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  • Indian Air Force restructures $17 billion fighter jet program

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Indian Air Force restructures $17 billion fighter jet program

    By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force is overhauling its plan to induct 114 medium-weight multirole fighters, with a senior service official saying the aircraft will be built in India with significant foreign technology transfer and no foreign procurement. The effort will cost about $17 billion under the Make in India economic policy. The Air Force official said the project is very much alive, but that the “final nitty-gritties have yet to be worked out, and that will take time because it will require manufacturing capability building in the country.” Daljit Singh, a retired Indian Air Force air marshal and current defense analyst, agreed that India must move quickly to create the capability to manufacture high-tech systems at home. “The main aim should be to extract the maximum [transfer of technology] from the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and start manufacturing subcomponents through Indian companies," Singh said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Saturday that the government will create a separate budget for domestic procurement of weapons and equipment to help reduce the imports bill. A Ministry of Defence official said a formal budget allocation of about $17 billion for the multirole fighters project will be granted sometime next year, and will be launched under the Strategic Partners procurement policy. Under that policy, the multirole fighters will be manufactured by domestic private defense companies with one of the original equipment manufacturers approved by the government. The process for selecting contractors is yet to begin, but the MoD official said the businesses will be selected within three years. No private defense company in India has made fighter jets before, but several have expressed interest in participating in the program, including Tata Advanced Systems, Adani Defence, Reliance Defence, Mahindra Defence and Bharat Forge Limited. Reliance Defence has created a joint venture with France's Dassault Aviation, which currently manufactures components for Rafale fighters. Meanwhile, Tata Advanced Systems has teamed with Lockheed Martin, an American company that produces the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Adani Defence has announced a teaming arrangement Sweden's Saab AB, which makes the Gripen jet. Another Indian Air Force official said a request for information was sent in June 2018 to foreign original equipment manufacturers for the multirole fighters. Among those who have responded to the RFI are: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation, Saab AB, Airbus Defence and Space, Russian Aircraft Corporation, and Sukhoi Company. The Indian Air Force plans to induct all 114 multirole fighters within 12 years after the contract is awarded. The official added that the RFI included the requirement for transfer of technology, including the transfer of design, development, manufacturing and repair expertise. It also included the requirement for the unilateral capability to integrate weapons, systems and sensors. The capability to upgrade the aircraft and a provision on exporting the aircraft is also part of the program. India is also seeking transfer of technology for stealth technology, active electronically scanned array radars, avionics, electronic warfare systems and engines. “The advantage of making a fighter aircraft in India is that the customer can select the types of sensors, EW equipment, avionics and weapons, as per operational requirements. Subsequently, the customer is assured of full logistic and upgrade support without any restriction. However, it is important to embed most of these systems in the aircraft design itself to ensure low observability and systems compatibility,” he said. However, Singh, the defense analyst, said any transfer of technology agreement would need to make business sense to the OEM. “Propriety Items could still be under the control of the OEM,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/05/21/indian-air-force-restructures-17-billion-fighter-jet-program/

  • French defense industry plays catch-up as lockdown partially lifts

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    French defense industry plays catch-up as lockdown partially lifts

    By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS — As France slowly emerges from an almost complete industry shutdown imposed March 16 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, defense company executives are considering their next steps. Stephane Mayer, Eric Trappier and Herve Guillou — respectively presidents of the groups of French industries for land and air-land (GICAT), air and space (GIFAS), and naval (GICAN) systems — were witnesses at an April 23 hearing by the National Assembly's Defence Committee. They said that despite the partial return of employees to work, the supply chain is still experiencing problems. The three industry leaders explained that following discussions with unions and the implementation of modifications in the workplace that enable employees to work while maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter between each other, about 30 percent of the workforce on production sites was back by April 23. Those able to work from home are doing so, they added. More employees returned to work on May 11 when the lockdown was eased, but personnel who can continue to work from home are being urged to do, they said. Meanwhile, shifts are being modified to ensure workers don't arrive and leave at the same time, they added. However, all three agreed that the supply chain had been interrupted, most notably in the aeronautical sector because of its dual military-civilian role and the near-total halt in air traffic, which negatively affected imports. They explained that during the lockdown, defense industry leaders and the French procurement office DGA jointly set out priorities for programs and established what activities must be maintained to ensure the military continues its missions within France and in foreign theaters. How are exports performing? All three were also unanimous in their analysis that the French defense sector could take a hit in the export market, noting that German companies never completely stopped their activities; China was quick to reconnect with potential export clients; and the American defense sector benefits both from the continuation of much of its production capacity and massive support from the federal government. This was later repeated by Guillou at a video conference organized this week by the Foundation for Strategic Research think tank. “None of us can survive unless we have 50 percent of our order intake from the export market," Guillou said. "Even if the French market returns to normal, we still have that 50 percent export segment to worry about. If we want to remain competitive on the world export market, keeping in mind that the Chinese ramped up before we did, that the Russians, Germans and Dutch never stopped, we will have to restore our competitivity extremely quickly ... to stay in the race and not lose a part of this market forever.” He also stressed that the need to catch up is a major concern of the French defense industry. What about the supply chain? The supply chain in France is largely made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. Eric Beranger, CEO of European missile-maker MBDA, told French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly on May 6 that some of the 1,200 French suppliers that work for the company are now very fragile due to the developing economic crisis. Guillou remarked during the video conference that the “terrific solidarity” among the supply chain and subcontractors, as well the prime contractors in the naval sector, is something he'd never come across in his 40-year career. But he added that the small and medium-sized enterprises serving the aeronautical sector are suffering more. The Armed Forces Ministry began slowly ramping up on May 7 based on two principles: preserving the health of staff and their families (all personnel, civilian or military, have been given masks, which must be worn by those who work in confined spaces such as workshops, restaurants or vehicles); and continuing with the ministry's essential mission. This includes programs meant to keep fielded weapons and equipment in operational condition, but it also concerns the delivery of new materials. “The reversibility of the procedures means that were the epidemic to break-out again within the ministry we would be able to handle it,” a May 7 ministry statement said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/05/21/french-defense-industry-plays-catch-up-as-lockdown-partially-lifts/

  • Trump administration prepares to leave Open Skies Treaty

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Trump administration prepares to leave Open Skies Treaty

    By: Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has made a final decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, sources confirmed to Defense News on Thursday. The news was confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump midday, followed by a formal announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the administration will make a formal notification on Friday, kicking off a six-month clock before a formal exit occurs. “We may, however, reconsider our withdrawal should Russia return to full compliance with the Treaty,” Pompeo said in a statement. What “full compliance” means, however, is unclear. Chris Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, told reporters there are “many variables” as to what that would entail, particularly as a number of American complaints about Russian activities involve behaviors that, Ford acknowledged, are “not in fact violations of the treaty.” As an example of the latter, Ford pointed to restrictions on flights over Kaliningrad. Russia has in the past restricted the length of flights over the city, which is not a direct violation but contradicts the confidence-building nature of the agreement, Ford said. That Russia will sometimes loosen those restrictions, such as earlier this year for an Open Skies flyover by Estonian, Lithuanian and American observers, is proof that the Kremlin “clearly regards its Open Skies legal obligations as something akin more to guidelines, or options, for them,” he argued. “It's the combination of all those things that has led to this decision. And so were Russia to return to compliance, we would have to presumably make that decision at the time about what to do with it, do in response to that, on the basis of the circumstances that have changed at that time,” Ford said. “Just as our decision now has many variables, we have to sort of see what the net impact of Russian behavior at that time in the world is. But that's a conversation we would very much like to have, if Russia would give the world the opportunity to see that happen.” In a statement released online, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the move “very regrettable" and hit at the Trump administration's “general policy” of going after arms control agreements. International discussions The administration Thursday morning began informing the other 34 members in the agreement, which allows mutual reconnaissance flights over the member nations, including Russia. An emergency meeting of NATO members is scheduled for Friday in Brussels, per multiple reports. The move, first reported Thursday by The New York Times, was not a surprise, as administration officials signaled to European allies toward the end of last year that unless major changes were made to the overflight agreement, the U.S. would consider withdrawing. However, there had been little movement in the months since, giving advocates hope that a decision to exit the treaty had not been finalized. “It was pretty clear from meetings that it was basically a done deal and it was just a matter of when,” one European source said. Allies generally argue the treaty is a valuable channel for transparency and dialogue between Russia and the United States, the world's top two nuclear superpowers. Critics of the treaty have argued that the U.S. gets better intelligence from satellite systems and that the funding to replace the aging OC-135 aircraft can be spent elsewhere. A second European source acknowledged that Russia has not always complied with the treaty, but said there was a sense that those issues could be resolved. The source predicted that those NATO members who are also part of the treaty will remain, but was unclear what Russia will do next. “If you're Russia, you can stay in and take the moral high ground, say, ‘We still honor international treaties, even if America doesn't,' or you can say the treaty is diminished beyond usefulness and you pull out. I don't know which they'll do, but neither is good for NATO," the source said. The source added that while it is true the U.S. gets its best intelligence from its satellites as opposed to OC-135 flights, focusing entirely on that is “selfish” because “a lot of NATO allies rely on Open Skies for visibility into what goes on in Russia.” The Pentagon released a statement late on Thursday, saying “The United States has been in close communication with our Allies and partners regarding our review of the Treaty and we will explore options to provide additional imagery products to Allies to mitigate any gaps that may result from this withdrawal.” Key Democrats and arms control advocates quickly denounced the administration's withdrawal plans as dangerous and destabilizing to America's relationships with allies, with former CIA director Michael Hayden, a frequent Trump critic, decrying the move as “insane.” Conservative voices applauded the move as Trump standing up to Russia's violations of the treaty. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., expressed his belief the funding that would have gone into repairing the OC-135 should now go toward broader nuclear modernization. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and House Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., blasted the administration for defying a requirement in the 2020 defense policy law that Trump first give Congress 120 days' notice. Multiple communications with Congress on the issue had “gone unanswered,” they said. “The Administration's decision to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty is a slap in the face to our allies in Europe, leaves our deployed forces in the region at risk, and is in blatant violation of the law,” they said in a joint statement. “This decision weakens our national security interests, isolates the United States since the Treaty will continue without us, and abandons a useful tool to hold Russia accountable." When signing the defense policy legislation into law, Trump indicated he didn't consider himself bound by the requirement, citing his executive powers. “I reiterate the longstanding understanding of the executive branch that these types of provisions encompass only actions for which such advance certification or notification is feasible and consistent with the President's exclusive constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief and as the sole representative of the Nation in foreign affairs," the president's Dec. 20 signing statement read. Throughout its term, the Trump administration has been skeptical of arms control agreements. The U.S. and Russia walked away from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last August, and officials have expressed skepticism about renewing the New START nuclear agreement with Russia, which expires in 2021. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/21/trump-admin-to-withdraw-from-open-skies-treaty/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 21, 2020

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 21, 2020

    U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Marine Terminals Corp., San Pedro, California, has been awarded a $95,835,034 firm-fixed-price contract (HTC711-20-D-R046) providing stevedoring and related terminal services at ports in Northern California. Work will be performed at the Military Ocean Terminal, Concord, California; and the Port of Oakland, California. The contract period of performance is from Aug. 7, 2020, to Aug. 6, 2025. Fiscal 2020 transportation working capital funds were obligated at award. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in the contracting activity. NAVY AECOM-BAKER-CARDNO NAVFAC Atlantic Planning JV, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $95,000,000 maximum amount, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract for architect-engineer services for preparation of Navy and Marine Corps planning and engineering services for work located primarily in the continental U.S. east coast, but also worldwide. The work to be performed provides for: (a) Plans: global shore infrastructure plans; installation development plans; regional integration plans; functional plans; maintenance and sustainment plans; integrated product support plans; encroachment action plans; family housing and bachelor quarters comprehensive neighborhood plans; activity overview plans; and installation appearance plans; (b) Project Planning Documents: the preparation of military construction project planning documentation; preparation of construction cost estimates, preliminary and parametric cost estimates and siting-land use studies/analyses; special site approvals; economic analyses; asset evaluations; basic facility requirements documentation; facilities planning documents; preliminary hazard analyses; preliminary hazard lists, and sustainable design studies; (c) Studies: concept studies; special planning studies, business case analysis studies and traffic/parking/movement studies; facilities planning studies, feasibility studies, safety studies and air installation compatible use zones; range air installation compatible use zones studies; site studies; facilities life cycle studies; activity planning and management models and electronic land use/planning tools/studies. Work is expected to be complete by May 2025. No task orders are being issued at this time. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M,N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and two proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-20-D-0006). Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $48,965,154 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N63394-20-C0004 to exercise options for launch sequencer MK 5 Mod 2 production units in support of the Vertical Launch System. Work will be performed in Oldsmar, Florida. The Vertical Launch System provides area and self-defense, anti-air warfare capabilities, counter-air and land attack cruise missile defense and surface and subsurface warfare capabilities. Work is expected to be complete by April 2022. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $48,965,154 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $27,770,370 modification (P00174) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00019-14-C-0067. This modification procures integrated logistics support for the Boeing P-8A Poseidon warfare aircraft for the Navy, the government of Australia, and the government of the United Kingdom. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (68%); Jacksonville, North Carolina (16%); Whidbey Island, Washington (4%); Sigonella, Italy (3%); Kadena, Japan (2%); Bahrain, Bahrain (2%); Misawa, Japan (2%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (2%); and various locations within and outside the continental U.S. (1%). Work is expected to be complete by March 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,391,473; Royal Australian Air Force cooperative program funds in the amount of $256,187; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $133,083 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DRS Laurel Technologies, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $26,047,878 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N63394-20-C-0002 to exercise options for launch control unit Mk 235 Mod 11 and Mod 12 production units in support of the Vertical Launch System (VLS). Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. This option exercise is for the manufacture, assembly, test and delivery of additional production units of the VLS launch sequencer launch control unit Mk 235 Mod 11 and 12, part numbers 7104280-119 and 7104280-129, respectively. The VLS provides area and self-defense, anti-air warfare, surface and subsurface capabilities, counter-air and land attack cruise missile defense, and is equipped with two redundant launch control units, each of which is electrically interfaced with all of the launch sequencers in the system. Work is expected to be complete by February 2021. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $26,047,878 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. Management Services Group Inc.,* doing business as Global Technical Systems, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $24,385,746 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-20-C-5608 for procurement of network, processing and storage (NPS) technical insertion (TI) 16, modification (MOD) 1 production equipment, which provides computer processing and memory, data storage and extraction, network systems and input/output interfaces to host software applications of Navy combat systems. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (62%) and the government of the Commonwealth of Australia (38%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The NPS program consists of enterprise products in use across surface Navy combat systems which introduce powerful, commercially available, off-the-shelf processors as part of a general strategy to achieve a modular and open architecture design. NPS is comprised of two different common processing system enclosure assemblies and three variants: advanced storage area network, core computing system, and air-cooled processing and storage subsystem. Aegis weapon system Aegis modernization upgrade equipment systems are also included in this procurement and align requirements to include the Aegis local area network interconnect system, Aegis conversion equipment group Input/Output 1 and 2, and digital video display system. Work is expected to be complete by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds; FMS Australia funds; 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds; 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds; and 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $24,385,746 will be obligated at time of award, and funds in the amount of $39,356 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Innovative Defense Technologies LLC,* Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $22,506,572 modification (P00007) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00014-19-C-1054 for the Cloud to Edge Environment. This modification adds Options 5 through 10, and exercises Options 5, 9 and 10, which increases the contract value by $22,506,572. Under this modification, the contractor will continue work to deliver a secure development and operations (SecDevOps) environment enabling cloud-based collaborative development, simulation, testing and certification of evolving Navy software systems. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (68%); Mount Laurel, New Jersey (23%); Washington, D.C. (6%); Rhode Island (2%); and various places below 1%. Work is expected to be complete by February 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $77,844 are obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $20,453,641 are obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Alere San Diego Inc., doing business as Immunalysis Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $7,066,152 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for U.S. Food and Drug Administration and quality management documented fentanyl/norfentanyl immunoassay reagent kits for use with the currently installed Beckman Coulter AU5800 series systems for the Department of Defense Drug Demand Reduction Program. This is a two-year single award contract, and deliveries are expected to be complete by May 2022. Fiscal 2020 defense-wide, one-year operations and maintenance funds will be obligated on decentralized individual delivery orders during the base period. No funds will be obligated at the time of award and the minimum guarantee under the contract is 100 kits. The contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, and three offers were received. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N62645-20-D-5004). ARMY Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was awarded a $92,370,000 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract for sustainment, maintenance, training, refurbishment, overhaul, engineering services and spares to support ongoing operations of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 14, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-D-0008). AECOM Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, was awarded a $10,507,113 modification (0001BW) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0028 for logistics support services, including maintenance, supply and transportation. Work will be performed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 17, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $10,507,113 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Integration Innovation Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded an $8,310,128 modification (000117) to contract W31P4Q-18-A-0089 for the International Apache Technical Lifecycle Support task order. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of June 4, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Foreign Military Sales (Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom) funds in the amount of $8,310,128 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Creighton AB Inc.,* Reidsville, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $12,080,120 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's dress coats. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and New York, with a May 20, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1274). AIR FORCE LinQuest Corp., Los Angeles, California, has been awarded an $11,008,552 firm-fixed-price modification (P00047) to contract FA8819-15-F-0001 for the Space and Missile Systems Center technical support follow-on task order bridge extension. This modification provides continued technical support services for the Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Work will be performed at Los Angeles AFB, California, and is expected to be completed May 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $856,651; and fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,000,000 are obligated at the time of award. The U.S. Space Force, Space and Missile Systems Center, Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles AFB, California, is the contracting activity. Central Coast Water Authority, Buellton, California, has been awarded a $7,600,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity delivery order to provide Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and outlying municipalities with potable water. Work will be provided at Vandenberg AFB, California, and is expected to be completed June 14, 2032. The cumulative value of this contract is $165,443,388. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,593,715 are being obligated at the time of award. The 30th Contracting Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, California, is the contracting activity (F04684-92-D-0013). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2194990/source/GovDelivery/

  • Will COVID-19 Kill The Liberal World Order?

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Will COVID-19 Kill The Liberal World Order?

    By JAMES KITFIELDon May 22, 2020 at 4:01 AM For a brief moment it seemed that the worst global pandemic in a century might lead to increased comity between the United States, China and Russia after years of geopolitical eye-gauging. As the virus spread there were early signs of a pause in the escalating cycle of military brinksmanship, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and trade wars that has badly shaken the rules-based international order in this era of great power competition. Beijing seemed to initially embrace a spirit of cooperation when it donated protective gear and testing equipment to hard hit countries in Europe. President Trump for months was uncharacteristically effusive in his praise of Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to combat the virus. Russian President Vladimir Putin got into the soft power act in early April when he dispatched an An-124 military transport to New York filled with donated masks and ventilators. (Of course, you can also argue it was a highly effective information operation designed to undermine U.S. standing in the world.) That moment was short lived. “Unfortunately, this crisis is likely to unfold in three consecutive waves, with a public health crisis followed by an economic crisis, quite possibly followed by a security crisis,” said David Kilcullen, author of the recent book “The Dragons and Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West,” and a former special adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, and the U.S. Secretary of State. The United States is already experiencing high levels of domestic unrest at a time of paralyzing partisan rancor, he noted, and the discord will certainly increase as the presidential election nears in November. Adding to that combustible mixture is likely to be a second wave of the virus expected to hit in the fall, and foreign actors like Russian and China determined to use disinformation to stoke domestic divisions during the election. “Given the likelihood of internal instability and anti-government anger here and around the world, there will be a huge incentive for leaders who personalize politics like Trump, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping to look for external scapegoats for their domestic troubles, which has already started to happen,” said Kilcullen. “This crisis also comes at a point when the international system that we've known since the end of World War II was already rotting and weaker than it appears. It may only take one big shock to bring that whole structure down, and, if we're not very careful, the pandemic could be that shock. So this is the most dangerous geopolitical dynamic I have seen in my entire career.” As it became clear the Chinese Communist Party covered up the initial outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, wasting precious time and allowing it to blossom into a global pandemic, Beijing launched a campaign of intimidation and economic threats to mute international criticism. Borrowing a page from Russian disinformation operations, Beijing posited the conspiracy theory that the virus originated with the U.S. military. Both China and Russia pushed alarmist narratives about the pandemic on social media to sow division and panic inside the United States. Much of the protective equipment Beijing “donated” to the West carried a price tag and turned out to be defective. In his own campaign of blame shifting and heated rhetoric, President Donald Trump accused China of being responsible for an attack on the United States that “is worse that Pearl Harbor,” and “worse than the World Trade Center” that fell in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Chinese incompetence in dealing with the virus, Trump tweeted this week, is responsible for “mass Worldwide killing!” Trump darkly hinted in mid-April that he had information that a virology lab in Wuhan played an important role in the virus' creation, even though the U.S. Intelligence Community consensus was that the virology lab in Wuhan had nothing to do the virus' creation or origins. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted there is “enormous evidence” the coronavirus originated in that lab. “We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations,” Pompeo told reporters this week, after sending a rare, high-level message of congratulations to recently reelected Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen, who has rejected the “one country, two systems” construct that has kept the peace between China and Taiwan for nearly half a century. As the Trump administration weighs retribution against China, it has continued to ratchet up the rhetoric and provocations, angering and worrying allies by cutting critical funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the midst of the pandemic, and boycotting a virtual meeting of G-20 nations that attempted to coordinate an international response to the crisis, leaving a leadership gap that China was happy to help fill. Meanwhile, populist leaders and autocratic regimes around the world are using the threat of the pandemic to assume extraordinary powers and crack down on their political opposition in what the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Counterterrorism and Human Rights called an “an epidemic of authoritarianism,” according to the The New York Times. Shaky World Order Even before the pandemic the post-WW II international order that the United States constructed and led for more than half a century was on shaky ground. The global institutions, alliances and rules governing international relations has been challenged by assertive autocratic regimes like China and Russia, and eroded from within by inward-looking nationalist-populists movements spreading throughout the Western democracies. The liberal international order has also been largely abandoned by its leader as Donald Trump's administration retreats further into “America First” isolationism. The Trump doctrine in international affairs actively seeks to undermine the institutions of global order, whether it's the World Health and Trade Organizations, the UN, the European Union or NATO. The administration has rejected or abolished all manner of multilateral agreements and treaties designed to peacefully constrain international rivalries, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Paris Climate Agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, and quite possibly next year the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). A Dark History History is rife with cautionary examples of natural disasters or economic crises conflating with geopolitical tensions, with cataclysmic results. The catastrophic 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed more than 20 million victims worldwide, was accelerated and spread by troop movements during World War I. With many Americans disillusioned by the war and loss, the United States turned insular and isolationist during the 1920s, rejecting the League of Nations, dramatically curtailing immigration and erecting steep tariff barriers to trade. Much of the rest of the world followed suit. The U.S. stock market crash of 1929 was compounded the next year by one of the worst droughts in history. When the Japanese invaded China two years later, and Adolf Hitler became German chancellor soon after, there was no League of Nations nor stabilizing trading systems to contain the war fever that swept the globe and became World War II. “When you think back to 1918 and the Spanish flu, it's worth remembering that more people died in the second wave than the first, and the Great Depression and the 1930s taught us that bad economic conditions can be transformative,” said Joseph Nye, a professor emeritus and former Dean of the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, speaking recently on a videoconference organized by The National Interest. “The point is, in the current pandemic we're likely only in Act 1 of a multi-act play.” Combustible Leadership The very real potential for the pandemic crisis to propel the major powers towards outright military conflict was noted recently by the Chinese Ministry of State Security, Beijing's top intelligence agency. In a report for Xi Jinping and the senior Chinese leadership it reportedly concluded that global anti-China sentiment being stoked by the Trump administration has reached its highest peak since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, and as a result China needs to be prepared for a worst-case scenario of armed confrontation with the United States. Despite the warnings, Xi Jinping has doubled down in recent months on provocative military maneuvers in its neighboring seas, sending its Liaoning carrier battle group and military flights off the coast of Taiwan; conducting anti-submarine exercises in contested areas of the South China Sea; ramming and sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat near the disputed Paracel Islands; dispatching a fishing boat “militia” to harass Philippine counterparts near the contested Spratly Islands; and harassing a Malaysian drillship. Some analysts see those moves as an attempt by Xi Jinping to show strength and bolster his image at home among a Chinese populace wearied by the pandemic shutdowns and economic disruptions. Those provocations are exactly the kind of saber-rattling that can escalate dangerously in a time of crisis. George Beebe is a former director of the CIA's Russia analysis section, and author of the book “The Russia Trap: How Our Shadow War with Russia Could Spiral into Catastrophe.” “My concern is that the major power leaders Putin, Xi and Trump all tend to personalize international relations and politics. They are all going through severe economic and political distress. Each of them is convinced that their rivals are trying to exploit the pandemic crisis, and not one of them is dealing from a position of strength and confidence,” he told me. Putin has long felt betrayed and threatened by the United States, Beebe noted, and Xi Jinping is convinced that America is trying to thwart China's rise. One of the few constants in Trump's worldview is the conviction that China has taken advantage of the United States with trade going back decades. “So there's a lot of fear and emotion and very little trust in the relationships between these leaders during a time of great strain, and their communications and diplomatic mechanisms to manage a crisis if one occurs have atrophied,” said Beebe. “Given that personalities and personal relationships among national leaders are far more important in international affairs than a lot of people appreciate, I do worry that we're entering a very dangerous period when cooler heads may not prevail among the great power leaders.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/will-covid-19-kill-the-liberal-world-order

  • ‘Major Milestone’ As Allies Join SPACECOM’s War Plan

    22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

    ‘Major Milestone’ As Allies Join SPACECOM’s War Plan

    "The hesitation to include allies in Olympic Defender was on our end as well," says Secure World Foundation's Brian Weeden. "National security space is sort of the last bastion of America's 'crown jewels'." By THERESA HITCHENSon May 21, 2020 at 5:50 PM WASHINGTON: A number of US allies may now join Space Command in the US military's baseline plan for protecting and defending satellites during war, Operation Olympic Defender, we hear, following in the footsteps of the first country to sign up, the United Kingdom. SPACECOM today announced its leader, Gen. Jay Raymond, has signed the first order under OOD in his capacity as head of the combatant command. OOD is the US military's operational plan for protecting and defending US and allied satellites in conflict. “This is a major milestone for the newly established command,” Raymond said. “As the threats in the space domain continue to evolve, it is important we leverage and synchronize capabilities with our allies not only to understand each other's national perspectives, but to work seamlessly together to optimize our multinational space efforts.” Strategic Command created OOD in 2013 as the foundational plan for how the military will protect and defend US and allied satellites in a conflict. As Breaking D readers know, OOD was updated in 2018 to open up allied participation. “The purpose of OOD is to strengthen allies' abilities to deter hostile acts in space, strengthen deterrence against hostile actors, and reduce the spread of debris orbiting the earth,” the SPACECOM release explains. OOD is only one of a number of operational plans for space war Raymond has been working on since SPACECOM was established as a geographic command with an area of responsibility (AOR) 100 kilometers above sea level and up to infinity. He told reporters yesterday that he last week inked the new “campaign plan” for SPACECOM's day-to-day operations; every Combatant Command has such a campaign plan; this will be SPACECOM's first. “That's our foundational plan, if you will,” Raymond explained, “that drives our day-to-day activities across the command of SPACECOM.” In addition, SPACECOM now has responsibility for developing, updating and enacting when the ball drops specialized contingency plans for space war, mapped to specific adversary countries. Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter back in 2016 set the precedent, naming Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as the key strategic challengers to the US military. SPACECOM's announcement today also noted that the United Kingdom was the first ally to publicly acknowledge this past July its participation in OOD. London subsequently sent additional personnel to Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg AFB to support its decision, SPACECOM added. CSpOC is responsible for command and control of day-to-day space operations and includes allies representation. The 18th Space Control Squadron is responsible for space domain awareness operations. Up to now, many allies were leery of signing up due to the fact that space operations were being commanded by STRATCOM, which also oversees US nuclear war planning. Public opinion in many US allies, such as Germany and Italy, traditionally has been strongly anti-nuclear. It is not by chance that even the UK, which had joined OOD under STRATCOM's control, kept its participation silent until now. “Some of those same concerns were initially raised about having USSTRATCOM be the lead agency for signing SSA data sharing agreements with other countries,” noted Brian Weeden, head of program planning at Secure World Foundation and a former Air Force officer who worked on space situational awareness operations at STRATCOM. “But the hesitation to include allies in Olympic Defender was on our end as well,” Weeden added. “National security space is sort of the last bastion of America's “crown jewels” and there are a lot of people in that community who are very reluctant to open the kimono to our allies, even the allies who we've been deeply collaborating on intelligence sharing for decades.” DoD and expert sources say interest in participation in space war planning has increased not just because of SPACECOM's standup, but also because concerns about Russian and Chinese efforts to build up their military space capabilities. Indeed, NATO in December declared space an operational domain of joint allied action — albeit insisted that this does not mean NATO endorses space weaponization. France last summer adopted an aggressive space strategy, including pursuit of offensive anti-satellite weapons. Japan on May 19 announced its new Space Operations Squadron, under the Japanese Air-Self Defense Force, to monitor and protect Japanese satellites. For example, the number of countries signing SSA agreements with DoD has jumped to 25, with Peru signing a memorandum of understanding with SPACECOM just last week to gain access to data about space objects collected by the military's Space Surveillance Network of radar and optical telescopes, as well as data to help the country's satellites avoid on-orbit collisions. “This agreement will give Peru access to the highest quality satellite tracking data available to assist them with PerúSat-1 and its eventual follow-on and will provide a linkage to the experts at the 18th Space Control Squadron. In addition, the SSA Agreement enables Peru to request seven advanced services available only to agreement holders,” SPACECOM said in a May 12 announcement. Spain, France and Italy — all of which operate military satellites — have expressed interest in participating in OOD, we are told. Besides the UK, the other members of the so-called “Five Eyes” — Australia, Canada and New Zealand — who already shared intelligence with the US are expected to join in. Although Germany has been hesitant to be seen as pro-space weapons, Berlin has a sophisticated military space program and is unlikely to stay outside of operational planning if rival France joins in. Japan too can be expected to sign on, as it has been seeking myriad ways to be more active in partnering with the US military on space protection — including agreeing to host US military payloads on Japanese satellites. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/major-milestone-as-allies-join-spacecoms-war-plan

  • KMW, Nexter and Rheinmetall get the go-ahead for initial MGCS architecture study

    22 mai 2020 | International, Terrestre

    KMW, Nexter and Rheinmetall get the go-ahead for initial MGCS architecture study

    May 20, 2020 - Standing for Main Ground Combat System, MGCS is a joint Franco-German defence project. The programme, to be implemented under German political leadership, is tasked with developing a main combat system to succeed the Bundeswehr's Leopard 2 and the French Army's Leclerc starting in 2035. Making the start of the MGCS procurement programme Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), Nexter Systems and Rheinmetall AG established an ARGE in December 2019. Now, the partners and the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), acting in the name of Germany and France, have signed a contract for the “System Architecture Definition Study - Part 1” (SADS Part 1). This contract sounds the industrial starting gun for a MGCS Demonstration Phase At the Franco-German Ministerial Council meeting in Toulouse on 16 October 2019, the defence ministers of both nations, Florence Parly and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, emphasized their commitment to developing the MGCS. The ARGE is a German acronym standing for Arbeitsgemeinschaft, or “working group”. Under German law, the ARGE serves as the contractual partner of the procurement authority (BAAINBw) during the first phase of the programme. Officials of the three companies represent the ARGE vis-à-vis third parties. The aim of the study is to harmonize the final MGCS concepts of the previous phase, to analyse further details, and to propose a common multi-platform architecture. The three contractual partners will assess various aspects of different concepts: technical feasibility in the projected timeframe allotted for the programme; ability to fulfil the operational needs of both armies; efficiency and compatibility with national “systems of systems” (SCORPION for France and Digitization of Land-Based Operations (D-LBO) for Germany). Workshares in the SADS Part 1 are to be distributed equally between France and Germany on a fifty-fifty basis. The first phase of architecture work is expected to last 18 months. View source version on Rheinmetall : https://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_23936.php

  • Northrop Grumman Builds Very Lightweight Torpedo for US Navy

    22 mai 2020 | International, Naval

    Northrop Grumman Builds Very Lightweight Torpedo for US Navy

    By Fernando Catta-Preta May 21, 2020 - Northrop Grumman has successfully manufactured and tested the first industry-built Very Lightweight Torpedo (VLWT) for the U.S. Navy. The prototype torpedo is based on the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory's (PSU-ARL) design that was distributed to defense industrial manufacturers in 2016. Northrop Grumman, which independently funded the research and development, will offer the design-for-affordability improvements to this VLWT as Northrop Grumman's response for the Navy's Compact Rapid Attack Weapon program. Northrop Grumman‘s torpedo design and production legacy reaches back over 80 years to World War II through its Westinghouse acquisition. In 1943, Westinghouse won the Navy contract to reverse engineer a captured German electric torpedo and in 12 months began producing the MK18 electric torpedo, which turned the tide of the undersea warfare in the Pacific. Northrop Grumman has been at the forefront of torpedo design and production ever since, to include the current MK48 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) heavyweight torpedo and MK50 Lightweight Torpedo. Today, Northrop Grumman is the only company in full rate production of MK54 and MK48 torpedo nose arrays and has delivered over 600 MK54 arrays and over 70 MK48 arrays to the U.S. Navy. Applying its engineering and manufacturing expertise, Northrop Grumman improved upon the VLWT baseline design to replace high-cost components and drive overall affordability, reproducibility and reliability. Those altered sections were built and tested using PSU-ARL's own test equipment for confidence. “The successful testing of the torpedo nose on the first try is a testament to Northrop Grumman's design-for-affordability approach, which will significantly reduce cost without sacrificing operational performance,” said David Portner, lead torpedo program manager, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman assembled the prototype VLWT using a Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System (SCEPS) manufactured by teammate Barber-Nichols, Inc., (BNI) of Denver, Colorado. “The nation needs advanced undersea warfare capabilities now more than ever," said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. “We are ready to support fielding the VLWT which will increase subsea lethality and enable innovative concepts of operations for multiple warfighting platforms.” Northrop Grumman's manufacturing plan would span the country by building components in California, Utah, Minnesota, Colorado, West Virginia and Maryland. View source version on Northrop Grumman: https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/features/northrop-grumman-builds-very-lightweight-torpedo-for-us-navy

  • UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to get latest radar technology from Leonardo

    22 mai 2020 | International, Sécurité

    UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to get latest radar technology from Leonardo

    Rome, May 21, 2020 - The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will upgrade to Leonardo's latest Osprey radar to support missions such as search and rescue, border protection, fishery and pollution patrols. The Osprey 30 radar will be installed on-board the two customised Beechcraft King Air aircraft provided to the UK MCA by UK-based aviation services company 2Excel. Currently, the UK MCA is operating Leonardo's Seaspray 7300E radar, which has been employed to great effect in support of regular fishery and pollution patrols around the UK. The radar comes equipped with Leonardo's patented small target detection capability, allowing it to spot shipwrecked individuals in the water at long range, even in the most difficult environmental conditions and sea states. Additionally, the radar provides the ability for MCA crews to identify oil spills and rogue polluters at very long range, day or night. 2Excel will build on this success by equipping the MCA King Airs with Leonardo's second generation Osprey radar, the latest entry in its range of E-scan surveillance radars. Osprey benefits from all of the capabilities of the Company's Seaspray family whilst also adding additional modes and optimized overland and coastal imaging capabilities. This makes the radar ideally suited to mixed environment operations, such as along the coast. Traditionally, coastguard aircraft have used radars with restricted fields of view and limited detection capabilities, making searches laborious and resource-intensive. Leonardo's radars solve these problems. The Company is a world leader in E-scan, also known as AESA (Active Electronically-Scanned Array) technology, which uses a matrix of hundreds of tiny radar modules to ‘steer' an electronic beam, rather than mechanically moving the radar to point at a target. With a Leonardo E-Scan radar, crews can lift off, scan in 360 degrees and almost-instantaneously detect, track and classify hundreds of maritime contacts, allowing crews to quickly task cooperating aircraft to deeply search an area of interest. Other E-scan advantages include extremely high reliability, as the radar can continue to operate effectively throughout a mission even if a number of its individual radar modules fail. Customers in 30 countries have selected Leonardo's E-scan radars including the Seaspray and Osprey families, with the US Navy procuring the Osprey 30 radar for its Fire Scout unmanned helicopter programme. View source version on Leonardo: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/21-05-2020-uk-maritime-and-coastguard-agency-to-get-latest-radar-technology-from-leonardo

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