Nouvelles

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army plans to conduct a few fly-offs to test possible long-range precision munitions for its fleet of future helicopters, according to the chief of operations in charge of the service's Future Vertical Lift modernization efforts. While the Army has picked Israeli company Rafael's Spike Non-Line-of-Sight missile as an interim solution to deliver long-range lethality from its current and future helicopter fleets, it is also in the market for other options. “The Army has not committed yet to a form factor of long-range precision munitions. If it's Spike, or something else, we have time to work with that. We have time to do one fly-off or more” over the next few years to inform requirements, Col. Matthew Isaacson told reporters during a July 24 briefing. The service is molding a future fleet for the early 2030s, acquiring two manned helicopters, a tactical unmanned aircraft system, air-launched effects, and long-range precision munitions that will be networked together on the battlefield using a common digital, modular, open-system architecture. The Army extensively demonstrated Spike on both foreign and American AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, which led to the decision to buy some to tie the service over until it can assess other capabilities and better refine requirements before developing a permanent solution. The service fired the Spike NLOS missile from AH-64s in Israel and at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, last year. Defense News was present for one of six multidomain operations-relevant shots fired from an “E” model Apache at Yuma in August 2019. Isaacson says there are a number of vendors with capabilities that could meet the future need. The Army will need to finalize a preliminary design review across the board for assets within its future fleet in the 2023 time frame, so Isaacson said the Army has roughly three years to work with industry to settle on a capability and ensure it is interoperable with platforms “that are still somewhat on the drawing table,” something he said will be challenging. “We are looking at getting outside of the range of our pacing threats,” he said. The Army is “pleased” with Spike's beyond 30-kilometer range, he added, “so any competitor in any future fly-off will have to demonstrate that they can do very similar and get at a long range in a timely manner after our pacing threats.” Isaacson indicated the Army will likely work through cooperative research and development agreements among other means to demonstrate long-range precision munition capabilities at small venues. Then the munitions would be put to the test with soldiers at the brigade level, followed by higher-level demonstrations at venues like the Joint Warfighting Assessment, to inform requirements, he added. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/07/24/army-plans-for-airborne-long-range-missile-fly-offs-for-future-helicopters/

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Arnaud Danjean, spécialiste des questions de défense et de sécurité, député européen, accorde un entretien à L'Opinion. Il déplore : «Au niveau de l'Union européenne (UE), la défense devait être à la fois une nouveauté et une priorité. La nouveauté subsiste dans le projet de budget, approuvé le 21 juillet par le Conseil européen, mais on ne peut plus parler de priorité». Concernant le Fonds Européen de Défense (FED), M. Danjean souligne : «C'est d'abord un outil pour l'industrie et la recherche» or «il devait être pourvu à hauteur de 13 milliards et le sera de 7 milliards». De plus «la mise en œuvre du FED n'est pas finalisée et fera l'objet de règlements. Plutôt que de se concentrer sur deux ou trois projets structurants, on risque d'être dans une logique de saupoudrage et de redistribution», avertit le député. L'Opinion du 28 juillet

Avec la crise économique du coronavirus et l'effondrement du trafic aérien, les commandes d'avions ont chuté pour le constructeur français. Dassault Aviation a annoncé jeudi avoir enregistré un bénéfice net en chute de 87%, à 32 millions d'euros, sous l'effet de la crise provoquée par l'épidémie de Covid-19. "Nos clients, pour certains, ont décalé la date des avions à livrer" et "les commandes ne sont pas au rendez-vous", a expliqué le PDG Eric Trappier lors d'une conférence de presse. Moins de livraisons Les conséquences économiques de la crise sont "sévères" et "impactent de plein fouet" le marché de l'aviation d'affaires, estime Dassault Aviation. Au premier semestre, l'avionneur a livré 7 avions de combat Rafale à l'Inde et au Qatar et 16 avions d'affaires Falcon. Le chiffre d'affaires ajusté, en baisse de 13,6%, s'est établi à 2,6 milliards d'euros, réalisés aux neuf-dixièmes à l'export. Il sera "en retrait" en 2020, prévoit l'avionneur. En raison des conséquences économiques de l'épidémie et de l'effondrement du trafic aérien, Dassault Aviation prévoit dorénavant de livrer 30 Falcon en 2020, soit un quart de moins que précédemment. Les livraisons prévues de Rafale sont inchangées (13). "Nous verrons comment adapter nos effectifs" Les prises de commandes se sont elles effondrées de 66%, à 984 millions d'euros, avec 5 Falcon et aucune pour le Rafale. Eric Trappier a évoqué une note d'espoir avec une "remontée forte de l'activité aérienne" observée dans l'aviation d'affaires ces dernières semaines, notamment aux États-Unis et "beaucoup de transactions" sur le marché de l'occasion. "En fonction du retour de la commande Falcon, nous verrons comment adapter nos effectifs", a-t-il indiqué, précisant que le groupe aurait recours au dispositif d'activité partielle de longue durée https://www.sudouest.fr/2020/07/23/dassault-aviation-le-benefice-net-s-ecroule-de-87-sous-l-effet-de-la-crise-sanitaire-7686090-705.php

Les profits de Dassault aviation ont fondu au premier semestre. Le groupe table désormais sur la livraison de 30 Falcon (contre 40 prévus avant le Covid-19). Et la perspective de nouveaux contrats Rafale Export se décale ! Dassault Aviation est à la peine ! Au premier semestre 2020, le constructeur aéronautique a dégagé un résultat net ajusté de 87 millions d'euros, contre 286 millions d'euros lors du premier semestre 2019. De son côté, le résultat opérationnel ajusté ressort à 55 millions d'euros, contre 250 millions un an plus tôt. Il en découle une marge opérationnelle ajustée de 2,1%, contre 8,2% lors du premier semestre 2019. Pour sa part, le chiffre d'affaires consolidé ajusté s'établit à 2,64 milliards d'euros au premier semestre 2020, contre 3,06 milliards d'euros un an plus tôt. " L'épidémie de Covid-19 a déclenché une crise mondiale sans précédent par ses conséquences sanitaires et économiques, son ampleur, son étendue géographique et sa durée ", a commenté Dassault Aviation. " Notre marché Falcon est directement impacté (le décalage des livraisons et des commandes Falcon entraine l'adaptation à la baisse de nos cadences Falcon) et la perspective de nouveaux contrats Rafale Export se décale ", a ajouté le constructeur aéronautique. Dans un contexte incertain de circulation de la Covid-19, le groupe a abaissé ses objectifs annuels. Il table désormais sur la livraison de 30 Falcon (contre 40 prévus avant Covid-19). En parallèle, le groupe a confirmé qu'il souhaitait livrer 13 Rafale et anticipait un chiffre d'affaires en retrait. https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/a-suivre-aujourdhui-dassault-aviation-1376237

By: Aaron Mehta Updated at 6:35 PM EST to include information on the number of planes being upgraded. WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared Chile to purchase modernization upgrades for its F-16 fleet, with a potential $634 million price tag. Chile currently operates 44 F-16s. That includes 10 Block 50 models purchased in the early 2000s, as well as 36 older models bought second-hand from the Netherlands. Reports that Chile would look to upgrade their existing F-16 fleet first emerged in 2017, but final details had not been made public. Analysts have also speculated that Chile may look to buy a small number of new F-16s to supplement its fleet. The upgrades included in this potential sale include 19 Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS); six inert MK-82 (500LB) general purpose bomb bodies; two MXU-650KB Air Foil Groups (AFG); 44 LN-260 Embedded GPS/INS (EGI) and 49 Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radios (MIDS JTRS). Also included are avionics equipment and software upgrades, new radios, upgraded IFF transponders, secure communications equipment and other parts. The upgrades are expected to go across the 44 plane fleet. “The proposed sale will improve Chile's capability to meet current and future threats by modernizing its F-16 fleet, which will allow Chile to maintain sovereignty and homeland defense, increase interoperability with the United States and other partners, and deter potential adversaries,” per a statement on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-16, will be the prime contractor on the deal, should it go through. All DSCA announcements must be cleared by Congress. At that point negotiations begin. Quantities and dollar values often change in the final agreement. Although this is the first FMS case approved for Chile since the start of fiscal 2017, the F-16 has proven to be a reliable sales vehicle for Lockheed abroad, with 14 F-16 related FMS requests cleared by DSCA during this time period. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/23/chile-okd-for-f-16-upgrades/

By: Aaron Mehta and Valerie Insinna   This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates. WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has officially loosened restrictions on exporting military-grade unmanned aerial vehicles to foreign nations, a move long sought by the defense industry. Under a new policy announced Friday, unmanned aerial systems that fly at speeds below 800 kph will no longer be subject to the “presumption of denial” that, in effect, blocked most international sales of drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper and the RQ-4 Global Hawk. R. Clarke Cooper, the assistant secretary bureau of political-military affairs, announced a change to how the United States interprets the Missile Technology Control Regime, or MTCR, Friday. News that the change was imminent, and that it would focus on reinterpreting the regulations with a focus on speed, was first reported Thursday by Defense News. The U.S. government's interpretation of the export controls had led to a blanket denial of most countries' requests to buy “category-1” systems capable of carrying 500-kilogram payloads for more than 300 kilometers. Instead of having a “presumption of denial” for those drones, where export officials needed special circumstances to allow the sale of the drones, the new guidance would mean those officials would now consider proposed sales using the same criteria as they do for other military exports. Cooper stressed that the UAVs covere includes “no risk for weapons of mass destruction delivery. Higher-speed systems such as cruise missiles, hypersonic aerial vehicles, and advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles are not affected by this revision.” The regulations were primarily introduced to regulate the sale of cruise missiles abroad, but the interpretation also covers certain unmanned vehicles. The United States has been exploring a change in how to interpret the MTCR for some time, with discussions centered around the “presumption of denial” clause for category-1 UAVs. Speaking at the Hudson Institute shortly after Cooper's remarks, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Chris Ford stressed said the administration plans to keep pushing other nations in the agreement to come to a similar stance, but that “the United States is not willing to let U.S. interests be forever held hostage” by international decision makers. Ford also said that there is a specific member of the MTCR “seems to have prioritized reflexive opposition to anything the United States proposes,” and would block any potential changes. Although not listed by name, Ford later indicated he was talking about Russia. In a statement, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the move a “reckless decision” that makes it “more likely that we will export some of our deadliest weaponry to human rights abusers across the world.” Menendez has been central in trying to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns. Industry impact The decision primarily opens up sales opportunities for General Atomics and Northrop Grumman, which manufacture multiple slow-moving UAS impacted by the presumption of denial clause. Most medium-altitude, long-endurance systems like General Atomics' MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper fly at slow speeds, with the Reaper clocking in with a cruise speed of 230 mph, or 370 kph, according to an Air Force fact sheet. Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk, a high-altitude drone used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, flies at a cruise speed of about 357 mph, or 575 kph. Immediately after the announcement, both companies issued statement heralding the change. “It is critical for our national security that our export policies continue to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology and support collaboration with our allies,” said Northrop Grumman spokesman Tim Paynter. He pointed to the company's MQ-8 Fire Scout as another UAS that could be more widely exported as a result of the new interpretation. In addition, Niki Johnson, General Atomic's vice president for government affairs and strategic communications, said “We welcome the changes announced today that will alter the treatment of General Atomics' UAS under U.S. export policy. We look forward to this announcement leading to approvals for sales to a larger portion of the international market.” Ford declined to speculate about how much money may trade hands as a result of the change, aside from broadly saying he expects it will have a “ripple effect” for countries who may be on the market for unmanned systems. While broadly seen by the defense industry as a positive step forward, one industry source expressed concerns that the changes announced Friday could ultimately be toothless. In April 2018, the Trump administration announced a number of policy reforms aimed at speeding up the sales process, such as allowing certain UAS to be exported via the Direct Commercial Sales process as opposed to the more laborious Foreign Military Sales process. But those changes did not have the intended consequences, the industry official said. “Implementation of the 2018 policy was very slow. It did not actually lead to that many new approvals in terms of countries that we can export to. So while we think this change will help us overcome the MTCR question during the policy review process, we still think that there is a higher hurdle for UAS within the conventional arms transfer policy ordeal,” the source said. Companies could still hit “brick walls” within the normal State Department arms sale process if, for instance, the department finds that drone sales negatively alter the military balance among countries in a given region. “The question for us is: Does this lead to policy approvals that allow us to go sell?” the source said. This person added that if sales do not immediately begin to move forward, it's possible that — should former Vice President Joe Biden win the presidential election in November — the incoming Democratic administration could roll back the MTCR interpretation changes. During a phone call with reporters, Cooper stressed that the change in policy will not result in a blanket approval for all UAS sales. “It is case by case,” he said. “It's not just a matter of addressing the [MTCR] requirement, because while UAS systems vary widely in their sophistication and application, it's incumbent upon the United States that we ensure that the systems we sell are used responsibly and will not threaten our interest or those of our allies.” Rachel Stohl, vice president for defense issues at the Stimson Center, called the unilateral decision by the White House “yet another affront to international agreements and global arms controls.” “Let me be clear: A presumption of denial is not a ‘no,' ” Stohl said. “It just means you have to work a little harder to get to ‘yes' and ensure that a lethal system that can change the nature of conflict, has raised serious questions and concerns about the legitimacy, legality, and strategic efficacy of their use, and has demonstrably impacted civilian lives is in the best interest of the United States. “Once again, the Trump administration is focused on short-term economic gain rather than medium- to long-term security and foreign policy interests.” But Michael Horowitz, a professor and director of the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that the change is long overdue. “Treating uninhabited aircraft as missiles for export policy purposes doesn't work,” Horowitz said. “It has allowed China to capture a significant chunk of the drone export market, including with U.S. allies and partners.” However, Horowitz added that the decision to focus on speed may miss the big picture. “Rather than simply treating uninhabited aircraft as aircraft for export purposes, the new policy creates a speed test that addresses issues for current platforms,” he said. “Depending on implementation, this could be a policy improvement, but it could also lead to issues down the road as the uninhabited aircraft category evolves.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/07/24/us-state-department-officially-makes-it-easier-to-export-military-drones/

Andrew Eversden It's certainly busy at the Army's Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical. The office is currently working to procure its new set of network tools, known as Capability Set '21, while simultaneously preparing Capability Set '23 for its preliminary design review next year and going through the early stages of planning for Capability Set '25. In addition, PEO C3T, which is tasked with tactical network modernization, is under new leadership. Brig. Gen. Robert Collins, formerly program executive officer of the Army's PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, took over June 1, after now-Lt. Gen. David Bassett took over the Defense Contract Management Agency. At PEO IEW&S, Collins oversaw the efforts to integrate sensors and sensor data to give soldiers a better overview of the battlefield. His work at PEO IEW&S, where he worked closely with PEO C3T and the Network Cross-Functional Team, also focused on the Joint All-Domain Command and Control and the Multi-Domain Operations concepts — work he will continue focusing on at PEO C3T. Collins discussed his priorities and goals for PEO C3T in an interview with C4ISRNET. C4ISRNET: What are your priorities as you take over the Army's PEO C3T? Brig. Gen. Robert Collins: We've established a very rigorous and methodical two-year capability set cycle. It's got a series of increasing capabilities over time from Capability Sets '21, '23, '25. And really, as we increase our networking capability from intuitive to expeditionary to increasing capacity, keeping a kind of a laser focus on lethality portions of sensor to shooter, and as you kind of heard about from Joint All-Domain Command and Control. One of the things that I would certainly underscore that I've carried from my past position into this position is we here are acquisition professionals. We will continue to underscore acquisition, discipline and rigor within our programs. And what I mean by that is we're certainly given a healthy amount of resources to execute our programs and to make sure that we are doing things such as acquisition strategies; establishing baselines; we're doing experimentation with rigor and data collection; and things such as developmental testing, operational tests prior to procurement so that we've got the best of capability, the best value and the highest-performing kit for our Army soldiers. The other thing I'll underscore is we do this with continuous industry feedback and involvement. And when I say industry, I'm talking more than just your traditional, your nontraditional. And so we do a continuous outreach with industry, and I'm very proud of that. And not just traditional industry days, but other one-on-ones and allowing them to bring in and demonstrate and then probably, most importantly, I would tell you across this whole process is soldier involvement, soldier touchpoints, and really capabilities and requirements driven by soldiers and acquisition process that informs soldiers. They, at the end of the day, are helping us shape these investments that we've got. C4ISRNET: As you move from capability set to capability set, what do you want industry to know? What are some areas that stand out to you in terms of where industry can help? COLLINS: There are some significant opportunities. We're going to continue to be open. We're going to continue to be competitive, and I need them to be agile and adaptive. And when I talk about opportunities, when I look across what we have going on with Multi-Domain Operations, we've got the addition of cyber and space. And that is a tremendous opportunity within the industry to help us as we start to pull those into the domains and orchestrate: How do we fluidly move in and out of, and have operational advantage, in those domains? We look to link where we can have any sensor link to any shooter through any C2 node, and do that at the pace of combat. There's going to be linkages and artificial intelligence and machine learning. So there's opportunity there. Where we're a little unique from our commercial counterparts as we operate in this environment: We've got to work in a contested, congested, disconnected, intermittent, limited-bandwidth environment, and we have got to do it in an expeditionary nature. And so those are opportunities for industry. How do we operate in that unique environment, and in such a way that it's small and expeditionary and we can move at pace? Those are certainly some of the opportunities with industry. And we will continue to have open and transparent dialogue with them. Even as far as capabilities at '23, we're getting ready to host our next technical exchange where we look for them to come in with ideas that we can, they can submit areas for us to assess, and then we'll continually iterate that, assess, and then put it into our design review process to see what's available, what's mature and what's ready. And then continue to iterate that over time. C4ISRNET: What did you learn as program executive officer at PEO IEW&S? COLLINS: I think my experience being on the intelligence, electronic warfare and sensor side has given me an appreciation of the types of information that will traverse our networks. [I've kept an eye on] sensors that are looking deep [and] opportunities with other agencies [and] the types of data that are collected that have to move across the network, have to be synthesized so we can inform decision-makers. I think that's been very valuable. C4ISRNET: At PEO IEW&S you focused a lot on Multi-Domain Operations. How does that translate to your new role at PEO C3T, one of your partners in your last position? COLLINS: When I look at network modernization and opportunities, I see an opportunity with MDO. Certainly space and cyber are tremendous opportunities. Cyber in and among itself is a domain that not only is an area we need to watch from [a] “how do we collect data from an intel” [perspective], “how do we organize ourselves from a defensive posture” and “where there may be opportunities in the competition element.” I think space, too, is an area. One of the things on the network is to make sure that we can operate at distance and beyond line of sight. So I think MDO has got an opportunity. I look at sensor to shooter; the network doesn't necessarily exist for just removing data. It exists to help decision-makers make decisions and get them information and link sensor to shooters, so I think that's a tremendous opportunity. I think continuing to refine our ability to be expeditionary and make sure that this kit can, at any place, anytime when the nation calls, we can put communications into austere environments and it can operate, even if the environment includes things such as limited communications. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/07/24/how-the-armys-new-peo-c3t-boss-views-network-modernization/

By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier-borne tanker drone, the MQ-25 Stingray, is preparing to head into the fall resuming test flights, this time with the crucial fuel store pod attached. The store pod — the same one integrated into the Navy's stalwart F/A-18 Super Hornet for aerial refueling — was recently integrated into the MQ-25 test article under the wing. “When we resume flight testing later this year, we'll have the opportunity to gather test points about the aerodynamics of that pod and the software commands that control it — all happening well before we deliver the Navy's first MQ-25 jet with the same pod,” MQ-25 program director Dave Bujold said in a statement from the aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing. “That early testing and early software development is a big part of supporting the Navy's goal to get MQ-25 to the fleet as quickly as possible,” he added. The engineers will primarily observe the aerodynamics of the pod mounted on the Stingray test article, then seeing how the hose and drogue behave while being dragged behind the airframe. Possible delays In June, Defense News reported that the MQ-25 could face a three-year testing delay if it doesn't get its designated test ships through the required modernizations on time, a possibility the Navy said was remote. Two carriers — Carl Vinson and George H.W. Bush — have limited windows to complete the installation of unmanned aircraft control stations, and if operational commitments intervene, the program could experience significant problems, according to Navy officials and a government watchdog report. “Program officials stated that, among other things, the Navy's potential inability to maintain its schedule commitments could require modifications to the contract that would impact the fixed-price terms,” the Government Accountability Office reported. “Specifically, the Navy faces limited flexibility to install MQ-25 control centers on aircraft carriers. “If the Navy misses any of its planned installation windows, the program would have to extend MQ-25 development testing by up to 3 years. According to officials, such a delay could necessitate a delay to initial capability and result in a cost increase.” The Navy's MQ-25 Stingray aerial refueling drone took its first flight Sept. 19, a historic step toward integrating an unmanned aircraft into the service's powerful strike arm. Navy officials say a three-year delay is “extremely unlikely”; however, the Navy has struggled in recent years to balance its modernization schedules with operational commitments, a problem that its “Optimized Fleet Response Plan” deployment rotation scheme was supposed to address. Ultimately, a delay would further push back the Navy's ability to extend its carrier air wing's range through unmanned tanking, critical to keeping the service's powerful strike arm relevant against long-range guided munitions. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/24/boeing-preparing-for-the-next-big-step-testing-the-us-navys-new-aerial-tanker-drone/