UK defense secretary: Britain is paving a path for modernization and appropriate funding

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  29 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Indra strengthens the spanish air defence system

  Spain, May 27, 2020 - The Ministry of Defence has awarded Indra the tender for the IFF (identification, friend or foe) systems modernization for Lanza 3D radars used by the Aerial Surveillance Squadrons of the Spanish Air Force. With this upgrade, the systems will comply with the most recent NATO interoperability standards, which will soon be mandatory for military aircraft and ground systems. These are systems capable of interrogating an aircraft over 470 kilometers away to identify it and determine whether or not it is a threat. The Spanish Air Force will have the following interrogation capabilities throughout the national territory: Mode 5 (encrypted), Mode S and ADS-B. All these identification methods will be incorporated into the different air command and control centers that protect Spanish air space and Europe's southwestern flank within NATO. The new equipment supplied by Indra will be set up for security accreditation and will be resistant to cyber attacks. They will offer reinforced protection for the data exchanged with civil air traffic control entities. The contract has a duration of 3 and a half years, and comes with the associated logistic support in the Air Surveillance Squadrons (EVA, in Spanish) as well as in the Logistic Transmissions Center (CLOTRA, in Spanish). This ensures that the systems will be operational throughout their life cycle of at least 15 years. Indra is one of the leading companies worldwide in the development of IFF systems that it has implemented in ground stations as well as in platforms of all types. Indra is a leading company in radar development and one of the main suppliers for NATO. The company has won all the radar tenders awarded by the Alliance in the last five years and has delivered a total of more than 50 Lanza 3D radars to countries on all five continents. Its equipment has been extensively tested in all kinds of scenarios and environments. Indra is also experienced in the supply of complete air defence systems that protect the air space of several countries. About Indra Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defense markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2019 financial year, Indra achieved revenue of €3,204 billion, with more than 49,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries. View source version on Indra: https://www.indracompany.com/en/noticia/indra-strengthens-spanish-air-defence-system

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  30 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Défense : la Suisse achète des avions de chasse F-35 et des Patriot, revers pour le Rafale et Airbus !

  Afin de remplacer sa flotte vieillissante d'avions de chasse, la Suisse a commandé 36 F-35A pour un montant de plus de 5 milliards de francs suisses et 5 systèmes de défense anti-aérienne Patriot, qui

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  26 janvier 2021 | International, Terrestre

  Infantry Squad Vehicle is a cramped ride, but US Army says it meets requirements

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's new Infantry Squad Vehicle is a cramped ride and offers limited protection from certain threats, according to a recent report from the Pentagon's chief weapons tester, but it still meets the service's requirements in tests and evaluations, the product lead told Defense News. The ISV “key requirements are being met and we are increasing soldier operational readiness by providing an operationally relevant vehicle that can transport small tactical units to a dismount point faster and in better physical and mental condition for the fight,” said Steven Herrick, the Army's product lead for ground mobility vehicles within the Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support. The vehicle was designed for easy transport to operational environments with the infantry's current rotary and fixed-wing transport platforms. The key performance parameters required that the vehicle's weight not exceed 5,000 pounds and that it fit inside a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter. Those requirements “force dimensional requirements only allowing the vehicle to be a certain height, width and length,” he said. The requirements led to a vehicle that makes it hard for soldiers with all their gear needed for a 72-hour mission to comfortably fit inside and be able to access rucksacks on the move. The Army assessed three vendors in developmental testing from December 2019 through January 2020. The service chose General Motors Defense to supply the vehicle to the force, with the company beating out an Oshkosh Defense and Flyer Defense team as well as an SAIC and Polaris team. All offerings were capable of carrying a nine-soldier infantry squad with weapons and equipment during movement, the director of operational test and evaluation said in the report. But the Pentagon also noted the ISV “has not demonstrated the capability to carry the required mission equipment, supplies and water for a unit to sustain itself to cover a range of 300 miles within a 72-hour period.” The Army, however, has assessed the ISV requirement and solution set is in alignment, Herrick said. The DOT&E report, he said, “indicates a desire to include more equipment than a standard nine-soldier squad would carry on a 72-hour mission.” This lack of space, the report stated, “may create a logistics and operational burden” and might limit the type of missions and duration for ISVs. The soldiers that participated in the touch point evaluating the vehicles were asked to bring their Advanced Combat Helmet and Improved Outer Tactical Vest with plates; individual weapon; night vision devices; and ruck with three days' worth of supplies, Herrick said. “All vendors' ISVs are cramped and soldiers cannot reach, stow, and secure equipment as needed, degrading and slowing mission operations,” the report explained. During tests “soldiers on all ISVs could not readily access items in their rucksacks without stopping the movement, dismounting, and removing their rucksacks from the vehicle.” The soldier touch point took into account soldier comfort, visibility and ability to execute the mission, Herrick said. This was all factored into the Army's decision to choose GM Defense's vehicle. “Additionally, no current or planned combat or tactical vehicle allows access to rucksacks while moving to support operator safety,” Herrick noted. “Crew spaces on the ISV are designed to allow mission performance of specific duty tasks.” Units also lacked reliable communication capability, according to the report, using hand-held or manpack radios between 62 and 300 miles. The ISV does not have a mounted radio requirement. “Communication between the squad leader, soldiers, and the platoon leader was intermittent and not reliable,” the report found. Because of the concept of the ISV providing an effective aid to insert soldiers into combat operations, the requirements support just what the soldier carries, so there is no mounted requirement yet, Herrick said. That requirement could be added as a growth capability later. The DOT&E report also noted that the ISV doesn't have an underbody and ballistic survivability requirement, which could mean the unit would be susceptible to certain threats, but the ISV's speed as well as its small, low profile might help deal with those issues. Adding protection to the vehicle would sacrifice the speed the squad needs to rapidly inject itself into operations. Overall, GM Defense's vehicle had the highest reliability among the three vendors, demonstrating 585 mean miles between operational mission failures. The Army's user requirement is 1,200 mean miles for that situation. Herrick noted that reliability and maintainability testing was not scheduled or conducted by Army Test and Evaluation Command or the program office, so the calculations used in the DOT&E report were “not supported by traditional [reliability and maintainability] RAM elements, such as scoring conferences and time for the vendor to implement changes.” The mileage accumulated and referenced in the report was “not meant to evaluate RAM by the Army, but rather to provide the program office and contractor an initial insight on the capability of the system over 500 miles,” Herrick added. The vehicle's RAM testing is scheduled to begin this month, he added.. The service wasn't able to evaluate every aspect of the vehicle before moving into production, but it plans to test the vehicle's ability to be carried by a Chinook during its initial operational test and evaluation this year. Now that the Army has chosen the GM Defense vehicle, it has already initiated developmental testing that will lead to an initial operational test and evaluation in August 2021 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That testing began in November 2020. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/25/infantry-squad-vehicle-is-a-cramped-ride-but-army-says-it-meets-requirements/