17 avril 2023 | International, Aérospatial

US sets $259 million F-16 equipment sale to Turkey

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration notified Congress on Monday of the planned sale to Turkey of avionics software upgrades for its current fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft, a deal valued at up to $259 million.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/biden-administration-advance-small-f-16-equipment-sale-turkey-sources-2023-04-17/

Sur le même sujet

  • Build a fleet, not a constituency

    12 mai 2020 | International, Naval

    Build a fleet, not a constituency

    By: Bryan Clark and Timothy A. Walton The U.S. Navy's long-awaited award of a contract to design and build a new class of frigates has brought with it calls to dramatically expand the planned class of 20 ships to a fleet of 70 or more hulls. Like recent congressional efforts to build more of today's amphibious ships or destroyers, these recommendations risk putting the Navy on an unsustainable path and could fail to influence Chinese or Russian adversaries the U.S. fleet is intended to help deter. The Navy clearly needs guided-missile frigates. By bringing comparable capability with less capacity, frigates will provide a less expensive alternative to Arleigh Burke destroyers that are the mainstay of today's U.S. surface fleet. Freed of the requirement to conduct almost every surface combatant operation, destroyers would have more time to catch up on maintenance and training or be available to conduct missions demanding their greater missile capacity like Tomahawk missile strikes or ballistic missile defense. However, the frigate's size — less than a destroyer, more than a littoral combat ship or corvette — also limits its ability to support U.S. Navy wartime operations. Frigates like the Franco-Italian FREMM can conduct the full range of European navy operations such as local air defense, maritime security and anti-submarine warfare, or ASW. But the American FREMM variant will not have enough missile capacity for large or sustained attacks like those conducted by the U.S. Navy during the last several years in the Middle East, or like those that would be likely in a conflict with China. And although they could defend a nearby ship from air attack, the planned U.S. frigates could not carry enough longer-range surface-to-air interceptors to protect U.S. carrier and amphibious groups, or bases and population centers ashore. Proponents argue frigates' capacity limitations could be mitigated by buying more of them, better enabling distributed maritime operations and growing naval presence in underserved areas like the Caribbean and Arctic. In a post-COVID-19 employment environment, accelerating frigate construction could also create jobs by starting production at additional shipyards. Although they cost about $1 billion each to buy, the money to buy more frigates — at least initially — could be carried in the wave of post-pandemic economic recovery spending. But after a few years, that spigot will likely run dry, leaving the Navy to decide whether to continue spending about half the cost of a destroyer for a ship that has only a third as many missiles and cannot conduct several surface warfare missions. The more significant fiscal challenge with buying more frigates is owning them. Based on equivalent ships, each frigate is likely to cost about $60 million annually to operate, crew and maintain. That is only about 25 percent less than a destroyer. For the U.S. Navy, which is already suffering manning shortages and deferring maintenance, fielding a fleet of 70 frigates in addition to more than 90 cruisers and destroyers will likely be unsustainable. Instead of simply building more frigates to create jobs and grow the Navy, Department of Defense leaders should determine the overall number and mix of ships it needs and can afford within realistic budget constraints. The secretary of defense recently directed such an effort, which continues despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This commentary's authors are participating in the study. As recommended in a recent study, instead of buying more frigates to expand the fleet's capacity, the Navy would be better served by adding missile-equipped corvettes like those in European or Asian navies. These ships could carry as many missiles as the Navy's planned frigate but would not incorporate capabilities for area air defense or ASW. The smaller size and reduced capability of corvettes would reduce their sticker price to about one-third that of a frigate, and their sustainment cost to about a quarter that of destroyers. The lower price for corvettes would allow more of them to be built and deployed, where they could team with other surface forces to provide additional missile magazines that could be reloaded by rotating corvettes to rear areas. In peacetime, corvettes would enable the Navy to expand presence and maritime security to underserved regions and provide more appropriate platforms for training and cooperation. Frigates will still be needed, even with a new corvette joining the U.S. fleet. Frigates would replace destroyers in escort operations to protect civilian and noncombatant ships, like supply vessels. They would also conduct maritime security operations in places such as the Persian Gulf or South China Sea, where piracy, trafficking and paramilitary attacks occur. Most importantly, frigates would lead ASW operations, where their towed sonar systems could be more capable than the systems used by current destroyers. Although ASW is an important naval mission, buying more frigates than planned to expand the Navy's ASW capacity is unnecessary and counterproductive. The Navy could gain more ASW capacity at lower cost and with less risk to manned ships by complementing its planned 20 frigates with unmanned systems including fixed sonars like SOSUS, deployable sonar systems that sit on the ocean floor, unmanned surface vessels that tow sonars and trail submarines, and unmanned aircraft that can deploy and monitor sonobuoys or attack submarines to suppress their operations or sink them. The U.S. Navy is at the beginning of a period of dramatic change. New technologies for autonomy, sensing, weapons and networking are enabling new concepts for naval missions at the same time fiscal constraints and pressure from great power competitors are making traditional approaches to naval operations obsolete or unsustainable. The Navy's frigate award is a great start toward the future fleet, but the Navy needs to take advantage of this opportunity and assess the best mix of ships to field the capabilities it needs within the resources it is likely to have. Bryan Clark is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, where Timothy A. Walton works as a fellow. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/05/11/build-a-fleet-not-a-constituency/

  • Mégacontrat de 1,7 milliard d'euros pour les Chantiers de l'Atlantique et Naval Group

    4 février 2019 | International, Naval

    Mégacontrat de 1,7 milliard d'euros pour les Chantiers de l'Atlantique et Naval Group

    Par Michel Cabirol L'Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d'armement a notifié pour le compte de la France un contrat de 1,7 milliard d'euros à Naval Group et au Chantier de l'Atlantique pour la fourniture de quatre pétroliers ravitailleurs destinés à la marine nationale. L'année commence très bien pour les Chantiers de l'Atlantique et Naval Group. Avec six ans de retard sur le planning initial, les deux groupes empochent un mégacontrat de 1,7 milliard d'euros pour la construction de quatre navires pétroliers ravitailleurs de 194 mètres de longueur dans le cadre du programme FLOTLOG (flotte logistique). Thales fait également partie du programme. Dans le cadre de la coopération entre Naval Group et le chantier naval italien Fincantieri, la France a rejoint le programme Logistic Support Ship (LSS), dont l'Italie a confié la gestion à l'Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d'armement (OCCAR). De la charge pour Fincantieri C'est donc l'OCCAR qui a notifié le 30 janvier aux deux industriels le contrat de soutien logistique (LSS), qui permettra à la Marine nationale de mettre en service quatre navires flambant neufs, dont les deux premiers seront livrés à partir de 2022 (contre 2017 à 2020). Les six premières années de maintien en condition opérationnelle (MCO) font également partie du contrat signé par les deux industriels. La livraison des quatre navires permettra le déclassement de la flotte actuelle à simple coque, qui est entrée en service actif dans les années 1970 et 80. Les LSS commandés pour la marine française seront basés sur la conception du LSS Vulcano commandé pour la marine italienne, dans le cadre d'une coopération italo-française gérée par l'OCCAR. "Afin de promouvoir l'efficacité industrielle, Fincantieri, concepteur du LSS Vulcano, fournira une assistance technique et érigera certaines parties de la coque", a précisé l'OCCAR dans un communiqué. des modifications seront nécessaires pour s'adapter au soutien du groupe aéronaval constitué autour du porte-avions Charles de Gaulle. Par ailleurs, Naval Group sera en charge de fournir le système de combat des navires. Garantir la posture de dissuasion Cette commande a pour objectif de fournir à la Marine nationale les moyens navals pour déployer simultanément un groupe aéronaval et un ou deux groupes navals (groupe amphibie ou groupe de protection du trafic maritime) tout en garantissant la posture de dissuasion. Les moyens FLOTLOG doivent donner à ces groupes la capacité de durer jusqu'à 60 jours à la mer (15.000 km) par un flux logistique régulier, y compris lorsqu'ils sont déployés loin de la métropole ou d'un point d'appui logistique et pour une longue durée, de jour comme de nuit et quelles que soient les conditions météorologiques. Ils accueilleront des équipages de 130 marins et pourront héberger au total 190 personnes à bord. Les quatre navires doivent également participer au ravitaillement des forces maritimes alliées déployées, notamment dans le cadre des accords de défense. Enfin, ils sont en mesure de concourir, en complément d'autres moyens, au soutien logistique de tous types d'opérations interarmées. Les navires seront dotés d'une double coque conforme à la réglementation anti-pollution et permettront une optimisation de la protection des munitions stockées contre les attaques extérieures. Ils auront quatre m'ts de ravitaillement polyvalents pour un soutien simultané de deux navires (dont le porte-avions). Enfin, la plate-forme et le hangar aviation de grandes dimensions pourront accueillir des hélicoptères et drones. Une commande de 14 engins de débarquement amphibie Le ministère des Armées a annoncé jeudi avoir commandé 14 engins de débarquement amphibie pour un montant de 65 millions d'euros en vue d'équiper les navires porte-hélicoptères (BPC). Plus précisément la direction générale de l'armement (DGA) a notifié le 16 janvier à CNIM la conception et la fabrication de 14 nouveaux engins de débarquement amphibie standard (EDA-S) ainsi que cinq ans de soutien. Ces nouveaux chalands remplaceront plusieurs types de navire actuellement en service. Huit EDA-S sont destinés à la flottille amphibie de Toulon tandis que les six autres EDA-S seront déployés outre-mer pour remplacer divers chalands logistiques à Djibouti, Mayotte, en Nouvelle-Calédonie, aux Antilles et en Guyane. D'une longueur de 28 mètres, ces monocoques en acier, avec quatre membres d'équipage, pourront transporter la plupart des véhicules de l'armée de Terre, y compris les plus lourds tels le char Leclerc. La livraison des EDA-S s'effectuera à partir de 2020. La production sera réalisée par le chantier naval Socarenam, sous-traitant de CNIM pour ce projet. Cette commande permettra de conforter près de 200 emplois chez CNIM, Socarenam et leurs sous-traitants. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/megacontrat-de-1-7-milliard-d-euros-pour-les-chantiers-de-l-atlantique-et-naval-group-805918.html

  • Here’s a progress update on CAE’s big shore training facility being built for the UAE

    19 février 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

    Here’s a progress update on CAE’s big shore training facility being built for the UAE

    By: David B. Larter ABU DHABI – A large shore training facility designed to facilitate training for United Arab Emirates sailors and watch teams is tracking on its 2020 delivery date, while hitting a few snags along the way, according to the Canadian firm CAE. The facility, which was announced as part of $113 million in contacts with the UAE's general headquarters in 2016, is approaching critical design review and will have systems ready to use by the end of this year, said Ian Bell, CAE's vice president for the Middle East and Asia in a media briefing at the International Defense and Exhibition Conference in Abu Dhabi. “The building is making very good progress, but will probably be a little bit late,” Bell said. “Some of our development has been delayed through data availability. We're at the point where we are getting close to critical design review, and we hope to step the first ready-for-use later this year. But the ready-for-training isn't due until May of 2020.” The contract is estimated to bring in about $450 million over 15 years, according to the 2016 contract announcement. The center is designed to give UAE sailors training from the individual watch stander to whole watch teams training to fight the ship as a unit. It is also designed to link with shore stations, command and control centers and ships at sea to provide training on the go. “It's a whole turnkey solution for everything from individual seaman training to a whole flotilla,” Bell said. “It will be integrated with various ships linked to naval helicopters and command and control so they can also feed as players into the system.” The first bridge simulators for the center are installed at CAE Montreal for testing, Bell said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/idex/2019/02/18/heres-a-progress-update-on-caes-big-shore-training-facility-being-built-for-the-uae/

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