2 août 2023 | International, Terrestre, Sécurité
Israel: U.S. approved missile defense sale to Finland
Israel's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the United States has approved the sale of a co-developed missile defense system to Finland.
10 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
U.S. satellites, intercepts of Iranian communications could support claims missile destroyed passenger jet
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Updated: January 10, 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that Canada has intelligence indicating a Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed outside Tehran was shot down by an Iranian-surface-to-air missile.
Trudeau declined to get into details about where that information came from but U.S. missile defence satellites likely played a key role in providing some of that intelligence data.
Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 was destroyed Wednesday shortly after it took off from Tehran. All 176 people on board died, including 63 Canadians. “We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence,” Trudeau said at a news conference Thursday. “The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.”
U.S. officials were already stating the same conclusion earlier in the day.
The U.S. has a constellation of missile warning satellites that are equipped with various sensors that use, among other capabilities, infrared technologies to detect the launch of a rocket. Many of the details about how the system works and transfers information are secret. But the Space Based Infrared System or SBIRS consists of four main satellites, each costing more than $2 billion. The first was launched in 2011 and the latest put in orbit in 2018.
The U.S. military also has the capability to intercept communications between Iranian commanders and anti-aircraft missile batteries which would have provided the Pentagon insight into what might have transpired around the time the Ukrainian passenger jet crashed. Canada also has its own communications intelligence gathering capabilities which are considered top notch.
The Canadian government didn't release any information on what type of surface-to-air missile could have been involved. But photos that are said to have been taken near the crash site have been circulating on social media. IHS Markit, which includes the Jane's military publications, reported that the photographs appeared to show the guidance portion of a Russian-built Tor SA-15 short-range, surface-to-air missile. Russia sold 29 Tor systems to Iran in 2007.
The system is designed for destroying aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. It can hit targets up to 12 kilometres away.
U.S. government officials also told CBS News that American surveillance systems detected that shortly before the Ukrainian airline crash, Iranian anti-aircraft radars were activated. U.S. surveillance satellites then detected two heat signatures, believed to be the launch of two SA-15 missiles, according to CBS. Another heat signature detected shortly after was believed to be the Ukrainian passenger jet exploding.
But why would the Iranians allegedly shoot down an aircraft full of its own citizens?
Human error or bad intelligence could be to blame.
The crash took place just hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles against American bases in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian general in Bagdad.
Iran's anti-aircraft missile crews would have been on high alert for any U.S. military response.
“This may well have been unintentional,” Trudeau said of the alleged missile launch.
U.S. President Donald Trump, like Trudeau, has also suggested the crash could have been the result of a mistake. “It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood,” the president said of the Ukraine Airlines passenger jet. “Someone could have made a mistake on the other side.”
Iran, however, denies that the aircraft was shot down by one of its missiles.
Iranian Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi dismissed such allegations as “psychological warfare” being spread by foreign-based Iranian opposition groups.
Ali Abedzadeh of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization also dismissed such claims. “Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane and such rumors are illogical,” he stated.
He noted that several domestic and foreign flights were flying at the same altitude of 8,000 feet as the Ukrainian passenger jet at the time of the incident.
But shortly before the crash, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced an emergency flight restriction for U.S. airlines flying over areas of Iraq and Iran. The FAA warned of the “potential for miscalculation or misidentification” of civilian planes because of increased military tensions in those areas.
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10 juillet 2019 | International, Autre défense
New small arms course launches to prepare Army Reserve for combat, increase survivability
By: Kyle Rempfer A new Army Reserve small arms trainer course that teaches gunnery and range operations to soldiers has been launched at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Still in its pilot program phase, the course is intended to field weapons subject matter experts at the unit level and increase weapons proficiency among the Reserve force, according to the 88th Readiness Division. The new course lasts 12 days and prepares troops to train their fellow reservists as well as develop year-round training calendars for their home units. The Army Reserve Small Arms Trainer Course focuses on six common weapons: the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, MK19 grenade launcher, M240B machine gun, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M4 carbine/M16 rifle and the Beretta M9. The effort is also part of Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey's larger push to make his component a more combat-ready force through efforts like Task Force Cold Steel — a series of mounted and ground crew-served weapons qualification events. “This is about building the most capable combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the history of the United States,” Luckey said at a Cold Steel training event in February. “This is about building the capacity, the capability, the bench strength of America's Army Reserve to train itself.” At the new course, instructors will teach preliminary marksmanship instruction on each weapon and their optics, as well as teach maintenance for each system. The course will also teach soldiers how to operate weapons ranges and how to procure ammunition through classroom instruction, simulations training and live-fire qualification. “This course is a true train-the-trainers program,” Master Sgt. Howard Griffith, course manager, said in an Army news article. “We take select soldiers from around the entire Army Reserve and provide them with the knowledge and skills to return to their units and educate their fellow soldiers.” An increase in weapons proficiency correlates with an increase in survivability in combat, which ultimately helps win battles, the news article states. The pilot program was designed by instructors from the Army Reserve Competitive Marksmanship Program and will be taught by instructors from Task Force Cold Steel. The Army National Guard and the active-duty force have had similar weapons proficiency courses for many years, and the Reserve component's own version was overdue. If successful, the long-term desire is to keep the new trainer course permanently at Fort McCoy. The installation has state-of-the-art ranges available for year-round training and is conveniently located in the center of the United States, making it easily accessed by vehicle, rail or air, according to the Army. To learn how your unit can take advantage of the Small Arms Trainer Course, contact Task Force Cold Steel at 608-388-4645 or email usarmy.usarc.84-tng-cmd.list.ocs-fy18-s3@mail.mil. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/07/09/new-small-arms-course-launches-to-prepare-army-reserve-for-combat-increase-survivability/
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18 décembre 2018 | International, Terrestre
Army picks two companies to build prototypes for a new cannon-toting vehicle to back up infantry
By: Todd South The Army has selected two companies to provide prototypes of a new armored, tracked vehicle to give infantry units necessary firepower Both Michigan-based General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems will have the next 14 months to build and begin delivering 12 prototypes of the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle. BAE Systems will build an M8 Buford Armored Gun System with new capabilities and components. GD submitted an offering that puts a version of its latest Abrams turret together with a chassis that uses past work on the United Kingdom's AJAX program. The ultimate product will be either a 105- to 120mm cannon and a tracked vehicle that can withstand a classified level of enemy fire. At least two of the vehicles should be able to fit into the back of a C-17 aircraft. The need is aimed at near-peer threats. Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, said that the current and future battlefield will challenge the firepower of the infantry. Right now, Infantry Brigade Combat Teams have artillery to knock out secured enemy positions. “But there's no precision munition to remove bunkers from the battlefield, to shoot into buildings in dense urban terrain,” Coffman said. The MPF vehicle and weapon will be used to “disrupt, break in and breach those secure defensive zones,” Coffman said. The requirement first emerged in the Army's vehicle modernization strategy in late 2015. The target was to give IBCTs a protected, long-range, cyber-resilient, precision, direct-fire capability for early or forcible entry operations. In February, GD and BAE, along with SAIC partnering with Singapore's ST Kinetics and CMI Defense, all submitted proposals. The SAIC team combined CMI's Cockeril 3105 turret with ST Kinetics next-generation armored fighting vehicle chassis. Officials would not discuss the reasons behind the selection. They expect a final decision to be made by fiscal year 2022. Fielding to the first units is expected by fiscal year 2025. The MPF is under the Army's NGCV CFT program, which is overseen by the Army Futures Command. The plans are for roughly 54 vehicles, initially. They will build 26 first, with an option to build 28 more and retrofit eight prototype vehicles. For the existing vehicle fleet, there's another program that's been conducting recent testing to also enhance the combat vehicle firepower and protection. The Army chose to evaluate two Active Protection Systems at a November live-fire rodeo, looking at whether either system could work as an interim protection system for one of its combat vehicles. The APS will also go onto the MPF vehicle in development at this time. The Israeli-made Trophy VPS by Rafael, a slimmer edition of the Trophy System already on the Abrams tank, and the German-made Active Defense System by Rheinmetall got a chance to showcase their products' abilities atop Strykers at the live fire, according to Military Times sister publication Defense News. Rheinmetall partnered with Michigan-based Unified Business Technologies. They've dubbed their system “Strike Shield.” Army representatives saw the Trophy VPS on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at a demonstration in Israel in August, Defense News reported. Earlier this year, the Army awarded a $193 million contract to Leonardo DRS for its Trophy APS on the M1 Abrams tank. The program conducted four “soft kill” demonstrations using virtual threats with the system and controller. The APS is an interim solution as the Army develops its Modular Active Protection System as part of a larger suite of Vehicle Protection Systems. In late 2018, developers with the Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center completed successful testing on the MAPS. The MAPS base kit is an array of sensors and countermeasures used with the Modular Active Protection Systems Controller, giving vehicle crews a single solution to run APS for incoming threats such as enemy drones or anti-tank weapons. Bill Beyer, MAPS Virtual Demonstrator lead, said in release following MAPS testing that the base kit would move into the vehicle program portfolio by mid-2019. Rafael was selected to provide its Trophy APS for the Abrams while IMI, also an Israeli company, has put forth the Iron Fist for the Bradley. Participants didn't fully install their systems on the vehicle. They put up mock rigs for testing in front of Strykers mounted their system on a Stryker. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/12/18/army-picks-two-companies-to-build-prototypes-for-a-whole-new-cannon-toting-vehicle-to-back-up-infantry/