) et le bon fonctionnement de la liaison de données entre le missile et l'hélicoptère », avait alors précisé le Ministère des Armées. Puis, en fin d'année 2018, s'était déroulé un nouveau tir d'essai qui avait permis "de confirmer la capacité d'accrochage avant tir du Sea Venom-ANL, l'opérateur utilisant les images provenant de l'autodirecteur à infrarouge du missile pour désigner la cible avant le tir". L'essai s'est déroulé au centre d'essai de l'Ile du Levant depuis un hélicoptère d'essai Dauphin de la DGA. Premier tir de qualif. en février dernier Le premier tir de qualification du missile sur l'Ile du Levant au centre d'essais de missiles de la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) a été effectué en février 2020. "Le missile a été tiré depuis un hélicoptère Dauphin de DGA Essais en vol progressant à une altitude proche de la hauteur minimale nécessaire au lancement du missile, ce dernier atteignant sa vitesse de croisière alors qu'il effectuait un vol rasant (sea-skimming). Pendant la dernière phase du vol, l'opérateur a utilisé les images provenant de l'autodirecteur à infrarouge –transmises par la liaison de données- du missile pour ajuster le point d'accrochage sur la cible. Le missile a ensuite suivi le point désigné jusqu'à atteindre la cible avec une précision extrême", indiquait alors MBDA. Le missile antinavire Sea Venom/ANL, qui équipera bientôt les hélicoptères Wildcat AW159 de la Royal Navy et H160M Guépard de la Marine Nationale, est un programme en coopération réalisé dans le cadre du traité de Lancaster House, conclu entre la France et le Royaume-Uni, il y a eu dix ans ce mois-ci. Le Sea Venom/ANL est également le premier programme à bénéficier pleinement des centres d'excellence franco-britanniques spécialisés dans les technologies des missiles, qui ont été mis en place par le traité de Lancaster House. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/missile-mbda-sea-venom-les-tirs-de-qualif-sont-achevs-23912