UK reports massive uptick in defense exports

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  22 octobre 2019 | International, Terrestre

  Industry Brings Robotic Vehicles To AUSA, Army Awarding Deals For Initial Prototypes Next Spring

  By Matthew Beinart | The Army will release a prototype proposal request for the Robotic Combat Vehicle light and medium of variants before November and award contracts for test vehicles next spring, the lead official for the program told reporters on Monday. The push towards the next phase of the Army's effort to grow a robotic vehicle fleet arrives as vendors such as BAE Systems, Germany's Rheinmetall, as well as a team of Textron Systems [TXT], Howe & Howe and FLIR [FLR] all unveiled potential offerings at this week's Association of the United States Army conference in Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Army's Next-Generation Combat Vehicle cross-functional team, detailed plans this week for the next phase of the RCV program, which he said would “revolutionize the way [the Army] fights in the future.” The Army will begin to solicit proposals for RCV-Light and RCV-Medium prototypes before the end of the month, with plans to hold a demonstration next March to put the platforms through a platoon-level operations experiment. Following the demonstration, the Army will then select one vendor to build four RCV-Ls and one vendor to build four RCV-Ms, according to Coffman. Those vehicles will then participate in a 2021 experiment going through company-level operations, before ultimately informing a 2023 decision on how the Army wants to construct its robotic vehicle fleet including the addition of an RCV-Heavy. Coffman has said previously that RCV is intended to eventually replace soldiers in dangerous tactical situations on the future battlefield with vehicles that are payload agnostic, semi-autonomous and integrated with a range of sensors and weapon systems (Defense Daily, Aug. 22). BAE Systems unveiled its Robotic Technology Demonstrator at AUSA, which has already participated in a recent demonstration with the Army on an outdoor test track in Sterling Heights, Michigan. “RTD is our way to go after that leap-ahead technology. We've designed it as rolling lab. Our intent is to keep developing this thing. This is a test platform that allows us to keep moving ahead,” Jim Miller, BAE Systems' senior director of business development, told reporters. “This is probably not going to be an RCV-L. It's probably the medium and it may lead us to a heavy option if that's where the Army continues to go.” Miller noted RTD uses a hybrid-electric drive, is currently integrated with a 30mm gun, and contains a range of sensor suites, including a 360-degree situational awareness system and the company's RAVEN soft-kill active protection system. The vehicle also includes a tethered UAS and a legged ground robot developed by Ghost Robotics. Rheinmetall brought its Wiesel Wingman configured toward the RCV-L path, which combines technology from its digitized Weasel platform, in use with the German Army, and the Mission Master unmanned ground vehicle. “That platform already exists in a digitized version. So throw out the hydraulics, the electronic kits inside, the drive-by-wire steering and electric transmission, and you combine it with the sensor and autonomy kit of the Mission Master and then you basically get a new vehicle that we call the Weasel Wingman,” Florian Reisch, director of business development and sales for Rheinmetall's American business, told Defense Daily. Basically you combine the Weasel platform that is able to hold the autonomy kit and then you basically get what the Army is looking for with robotic combat vehicles.” Reisch added that Rheinmetall could be interested in exploring the heavier RCV variants, listing potential options with the company's Lynx or Marder infantry fighting vehicles. “Of course we would be interested in the medium as well because we have different platforms available. We did have different research and development programs where we were modifying these platforms to basically enable them to carry a medium-caliber remote controlled turret. So that would be possible and we are looking at that.” The team of Textron, Howe & Howe and FLIR showcased the Ripsaw 5 platform at AUSA. The companies said it could be scaled down for RCV-L or up to a heavier version for RCV-M. “It's capable for both the RCV light and the RCV medium mission sets that the Army has put forward. What this does is it optimizes the superior value, the logistics, the mission outcome. We've got extraordinary modularity of performance. It's scalable with its high degree of reuse between the light and medium variants, and that just brings unmatched value to the team,” Lisa Atherton, Textron's CEO, told reporters during a teleconference last week. Geoff Howe, senior vice president of Howe & Howe, said the company is continuing to pursue additional technology additions for Ripsaw to grow capability for the robotic vehicle while the Army assesses its needs for a future unmanned fleet. “We are running a parallel program. Our program, we don't stop for anything. We're pushing forward with this technology we've advanced, and our plan is to meet the Army down the road with that parallel program. We're not waiting for anybody. We're pushing this development as far as we can,” Howe said. QinetiQ and Pratt & Miller also announced at AUSA a new partnership to offer a variant of the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) for RCV. https://www.defensedaily.com/industry-brings-robotic-vehicles-ausa-army-awarding-deals-initial-prototypes-next-spring/army/

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  7 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  Le porte-avions «Charles-de-Gaulle» reprend la mer comme neuf

  Nicolas Berrod Après deux années de rénovation, le « Charles-de-Gaulle », à nouveau opérationnel, s'apprête à reprendre la mer. Nous avons pu passer 48 heures à bord, au côté de l'équipage, actuellement en pleine phase d'entraînement. « Wave off ! » Le cri de l'officier résonne sur le pont d'envol pour signifier à tout le monde de... « dégager ». Bienvenue à bord du « Charles-de-Gaulle », le seul porte-avions de la marine française, qui vient de subir un lifting intégral d'une durée de deux ans, pour un coût total de 1,3Mds €. Avant de repartir en mission dans quelques mois, ce mastodonte de 42 000 t pour 261 m de long poursuit ses entraînements au large de Toulon, son port d'attache. « On était orphelins, le Charles-de-Gaulle nous a manqué », sourit Christophe, capitaine de frégate et chef des pilotes. Avec ses collègues, ils ont eu beau s'être entraînés sur piste classique et sur un porte-avions américain le temps de la rénovation, rien ne vaut à leurs yeux le prestige du bateau français, en service depuis 2001. Le « Charles-de-Gaulle » aura un successeur, a assuré Emmanuel Macron, lorsqu'il sera mis hors service vers 2040. Coût estimé : minimum 3 Mds€. Et durée de la construction : 15 ans... au moins ! Chiens jaunes Alors, en attendant, la France compte sur son unique porte-avions, véritable village flottant de 2000 habitants - un équipage de 17 à 55 ans, dont 140 officiers de pont, 300 techniciens, 33 cuisiniers, 2 boulangers, 17 % de femmes au total. Après 18 mois passés à la cale, il faut le remettre en service. D'où, en cette fin d'automne, un entraînement intensif en Méditerranée, à quelques dizaines de kilomètres des côtes françaises. Entre quatre et vingt Rafales (NDLR : avions de combat) sont catapultés trois fois par jour, décollant sur une piste d'à peine quelques dizaines de mètres. Au signal des « chiens jaunes », ces officiers de pont reconnaissables à leur gilet coloré, les avions atteignent en quelques secondes les 200 km/h. Ce lundi-là, une poignée de jeunes pilotes - entre 22 et 26 ans - effectuent leur baptême de vol sur le « Charles-de-Gaulle ». Pour pouvoir manœuvrer sur un porte-avions, il leur faut avoir un minimum de 100 heures de vol sur Rafale. « On porte une attention toute particulière à ces jeunes », glisse, l'œil rivé à la piste, Jean-Philippe, chef des « chiens jaunes ». À l'issue de leur vol - ce jour-là dans un ciel dégagé -, ces pilotes doivent accrocher l'un des trois brins d'arrêt situés sur la piste pour apponter. Ces épais c'bles qui stoppent le Rafale d'un coup sont indispensables sur une piste aussi courte. « C'est comme si on pilait sur autoroute », glisse un officier, qui scrute à l'horizon les premiers avions sur le retour. Paradoxalement, au moment de toucher le pont à 250 km/h, les pilotes doivent remettre les gaz à fond. Car, s'ils ratent les brins, il faut pouvoir redécoller à temps ! « On appelle ça un bolter, c'est un peu un bizutage pour les nouveaux », sourit l'expérimenté capitaine Christophe, 2000 heures de vol sur Rafale derrière lui. Article complet: http://www.leparisien.fr/politique/le-porte-avions-charles-de-gaulle-reprend-la-mer-comme-neuf-06-01-2019-7981617.php

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  21 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR, Autre défense

  German, French defense ministers push for Eurodrone progress

  Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The defense ministers of Germany and France have pushed for speedy progress in the Eurodrone program, urging member nations to initiate the aircraft's development phase before the end of the year. The high-level endorsement means a shot in the arm for a weapons program that has slipped under the radar since Airbus, Dassault and Leonardo unveiled a mock-up drone at the April 2018 Berlin Air Show. While French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she hopes to see the next phase begin by year's end, her German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, expressed hope any outstanding issues, which mostly involve cost, could be resolved “in the next few weeks.” The two leaders spoke at Manching, Germany, Airbus' hub for the Eurodrone project and a company site for another key European program, the Future Combat Air System. The unmanned aircraft's official name is “European MALE RPAS,” using acronyms for medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft system. The pan-European Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation manages it on behalf of Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The drone program sets out to field the first new unmanned aircraft certified to fully integrate into civilian airspace, though European authorities have not yet finalized the requisite regulatory framework. Company officials hope that key design features of the drone, such as a propulsion system of two engines — one as a fallback, if necessary — will be conducive to passing future safety checks. That means the technology could cut into the business strategy of American competitor General Atomics. The company aims to be the first to sell its drones, complete with automatic collision-avoidance kit, to Europeans. Officials at the German Defence Ministry did not immediately return a request for comment on how soon the government plans to present a financing and contract strategy to lawmakers — a prerequisite for letting the effort proceed. It remains to be seen if the weapons-capable Eurodrone, whose primary mission is intelligence gathering, will get wrapped up in Germany's debate on the ethical aspects of arming aerial and ground robots. Another program, the Israeli-made Heron TP drone, is still awaiting decision by Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, on whether the government can proceed with installing weapons on the aircraft. The German military is using the drones to watch over deployed forces under a leasing agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries. They are operationally managed by Airbus. It's possible that the Heron TP armament decision will be presented to the Bundestag first, thus capping what a Defence Ministry official told Defense News will likely be a lengthy public meditation on drones and war. But that sequence of approvals is not automatic, Airbus hopes. Either way, time is of the essence for the Defence Ministry, with election years looming in Germany and France starting in 2021. “It would be surprising if we had the Eurodrone first,” said Ulrike Franke, a London-based analyst with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Because it would amount to a signal that the Heron TP decision had been needlessly stalled.” Questions surrounding the program include whether it can provide enough utility beyond offerings already on the market, including American-made hardware, Franke said. Its success also depends on countries purchasing the future drone in sufficient quantities to get the envisioned benefits of greater European interoperability, she added. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/18/german-french-defense-ministers-push-for-eurodrone-progress/