Nouvelles

Via leur agence chargée du développement de technologies militaires, les États-Unis mettent au point un nouveau type de drone. Les X-61A, ou "Gremlins" pour les intimes, sont de petits engins déployés en groupes et directement en vol à l'aide d'avions C-130. L'agence américaine chargée du développement de nouvelles technologies militaires (Darpa) a annoncé à la mi-janvier avoir effectué avec succès les premiers essais d'un nouveau type de drone, capable d'être largué et récupéré par un avion en plein vol. Le test initial se serait déroulé en novembre dernier. Après avoir été l'ché par un C-130A, l'engin X-61A aurait volé durant un peu plus d'une heure et demie. Ce test constitue la troisième phase d'un programme baptisé Gremlins, dont l'objectif est le développement d'une nouvelle gamme de drones sans pilote, déployés en nuées, réutilisables et peu coûteux à produire. Les flottes pourraient être déployées depuis des avions éloignés des thé'tres d'opération, afin de garantir une meilleure sécurité pour les opérateurs. Une fois leurs missions terminées, les "Gremlins" seraient récupérés directement dans les airs, avant de passer une journée de réparation et de repartir. Un drone perdu lors des essais L'essai de novembre a permis aux équipes de collecter suffisamment de données sur les performances, le fonctionnement et les systèmes de commandes et de contrôles aériens et terrestres des drones. Une anomalie de parachute a entraîné la perte de l'un des cinq appareils. Les quatre autres restent cependant opérationnels et disponibles pour d'autres séries de tests, prévus pour cette année. La prochaine étape du programme comprendra une évaluation complète des données récoltées, ainsi que l'analyse de l'échec du déploiement du parachute du cinquième drone. S'ensuivra un nouveau vol d'essai durant le printemps au Dugway Proving Ground, un site de tests de l'armée américaine situé dans l'Utah. D'autres avions pourraient servir pour le transport des engins Les X-61A "Gremlins" sont développés par la société californienne Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, en collaboration avec, l'entreprise Dynectics, située dans l'Alabama et spécialisée dans les systèmes informatiques. Conçu par Lockheed Martin, le C-130 est, pour le moment, l'unique appareil servant aux essais des Gremlins. Mais les services en charge du programme envisagent d'adapter d'autres avions pour le transport des drones. Les X-61A peuvent emporter jusqu'à 70 kg de capteurs chacun, ce qui leur permet d'effectuer un grand nombre de missions différentes. https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/les-etats-unis-developpent-les-gremlins-de-nouveaux-drones-deployables-directement-en-vol.N926169

In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Navy revealed on Tuesday that it had successfully flown tests involving unmanned versions of the EA-18G Growler electronic attack fighter. The tests involved a single manned EA-18G controlling two unmanned versions of the same aircraft, opening up the possibility that the U.S. Navy could fly armed unmanned aircraft sooner than originally thought. The test, conducted by the U.S. Navy and Boeing, was undertaken by the U.S. Navy's flight test wing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. According to a C4ISRNET, a single EA-18G Growler controlled two unmanned Growlers in the air. The test is notable for several reasons. One, the Navy was not known to be working on unmanned systems other than the MQ-25 Stingray, a future drone tanker set to join the fleet in the mid-2020s. Second, the ability to convert a manned fighter such as the EA-18G Growler into an unmanned aircraft was also previously unknown. The EA-18G Growler is an electronic attack airplane. The EA-18 is based on the F/A-18F Super Hornet, has a crew of two, and is designed to escort Super Hornets on high risk air strikes. The Growler carries both a jamming pod designed to interfere with enemy radars and communications, preventing enemy air defenses from acquiring inbound aircraft and coordinating their attacks. The Growler also carries HARM anti-radar missiles, which detect the probing beams of enemy air defense radars and follow them to their source, destroying them. Without radars to guide them, many types of air defense missiles become unusable in combat. The Growler's electronic warfare mission is particularly high risk, placing the jet and its crew between the strike fighters it escorts and enemy missiles. That makes it a good candidate for the unmanned mission, where the loss of an aircraft won't result in the loss of a crew. The Growler and the Navy's main strike fighter, the Super Hornet, share 90 percent of their parts and systems. This makes it simpler to maintain both aircraft and allows the Growler to keep up with Super Hornets on missions. It also likely means that the Super Hornet can be unmanned, and possibly controlled by other Super Hornets. This test also reinforces the Navy's seriousness about unmanned aviation. The service caught considerable flak in the 2010s after testing the X-47B unmanned aerial vehicle—and then promptly shelved it. The service greenlighted the new MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based drone, but made it a tanker instead of a fighter or strike aircraft. Now we know that there's been an interest in unmanned aviation all along. But instead of building new unmanned aircraft, the Navy decided to leverage its fleet of hundreds of manned aircraft, devoting resources into converting them into unmanned platforms. Now it seems unmanned aircraft will almost certainly be an important weapon in the Navy's arsenal for future missions. Although drones can be controlled by crews on the ground on the other side of the planet, enemy electronic attack forces will be doing their best to interfere with U.S. forces, attempting to jam communications between a drone and its controllers. A manned aircraft could control multiple drones, providing instructions through unjammable short range communications. For now, it's still important to have a human around. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a30771030/growler-unmanned-navy/

By: Jill Aitoro WASHINGTON — L3Harris Technologies could divest up to 10 percent of the company, according to CEO Bill Brown, as its recent decision to sell its airport security business for $1 billion is seen as the first of more transactions expected to refine the firm's portfolio. L3Harris signed a definitive agreement to sell the business unit to Leidos, according to an announcement Tuesday. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2020, barring any issues tied to regulatory approvals. Proceeds from the divestiture are expected to be used to repurchase shares and offset dilution. The deal is part of a larger strategy to reshape the portfolio, focusing on what Brown described on a call with analysts as “high-margin, high-growth, technology-differentiated businesses where we can win and generate attractive returns.” “Although this is the first and largest transaction we're contemplating, our portfolio-shaping process is ongoing and may ultimately result in 8-10 percent of total company revenue being divested over time,” he said. The company's 2019 revenue of $18.1 billion could translate to as much as $1.8 billion in divestitures. Brown told Defense News in June 2019 — one month before the merger of Harris and L3 Technologies was completed — about plans to divest a “pretty significant” piece of the business in the first six months as a single company. “Anytime you put two companies with two portfolios together and you rethink what strategy you want to accomplish, there's going to be some pieces of the portfolio at the back end of the bus,” Brown said at the time. “We have to look at where we want to put our management time, capital, and [research and development] investment. We can't put it on pieces that might not be as strategic." Brown told analysts that the deal would not impact the company's $3 billion free cash flow target in 2022. That in theory would set up L3Harris for a sizable acquisition down the road, should the company choose to go in that direction. A company spokesman could not comment on the specific defense-nondefense split post divestiture, but L3Harris would presumably see a larger slice of the business focusing on defense opportunities. In the 2019 Defense News Top 100 list of the largest defense companies, Harris and L3 reported 72 percent and 81 percent of revenue as defense-focused, respectively. L3Harris reported $18.1 billion in fiscal 2019 revenue. Once the deal with Leidos closes, the airport security businesses' $500 million in annual revenue would transition off the books. That said, L3Harris is forecasting 5-7 percent revenue growth in 2020 — so it won't be a straight reduction. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/02/04/l3harris-looks-to-shed-as-much-as-10-percent-of-company

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — European leaders should modify rules to include Britain and the United States in their defense-cooperation efforts, ending a simmering dispute that could turn toxic over time, according to the director general of the European Union Military Staff. “We will find a way [on] how to engage the United States and other third-party states,” Lt. Gen. Esa Pulkkinen told Defense News in an interview in Washington last week. But he cautioned that the unresolved issue could become a “permanent” thorn in the side of relations with the United States, in particular. At issue are the conditions for access to the multibillion-dollar European Defence Fund and its associated collaboration scheme, the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO. The funds are meant to nurse the nascent defense capabilities of the continent's member states, with the idea that NATO would be strengthened in the process. Officials have left the door open for the U.K., which recently left the EU, as well as its defense companies to partake in individual projects, given the country's importance as a key European provider of military capabilities. But the exact terms have yet to be spelled out, requiring a balancing act between framing member states as primary PESCO beneficiaries while providing a way in for key allies. Defense officials in Washington previously criticized the EU initiative, complaining that it would needlessly shut out American contractors. European leaders countered that the program is first and foremost meant to streamline the bloc's disparate military capabilities, stressing that avenues for trans-Atlantic cooperation exist elsewhere. “EDF and PESCO isn't everything in the world,” Pulkkinen said in Washington. “We are not going to violate any U.S. defense industrial interests. “The defense industry is already so globalized, they will find a way [on] how to work together.” While European governments have circulated draft rules for third-party access to the EU's defense-cooperation mechanism, a final ruling is not expected until discussions about the bloc's budget for 2021-2027 are further along, according to issue experts. Officials at the European Defence Agency, which manages PESCO, are taking something of a strategic pause to determine whether the dozens of projects begun over the past few years are delivering results. Sophia Besch, a senior research fellow with the Centre for European Reform, said the jury is still out over that assessment. “The big question is whether the European Union can prove that the initiatives improve the operational capabilities,” she said. Aside from the bureaucratic workings of the PESCO scheme, the German-French alliance — seen as an engine of European defense cooperation — has begun to sputter, according to Besch. In particular, Berlin and Paris cannot seem to come together on operational terms — whether in the Sahel or the Strait of Hormuz — at a time when Europe's newfound defense prowess runs the risk of becoming a mostly theoretical exercise, Besch said. The EU members' ambitions remain uneven when it comes to defense, a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon, according to a recent report by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “The dispute around the concept of strategic autonomy has not led to any constructive consensus, and it will likely affect debates in the future,” the document stated. “Member states and the EU institutions will continue to promote different concepts that encapsulate their own vision of defense cooperation.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/02/04/brexit-turns-up-the-heat-on-access-rules-to-eu-defense-coffers

By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – The British on Tuesday began to restore their once-formidable capabilities for maritime patrol with the arrival to the Royal Air Force base at Kinloss, Scotland, of the first of a fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidon jets. Flown by a crew from the RAF's CXX Squadron, the first of nine P-8A's, ordered by the British in 2016 at a cost of £3 billion ($3.9 billion), arrived pretty much on cue at the Kinloss base that will be its temporary home until infrastructure and other work at its permanent base at Lossiemouth is completed later this year. A recent tweet RAF tweet said the aircraft had already operated some tactical missions. Doug Barry, the senior air analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London, says the aircraft landing in Scotland is a big moment for the Royal Air Force. “The arrival of the first P-8A is symbolic in that it marks the UK beginning to get back into the fixed-wing anti-submarine warfare business after a gap of a decade,” he said. The British are scheduled to ramp up their P-8A numbers rapidly as a resurgence in Russian submarine activity continues to challenge Western resources in the sector. A second aircraft is due to arrive at Lossiemouth by the end of March, three further P-8A's will be handed over by the end of the year with the four remaining machines all due to arrive by the fourth quarter of 2021. Full operating capability is scheduled for 2024. The aircraft are known as Poseidon MRA Mk1 in RAF service. Late last year, commenting on Russian nuclear submarine activity, top US Navy officer Adm. James Foggo, commander of US Naval Forces Europe and Africa, reported 2019 as being “one of the busiest years that I can remember, and I've been doing this since 1983.” First Sea Lord Adm. Tony Radakin said: “The arrival of the first Poseidon marks a significant upgrade in the UK's ability to conduct anti-submarine operations. This will give the UK the ability to conduct long-range patrols and integrate seamlessly with our NATO allies to provide a world-leading capability.” In co-operation with the US sea service and the Royal Norwegian Air Force, who have purchased five P-8A's, the RAF will attempt to plug any gaps in anti-submarine defenses in the North Atlantic. One of the British P-8A's main tasks will be to provide cover for Royal Navy Trident missile submarines emerging and returning to their base at Faslane in Scotland. Barrie said that for the last decade the “UK has had to look elsewhere to support the deployment of its strategic deterrent to try to ensure there was no unwanted company.” The US, France, Canada and others have all had to step in at times to provide reconnaissance and other capabilities to help glug the hole in British fixed-wing, anti-submarine defenses caused when a government strategic defence and security review in 2010 controversially cancelled the MRA4 program without looking to purchase a replacement. The British have sought to retain their maritime patrol skills over the last few years by placing aircrew and operators with allies like the United States. The new aircraft entered service with the RAF late last year but the platform has until now been based at the Jacksonville, Florida, naval air station where British crew training is taking place ahead of eventually transitioning to Lossiemouth. Training and simulation facilities are part of a new £132 million ($171 million) infrastructure project at Lossiemouth jointly funded by the MoD and Boeing, which is scheduled for completion later this year. Flight operations and planning, maintenance, crew rooms and space for three aircraft will also be included in the facility. More than 200 Boeing employees will be permanently based on the base. Some £470 million ($612 mission) in total is being invested in Lossiemouth, which is also home to part of the Typhoon fighter fleet, upgrading runways, building a new air traffic tower and other improvements. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/02/04/britain-receives-first-poseidon-aircraft-in-bid-to-restore-submarine-hunting-muscle

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India's defense budget for 2020-2021 will be $73.65 billion, the country government announced Saturday, but officials and analysts are warning the amount is unlikely to meet new demands for weapons purchases and military modernization, as India is set to spend about 90 percent if its defense funds on existing obligations. Of the total budget, $18.52 billion is for weapons purchases; $32.7 billion is for maintenance of the military's weapons inventory, pay and allowances, infrastructure, and recurring expenses; and $21.91 billion is for defense pensions. “The capital budget leaves no room for any big-ticket weapons purchase, as over 90 percent of the allocation capital funds will [be spent] for past [defense] contracts' committed liabilities," a senior Ministry of Defence official told Defense News. The limited procurement spending is expected to directly impact “Make in India" defense projects, a policy meant to boost the local economy under the ruling National Democratic Alliance government. “This also [leaves] no room for any major weapons purchases from U.S. at least for one to two years,” the MoD official added. India is slated to make a number of purchases through the U.S. Foreign Miltiary Sales program, including 22 MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) drones for $2.6 billion; and additional six P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft for $1 billion; two Gulfstream 550 aircraft for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance for nearly $1 billion; and one unit of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System II for more than $1 billion. During at least the last two years, the Indian military has complained about a lack of funds for resolving existing liabilities. Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisitions at the MoD, said the military will likely continue to face the challenge of preventing defaults on contractual payments. The senior MoD official told Defense News that due to the shortage of funds, at least a dozen pending defense contracts will experience delays. “The current $18.52 billion capital allocation is only [a] marginal increase from [the] previous year [capital] allocation of $18.02 billion [and] does not even adequately cover inflation costs.” The Indian Air Force is to receive $6.76 billion from the 2020-2021 budget, a drop from the previous year's $7.01 billion. The money is expected to go toward payments for orders of Rafale fighters from France and an S-400 missile system from Russia. The Indian Navy is to receive $4.56 billion, which is expected to help cover the cost of leasing a nuclear submarine and stealth frigates from Russia, as well as pay for warships from Indian companies. A Navy official said it is unlikely the service will be able to sign a contract for 24 MH-60R multirole helicopters for more than $2 billion from the U.S. next year. The Indian Army is to receive $5.06 billion to pay cover previous orders of wheeled and ultralight artillery guns, T-90 tanks, and ammunition. India's state-owned defense companies continue to receive 60 percent of defense-related business, with 30 percent going to overseas defense companies and 10 percent to domestic private defense firms. Another MoD official said the armed forces plan to focus on industry-funded defense projects under the government's “Make-II” category, which allows private companies to participate in the prototype development of weapons and platforms with a focus on import substitution, for which no government funding will be provided. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/02/04/new-weapons-purchases-suffer-under-indias-latest-defense-budget

By: Nathan Strout The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific has awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $178 million contract for to modernize GPS systems in partnership with the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, the company reported Jan. 24. The Naval Information Warfare Center heads the Navy's research, development, and engineering efforts for space systems, and its Positioning, Navigation and Timing Division oversees research and development for the service's navigation sensors and systems. Under the contract, Booz Allen will support the modernization of the GPS architecture, specifically through programs such as Military GPS User Equipment, GPS III and the Next Generation Operational Control System. In other words, the company will help the Navy and Air Force modernize all three segments of the GPS enterprise, from the user terminal to the ground system to the new GPS III satellites. Booz Allen will provide system definition, requirements synchronization, capability improvement, cybersecurity engineering, platform integration and testing and acquisition program management. The contract comes at a key moment for GPS, with the first GPS III satellite on orbit and online and the military working to ensure that ground systems are capable of fully interacting with and utilizing the new satellites' more advanced features, including increased accuracy and stronger anti-jamming capabilities. While the Next Generation Operational Control System being custom built to work with the GPS III satellites is years behind its original schedule, the Air Force has contract with Lockheed Martin to provide a contingency operations software update that allows the current ground segment to work with the new, more advanced satellites. According to a Jan. 30 report from the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, slips in scheduling to all three segments of the GPS enterprise have caused testing delays. Those delays, especially to the user segment, could lead to integration issues for those platforms developed to rely on GPS. “The Air Force has improved the GPS Enterprise schedule by addressing schedule and performance risks; however, articulation of program risks with stakeholders continues to be incomplete, increasing the probability of unmitigated risks causing further program problems and delays,” the report warned. The Air Force plans to conduct operational testing of the enterprise in 2020. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/02/04/navy-awards-a-178m-contract-to-update-gps-systems

For the first time Dassault Aviation of France will be exhibiting at the Defence Expo and the main attraction besides other displays will be the Rafale mock-up with the Indian colours. Defence Expo 2020 is being held at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh The Rafale fighter aircraft which were handed over to the defence minister Rajnath Singh last October will be arriving in India early summer. The mock-up in the colours of the IAF is to illustrate the determination of the French company's commitment to meet all future additional fighter aircraft needs. Also, a mock-up of Rafale M (Naval variant) will be on display to present capabilities of the variant taking part in the tender of 57 aircraft to equip Indian Navy aircraft carriers. There will also be a Mirage 2000 I/TI mock-up on display. Highlighting its “Make in India” achievements on display will be Rafale engine doors manufactured in the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) 15000 square meters the facility in Nagpur, and the first Falcon 2000 cockpit front section manufactured at Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited facility at MIHAN, Nagpur. Eric Trappier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Aviation has said, “Our participation in the DefExpo is the expression of the company's full dedication to contribute to India's outreach”. According to the company larger infrastructures are being developed which will help in ramping up of DRAL capabilities towards the taking-off of an entire line of Falcon 2000 fully manufactured and assembled in India. This will pave the way for the future manufacturing and assembly of Rafale in India. And these will help to build up an Indian aerospace manufacturing eco-system, both in civil and military fields, which will position India as an international reference in the global aerospace market. The company has played a very important role in helping India to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities with cutting edge technologies. https://www.financialexpress.com/defence/defence-expo-2020-rafale-mirage-2000-make-in-india-achievement-engine-door-cockpit-dassault-aviation-dral/1855850/

February 3, 2020 - The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded BAE Systems, Inc. a prime position on a $212 million contract to integrate and sustain its critical communication systems. The company will design, acquire, integrate, and test radio systems for newly constructed Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG) and other U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200203005039/en/ Additionally, the company was awarded a separate $104.7 million contract by NAWCAD to provide engineering and technical services to support production, lifetime-support, and in-service engineering for the radio communications C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems aboard U.S. Navy surface combatants and at associated shore sites. The work will be focused primarily on the CG 47 Class and DDG 51 Class AEGIS ships. “Maintaining reliable lines of communication and situational awareness for those at the forefront of national security is a mission-critical priority for BAE Systems and our customers,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business. “We're proud to continue supporting the integration of combat systems and solutions for the U.S. Navy as they defend against advanced air, surface, and subsurface threats.” BAE Systems has been a trusted partner to the U.S. Navy for over 45 years, with decades of experience working to develop next-generation solutions for critical shipboard systems. The company's electronics experts have experience providing custom, tailor-made solutions to help close communications capability gaps for the U.S. military, including existing work with U.S. Navy C5ISR capability modernization. BAE Systems delivers a broad range of services and solutions enabling militaries and governments to successfully carry out their respective missions. The company provides large-scale systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. BAE Systems takes pride in its support of national security and those who serve. NAVAIR Public Release 2020-79. Distribution Statement A – “Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited” View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200203005039/en/