26 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre
Tim Fish, London
Plans to upgrade the Norwegian Army's Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks (MBTs) have been abandoned following the publication of the government's revised budget in May, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.
“Through the examination of the Land Power Proposition in the autumn of 2017, it was decided to suspend the planned and approved upgrade project for existing tanks (Project 5050) based on the recommendations in the National Power Assessment,” the MoD told Jane's.
The MBTs “would not provide sufficiently capable tanks to meet developments in the threat of modern weapons and ammunition types”, the ministry explained.
A reduced MBT capability will be retained until 2025, when a new tank or an interim solution will be introduced. Only 30 of the 52 tanks in the Norwegian Army inventory are operational.
Upgrade proposals have included adopting Germany's Leopard 2A7V or a development of the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, but the latter was rejected.
The 2A7 option remains under consideration for 2025 and measures to maintain the Leopard 2A4s until then “are being investigated”, the MoD added, while admitting that the Norwegian tank fleet's operational capabilities will be gradually reduced and its numbers may be slightly reduced.
http://www.janes.com/article/81336/update-norway-cancels-tank-upgrade
5 juillet 2023 | International, Autre défense
Up to half of the 100 billion euro ($109 billion) special fund set up to modernize the German military will likely go to U.S. defence companies, a leading tank gear box maker said, accusing Berlin of lacking a strategy for its defence industry.
10 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Switzerland should package the proposed buy of 40 or so combat aircraft as a unique track under the $8 billion Air 2030 program, according to a new study commissioned by the defense ministry. This, the study argues, will increase the chance the purchase will be approved in an eventual national referendum. The conclusion is part of a report by former Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier, who was tasked earlier this year by the new defense minister, Viola Amherd, to critique the envisioned air-defense reboot. The recommendation speaks to the government's strategy of seeing the aircraft acquisition through a circuitous decision-making process in a country with a strong plebiscitary tradition. Buying the aircraft makes up the lion's share of the Air 2030 program, at roughly $6 billion. The purchase of ground-based, air-defense weaponry accounts for the rest. The current Cabinet plan is to pursue the aircraft and ground-based, anti-missile weaponry as a package deal, allowing the populace to vote on both segments en bloc in the likely event that a referendum is called. But advocates for new aircraft, which includes Nicollier, contend that the need for new planes is so great that the decision should be teed up without any distractions whatsoever. “In my opinion, it is wise to choose this track for the combat aircraft, after the past experiences of our direct democracy,” Nicollier wrote in his report. “It is ... useless to mix another weapon system to this next battle, which concerns only the plane and which promises, as usual, to be much more emotional than professional.” Nicollier's comment refers to a previous Swiss decision about replacing parts of its aging combat aircraft inventory, composed of F-5 Tiger and F-18 planes, five years ago this month. At the time, the population voted down the government's pick of the Saab Gripen E following a grueling campaign by advocates and opponents that quickly left the realm of national security arguments. Some believe that putting a specific aircraft model out for a referendum contributed to the program's defeat, a mistake that the defense ministry wants to avoid at all costs this time around. According to a statement on the ministry's website, Nicollier's analysis, submitted in French, recommends that the population should get the chance to vote on the aircraft acquisition only in general terms, leaving the choice of aircraft model up to the government later on. The competitors for the aircraft procurement are Airbus with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin with the F-35A, Boeing with the F-18 Super Hornet and Dassault with the Rafale. Saab and its Gripen E also are taking another go at it. Nicollier's report will probably be seen as good news for the industry contenders. For one, it supports the idea that Switzerland must quickly act to modernize its abilities to control the national airspace at a time when traditional geopolitical fronts in Europe are becoming murky. In addition, it proposes a path for the aircraft acquisition that appears mindful of lessons learned from the Gripen debacle of 2014. Cabinet officials are expected to debate the Nicollier report in the weeks ahead and determine how its recommendations will shape the Air 2030 program, a Swiss defense ministry official told Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/05/09/swiss-air2030-program-clears-hurdle-of-external-review-with-tweaks
26 juin 2023 | International, C4ISR
Leonel Garciga currently serves as the director for information management within the Army’s G-2 intelligence directorate.