15 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has reaffirmed his commitment to growing Defence's contribution to UK economic growth, setting out a new package of measures to drive productivity and innovation in the sector.
In July 2018, Philip Dunne MP published a review of the economic value of Defence, highlighting the crucial role the sector plays in supporting over 260,000 jobs and contributing on average £7bn in exports each year.
The Ministry of Defence invested £18.9bn with UK industry in 2017/18, equating to £290 per resident, which supported 115,000 jobs across the country.
Ahead of today's Prosperity Conference, bringing together leading defence industry partners in the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, the Defence Secretary has announced:
£500k investment from the Defence Innovation Fund for a pilot programme with industry to further strengthen the international competitiveness and productivity of the UK defence sector.
A joint programme supported by Invest Northern Ireland and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to pilot a Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) in Northern Ireland, worth an expected £1.2m in Research and Development investment.
A commitment to working with the Welsh Government on the potential for an Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute alongside the Defence Electronics and Components Agency (DECA) in North Wales to cement the region as a centre of excellence for innovation.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
These announcements demonstrate the progress we are making in our commitment to boost Defence's contribution to national prosperity.
Our world-class defence sector operates at the very forefront of innovation, supporting 260,000 jobs and increasing economic growth throughout the UK.
The MOD is playing a central role in the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy and prosperity agenda, ensuring the UK remains a world-leader in defence technology in the years to come.
Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:
The Ministry of Defence plays a crucial role in Wales and supports thousands of jobs across the country. It is Welsh expertise which ensures the Armed Forces are equipped with the latest technology, and DECA Sealand and companies like AerFin are proving Wales' credentials as a global leader in aviation technology.
The UK Government is committed to ensuring this trend continues, and through the Industrial Strategy aims to invest in key industries and infrastructure in Wales to boost productivity and support businesses in creating well-paid jobs.
In recognition of the need to improve the quality of data on the UK defence sector available to decision-makers by stimulating greater academic involvement in the area, the Defence Secretary also announced:
The proposal to create a Joint Economic Data Hub with industry, sitting within the UK Defence Solution Centre and overseen by a new independent advisory panel, to collect and aggregate economic data from across the defence sector.
A commitment to sponsor an international Defence Economics Conference at Kings College London later this year, as the first of a series of events to develop understanding of the significant economic value of Defence.
Earl Howe outlined these proposals in more detail at the Defence Prosperity Conference today, before taking part in a panel event with senior industry and government officials.
The initiatives build on the Philip Dunne report commissioned by the Defence Secretary, entitled ‘Growing the Contribution of Defence to UK Prosperity', which has been widely welcomed by Government and Industry.
Full article: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-sets-out-ambitious-defence-prosperity-programme--2
7 juillet 2023 | International, Autre défense
Nordic defense companies could have a greater share of the world’s quantum computing pie, as Sweden and Finland each aim to advance their capabilities.
26 janvier 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Dans une tribune publiée par Les Echos, des élus locaux, dont, notamment, Xavier Bonnefont, maire d'Angoulême, Yann Galut, maire de Bourges, et François Cuillandre, maire de Brest, appellent à « préserver l'industrie de Défense ». Ils alertent sur le risque que représente le manque de financements : au-delà du rôle de l'Etat, le financement de l'innovation de Défense « repose aussi sur le financement bancaire, qui se réduit du fait de l'accumulation de normes internationales qui conduisent les banques et les fonds d'investissement à exclure certains secteurs, comme celui de la Défense ». Cette exclusion touche les grands groupes, mais surtout les startups, ETI et PME, observent-ils. Ils soulignent qu'« à côté de quelques groupes d'envergure internationale qui font la fierté de notre pays », la base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) française repose essentiellement sur des milliers de PME, ETI et TPE sur l'ensemble du territoire : « Chaque département accueille des entreprises du secteur de la Défense, soit un tissu de plus de 200 000 emplois de haute technicité, non délocalisables, qui contribuent positivement à la balance commerciale. Dans plusieurs régions, la Défense représente plus de 7% des emplois industriels ». Les élus appellent à « veiller impérativement à ne pas exclure des entreprises stratégiques qui bénéficient d'une avance technologique et sont le terreau de notre souveraineté nationale ».
13 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Aaron Mehta , Valerie Insinna , David B. Larter , and Joe Gould WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is seeking to divert $3.8 billion, largely from its fiscal 2020 weapons procurement budget, in order to fund President Donald Trump's border wall, according to a reprogramming request to congress obtained by Defense News. Among the victims of the cuts: a mass of aircraft purchases including F-35 joint strike fighters, C-130J cargo aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and P-8 maritime surveillance planes, as well as ground vehicles and naval priorities. Overall, the plan would shift $2.202 billion in FY20 defense appropriations and $1.629 billion in FY20 Overseas Contingency Operations funding towards the wall, a key priority from president Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential elections. Air Force and Navy aviation spending takes the brunt of the cuts proposed by the Pentagon, with aircraft procurement going down by $558 million for Navy and Marine Corps and $861 million for the Air Force. Importantly, all of the funding decreases target items that were specifically added by Congress during the budgeting process, which could incur rancor from lawmakers. For the Navy, the Pentagon would cut two of the six F-35B short takeoff and landing aircraft added to the FY20 budget by Congress and two MV-22 Ospreys, stating that “current funding is more than sufficient to keep the production line open.” It also seeks to eliminate funding for one of the nine P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft funded in FY20, stating that the additional aircraft is “[in] excess to the 117 aircraft required.” In the Air Force's budget, the Pentagon slashed funding for the four of the eight C-130Js added by Congress for the reserve and Air National Guard. The department stated that funding for those planes can be rescheduled to fiscal year 2021, when the period of performance for the associated contract starts. The request would eliminate eight MQ-9 Reaper drones, culling most of the funding added by Congress for an increase of 12 MQ-9s. “The program is currently undergoing a strategic review,” the department stated in written justification, referring to an ongoing debate within the Air Force about how many Reapers to buy and retain over the next decade. “Procurement, if necessary, can be rescheduled to a later fiscal year.” Combatant commanders have consistently said they need more surveillance assets around the globe. It also strips $156 million for advanced procurement for the F-35A and removes $180 million for light attack aircraft for the Air Force, which the service has decided against procuring but has been widely supported by lawmakers as a low-cost alternative for the counter-terrorism fight. The Army would stand to lose $100 million in funding for national guard Humvee modernization and $194.5 million in Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck funding. However, with the Humvee set to be replaced by JLTV, the Army is unlikely to be heavily impacted by these funds being shifted around. The reprogramming request also cuts $650 million in advanced procurement funding for an America-class Amphibious Assault Ship, LHA-9, which is being built in Mississippi at Ingalls Shipbuilding. On its website, Huntington Ingalls Industries says the advanced funding provided by Congress, “enables a hot production line and a supplier base of 457 companies in 39 states to build this powerful warship.” The reprogramming also cuts funding one expeditionary fast transport ship, which is built in Alabama at Austal USA, which has been an area of interest for the powerful Republican Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby. The ship was deemed “excess to current programmatic need,” the reprogramming document says. “The procurement exceeds the program-of-record requirement,” the document reads. “This is a congressional special interest item.” In addition, the national guard and reserves would lose about $1.3 billion in what the reprograming request describes as unnecessary funding, given historic underexecution of prior year funds. A spokesman for the Pentagon declined to comment. Last year, the defense department had budgets, largely for military construction projects, diverted into funding a stretch of the wall project. Those projects cut included the rebuilding of several DoD schools both in the U.S. and abroad, special operations training centers in Europe and Hurricane Maria relief for Puerto Rico National Guard facilities. Overall, more than 100 projects had funding delayed. Asked on Tuesday about a potential reprograming of defense funds to pay for the wall, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said “We did receive the request from DHS, that's all I'll say right now. We're working our way through the process, we're doing all those things we need to do. So when we're ready to make an announcement, we'll make an announcement.” Word that the Pentagon may once again be raided to pay for the wall came in mid-January, and at the time seemed to catch Republican supporters in Congress off-guard. “I wish they wouldn't take [wall funding] out of defense. I want to build the wall, I supported direct appropriations for it and fought for it — but we have to evaluate what this does to the military, what it affects, where and how,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Richard Shelby, R-Ala, at the time. But he added that nobody should be surprised the administration repeated the tactic, after it worked last year. https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2020/02/13/pentagon-seeks-to-cut-f-35s-other-equipment-to-pay-for-trumps-border-wall