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Selon les nouveaux chiffres du Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), le total des dépenses militaires mondiales a atteint 1 739 milliards $US en 2017, une augmentation de 1,1 % en termes réels par rapport à 2016. L'organisation explique dans son rapport que les dépenses militaires de la Chine ont de nouveau augmenté en 2017, poursuivant une tendance à la hausse des dépenses qui dure depuis plus de deux décennies. Les dépenses militaires de la Russie ont diminué pour la première fois depuis 1998, tandis que les dépenses des États-Unis sont restées constantes pour la deuxième année consécutive. En 2017, les dépenses militaires représentent 2,2 % du produit intérieur brut mondial (PIB) soit 230 $US par personne. «L'augmentation des dépenses militaires mondiales de ces dernières années est largement dues à la croissance substantielle des dépenses des pays d'Asie et Océanie et du Moyen-Orient, tels que la Chine, l'Inde et l'Arabie Saoudite», précise Dr Nan Tian, chercheur au programme Armes et Dépenses militaires (AMEX) du SIPRI. «Au niveau mondial, le poids des dépenses militaires s'éloigne clairement de la région Euro-Atlantique». Dans le détail Les dépenses militaires en Asie et Océanie ont augmenté pour la 29ème année consécutive. La Chine, deuxième plus grand dépensier au monde, a augmenté ses dépenses militaires de 5,6 % à 228 milliards $US en 2017. La part des dépenses chinoises dans les dépenses militaires mondiales est passée de 5,8 % en 2008 à 13 % en 2017. En revanche, les dépenses militaires en Afrique ont diminué de 0,5 % en 2017, soit la troisième baisse annuelle consécutive depuis le pic des dépenses enregistré en 2014. Avec 66,3 milliards $US, en 2017 les dépenses militaires de la Russie sont inférieures de 20 % à celles de 2016, première baisse annuelle depuis 1998. Poussées, en partie, par la perception d'une menace croissante de la part de la Russie, les dépenses militaires en Europe centrale et occidentale ont augmenté respectivement de 12 % et 1,7 %. De nombreux États européens sont membres de l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) et, dans ce cadre, ont convenu d'augmenter leurs dépenses militaires. Le Canada n'est pas en reste puisque pour la première fois le pays intègre le Top 15 mondial (14e place) avec plus de 27 milliards $ CAD dépensés en Défense, comparativement à environ 24 milliards $ CAD en 2016. C'est donc une hausse de 15% en une seule année ! Dans une déclaration envoyée à 45eNord.ca, le ministre de la Défense nationale Harjit Sajjan indique: «Nous respectons notre engagement d'accroître les dépenses de défense gr'ce à notre politique de défense nationale, Protection, Sécurité, Engagement. Tel qu'énoncé dans notre politique de défense, nous augmentons les dépenses annuelles de défense au cours des 10 prochaines années pour les porter à 32,7 milliards de dollars en 2026-27, soit une augmentation de plus de 70%. Je suis fier des investissements historiques que notre gouvernement réalise gr'ce à Protection, Sécurité, Engagement, et le Canada est fier d'être parmi les meilleurs pays qui investissent dans ses forces armées». http://www.45enord.ca/2018/05/depenses-militaires-mondiales-hausse-sipri-canada-record-historique/

La Commission européenne propose un budget de 20 milliards d'euros pour la défense entre 2021 et 2027, dont 7 milliards pour le Fonds européen de défense. SOURCE AFP Publié le 29/04/2018 à 10:07 | Le Point.fr L'Union européenne de la défense se concrétise financièrement avec une dotation conséquente de près de 20 milliards d'euros dans le projet de budget préparé par la Commission européenne pour la période 2021-2027, selon des documents de travail vus par l'Agence France-Presse. Sans surprise, le Fonds européen de défense se taille la part du lion avec une dotation pour l'ensemble de la période de 7 milliards pour l'industrie de la défense et une autre de 3,5 milliards pour la recherche et le développement conjoints de technologies et d'équipements. Une seconde enveloppe de 6,5 milliards d'euros est consacrée à la mobilité militaire en Europe. L'espace n'est pas en reste avec un financement programmé de 13 milliards d'euros pour les systèmes de navigation par satellites Galileo et EGNOS. « Cela correspond exactement à ce qui est annoncé depuis le lancement du Fonds de défense avec une dotation de 1,5 milliard d'euros par an », a déclaré à l'Agence France-Presse l'eurodéputé français Arnaud Danjean, spécialiste des questions militaires. Le Fonds doit permettre de financer des projets montés en coopération, a souligné Arnaud Danjean. Lire aussi - Pourquoi l'Europe de la défense ne parvient pas à décoller La dotation pour la mobilité vise pour sa part à renforcer les capacités logistiques avec des infrastructures routières et ferroviaires utilisables pour déplacer des unités et des équipements militaires de l'Italie à la Pologne, de la France à l'Estonie. « Tout cela relève du symbole plus que d'une capacité crédible », a toutefois jugé sous couvert de l'anonymat un eurodéputé membre de la commission des Budgets. L'objectif de l'Union européenne est de se renforcer en tant qu'acteur mondial, mais également de se préparer à un éventuel désengagement des États-Unis. Des économies potentielles L'effort financier demandé est aussi justifié par les économies potentielles. « En procédant à des acquisitions communes, nous pouvons économiser près d'un tiers des dépenses actuellement consacrées à la Défense », soutient le président de la Commission européenne Jean-Claude Juncker. « L'UE compte actuellement 178 systèmes d'armes différents contre 30 seulement aux États-Unis », se plaît-il à rappeler. « Lorsque les chefs d'État et de gouvernement déclarent que l'Europe doit à l'avenir se mobiliser encore plus fortement pour protéger la population et assurer sa sécurité, ils doivent traduire leurs paroles en actes, répondre aux questions par des moyens financiers concrets », a estimé M. Juncker en février. Compétence des États membres, la Défense est un poste budgétaire nouveau dans le budget européen. Aucun euro n'avait été budgétisé pour la mobilité militaire sur l'exercice 2014-2020 et la dotation du Fonds européen de Défense était de 590 millions d'euros. http://www.lepoint.fr/europe/budget-de-l-ue-bruxelles-propose-une-enveloppe-consequente-pour-la-defense-29-04-2018-2214420_2626.php

David Pugliese Just months after a contract to sell military helicopters to the Philippines was cancelled, a Canadian firm is hoping it can revive the controversial deal. The Liberal government ordered a review of the original contract involving Bell Helicopter Canada after human rights concerns were raised in February about the aircraft being used on the front lines of the country's various conflicts. But that review angered Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, who cancelled the $234-million deal for 16 Bell 412 helicopters to be built in Mirabel, Que. Bell says it is now back in discussions with the Philippines as a potential client for the same helicopters. Patrick Moulay, a Bell senior vice-president, told the aviation publication Flight Global that he can't get into specifics because the discussions are commercially sensitive. “We are still discussing to see how we can address the missions and operational needs of our customers,” he explained. “We are talking to them on a daily basis but you should wait for a few more weeks before we go into more details.” In February, when the original deal became public, human rights advocates expressed disbelief that Canada was selling the aircraft to the Philippines considering the country's poor human rights record and its controversial leader Duterte. The international criminal court has launched an initial inquiry into allegations of crimes against humanity committed by Duterte. The allegations relate to extrajudicial executions committed during the president's war on drugs, which has killed thousands. Duterte, who once boasted about throwing a man to his death from a helicopter, has also warned government officials they would face the same fate if he learned they were involved in corruption. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also raised concerns about extrajudicial killings while visiting the country in November, specifically those related to Duterte's violent crackdown on illegal drugs. The Canadian Commercial Corporation, a federal government agency, brokered the original February deal to supply the 16 Bell 412 helicopters to the Philippines. But the corporation noted in an email Monday that the organization is not supporting Bell's latest efforts in the Philippines. Bell Helicopter did not respond to a request for comment. Some arms control advocates are worried that Bell might do an end-run around Canadian regulations by shipping portions of the helicopters to its U.S. facilities for assembly and eventual sale to the Philippines. “Canada's arms control policies are so weak that there are various ways to get these helicopters to Duterte,” said Steve Staples, vice president of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa think tank. “Shipping semi-completed aircraft from Mirabel into the U.S. could be one way.” The Liberal government said in February it was unaware the Bell helicopters were going to be used for military operations in the Philippines. It stated the original purpose of the aircraft was for search and rescue and disaster relief. The Liberals blamed the previous Conservative government for initiating the deal. But the Philippine government never hid its intention to use the Canadian-built helicopters in military operations, even going as far as displaying the first batch of those choppers armed with machine guns during an official ceremony in 2015 attended by Canada's ambassador. Philippines Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, also told journalists in Manila that the aircraft “will be used for the military's internal security operations.” The Philippine military is keen to boost its capabilities as it fights Communist insurgents and Islamic extremists. It says it would use the Canadian helicopters to transport and supply troops and ferry wounded soldiers out of danger. Other uses would be for disaster relief. Last summer, the Philippine air force used its older utility helicopters during intense fighting in the city of Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city. http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/helicopter-firm-tries-to-revive-cancelled-canadian-deal-with-the-philippines

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin on Monday won a $1.4 billion contract to sustain the global F-35 enterprise for the U.S. military and international customers. According to Lockheed, the contract provides for “air system maintenance; pilot and maintainer training; depot activation; sustaining engineering; Automatic Logistics Information System (ALIS) support, data analytics and predictive health management; and supply chain logistics” for all U.S. and international F-35s through April 30, 2019. Of the $1.4 billion sum, about 73 percent will be paid by the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, while the other 27 percent will be covered by international customers. The cost of sustaining the F-35 has been a growing concern for leaders across the Defense Department, from F-35 joint program executive officer Vice Adm. Mat Winter to Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. Bloomberg reported in March that the Air Force could be forced to cut as many as 590 F-35As from its 1,763 program of record should sustainment costs not improve. While Air Force leadership, including Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein, have said they have no plans to slash the program, reducing F-35 sustainment costs to that of fourth generation fighters like the F-16remains a big priority. Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 global sustainment, addressed the sustainment cost issue in a news release. “We are taking aggressive actions to improve F-35 aircraft availability and reduce sustainment costs. As the sustainment system matures and the size of the operational fleet grows, we are confident we will deliver more capability at less cost than legacy aircraft,” she stated. The company has already taken some steps to try to improve readiness and repair costs, including expanding the supply chain, buying spare parts ahead of need to boost availability and achieve economies of scale, and investing in diagnostic and data analytics technologies, it said. So far, more than 280 F-35s have been delivered and operate from 15 bases worldwide. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/04/30/lockheed-gets-14b-contract-for-f-35-sustainment/

By: Kelsey Atherton For drone delivery to make sense, with existing capabilities of drones, the cargo needs to be relatively light, it needs to have tremendous value, and it needs to urgently travel the last mile by air. This is why, to the extent we've seen drones used for delivery in the wild, it's more likely as a means to carry contraband into a prison than it is a practical alternative to the postal service. But there's one other cargo that fits the description, and that's blood itself. Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the Pentagon's stand-up Silicon Valley-focused acquisition house, is looking for a drone that can carry a modest cargo of blood, through the dark of night toward where it's most needed. Call it “Dronesferatu.” From FCW: The specs of the solicitation from the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental -- the ability to deliver a 5-pound package over 100 kilometers in “austere environments” -- strongly suggest that they're looking at an unmanned aerial vehicle system that supports refrigeration or other means of temperature control. “These deliveries, ideally automated, will provide essential items to critically wounded military personnel as quickly as possible after an injury occurs,” the April 23 solicitation states. “Ability to sustain a very high frequency of operations over an extended period of time is critical. Speed of delivery, reliability and robustness to failure and interference, response time, and overall delivery throughput are critical.” Getting the right blood to the right people as fast as possible means saving lives. To that end, DARPA's funded research into metabolic rate reduction to see if there's a way to make people bleed out more slowly, or into using female hormones to similarly prolong the survivable time without transfusion. In 2013, the U.S. Army conducted a study on pre-hospital transfusion for battlefield casualties being medically evacuated in Afghanistan, and in 2012 Canadian Blood Services even tested the viability of paratroopers transporting blood for transfusion. Consider blood drones complementary to this field of work. Early tests by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Uganda's Makerere University proved that small vials of blood transported by drone were just as viable as blood transported by car. Those same researchers followed up with a test of blood delivery from ship-to-shore, for possible use in response to coastal areas hit by natural disasters, where the roads are impassable but drones could still safely fly. The American startup Zipline demonstrated its own blood delivery drones in 2016, and has for a year and a half worked on delivering blood by robot to parts of Rwanda. DIUx's ask, that a drone fly over 60 miles and carry 5 pounds of blood, is not far off from what Zipline's drones can already do, with the company stating a range of 100 miles and a cargo capacity of just under four pounds. Weight and range tradeoffs are at the heart of aviation design, so it's likely that vendors have already pitched something within the bounds of the solicitation. Should that drone make a fast turnaround from ask to prototype to useful tool, the troops fighting abroad may gain a better shot at surviving otherwise-fatal blood loss. Unlikely that the reverse-vampire drones will look like bats, though. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/05/03/diux-wants-drones-that-are-drones-out-for-blood/

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON ― The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced this week that it is reducing a surcharge on American defense goods sold abroad from 3.5 percent to 3.2 percent, effectively dropping the price foreign nations have to pay when buying weapons through the Foreign Military Sales system. The change will go into effect June 1. The funding from the surcharge is used to support the FMS process, by which the U.S. government acts as the go-between for industry and a foreign customer, using the American acquisition system. The announcement comes days after the Trump administration rolled out a new set of guidelinesfor conventional arms transfers and unmanned systems as part of a broader push to increase American weapon sales abroad. The U.S. sold $41.9 billion in arms through the FMS process in fiscal 2017, per a DSCA statement. Based on that figure, the U.S. took in roughly $1.46 billion through the 3.5 percent surcharge. Reducing it to 3.2 percent would drop that number to around $1.34 billion. DSCA head Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper tied the surcharge cut directly to that broader goal, saying in the announcement that the change “will immediately reduce the cost of doing business for our international partners.” “It demonstrates the Department of Defense's commitment to charge only what is needed in order to support the administration of the FMS program which includes the sale of defense articles, defense services, and military training,” Hooper added. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2018/04/27/us-makes-it-cheaper-for-foreign-nations-to-buy-american-weapons/

PARIS (Reuters) - Quatre groupes européens, dont le français Thales, ont annoncé mardi leur intention de coopérer pour doter le futur drone de surveillance européen de fonctions avancées de traitement de données et de communications. L'italien Elettronica, l'allemand Hensoldt, l'espagnol Indra et Thales précisent dans un communiqué commun avoir signé un protocole d'accord pour fournir des fonctions de renseignement, de surveillance, d'acquisitions de cibles et de reconnaissances (Istar) au futur drone en préparation par leurs quatre pays. "L'équipe est ouverte à la coopération avec d'autres entreprises", soulignent les quatre groupes. La phase de développement du drone MALE (haute altitude longue endurance) devrait démarrer en 2019. Airbus Defense and Space, Dassault Aviation (premier actionnaire industriel de Thales) et l'italien Leonardo avaient signé le contrat d'étude de définition en août 2016. Thales apportera son expertise dans les systèmes de missions de défense en se basant sur les technologies de connectivité, de big data (traitement massif de données), d'intelligence artificielle et de cybersécurité, fait valoir Patrice Caine, PDG du groupe français, cité dans le communiqué. (Cyril Altmeyer, édité par Matthieu Protard) https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/thales-et-trois-groupes-comptent-equiper-le-futur-drone-male-1284701

By: Sebastian Sprenger BERLIN ― Airbus, Dassault and Leonardo have revealed the first full-scale model of an envisioned European drone at the Berlin Air Show, upping the the visibility ― and scrutiny ― of a project meant to epitomize the continent's growing military profile. Thursday's mock-up unveiling was orchestrated with big fanfare on the tarmac of Schönefeld airport south of the German capital. Featuring climactic music, lights and dissipating smoke, the ceremony organizers were lucky enough to catch a momentary break between a hefty mix of rain showers, sunshine and wind gusts, considered typical April weather here. The medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft rides on a twin-turboprop propulsion system and will come in a strike-capable configuration when it reaches the actual flying stage in the mid-2020s. Germany, France, Italy and Spain have a hand in the program, though only the first three are considered the principal main industry partners, with Germany's Airbus in the lead. Notably, companies are building the unmanned plane so it can operate immediately in the dense European airspace. Past practice of first acquiring a drone and later worrying about requisite certifications has proven to be problematic, especially for the Germans. The mock-up is based on a vehicle configuration agreed by the partner nations in mid-2017. In January, the program passed a systems requirements review, prompting another study phase that should last through 2018 and lead to another milestone, a “system preliminary design review,” the companies wrote in a statement. “While still a lot of work lies ahead of us, this full-scale model represents a first milestone of what Europe can achieve in a high-technology sector if it bundles its industrial strength and know-how,” said Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. Hoke told reporters he views the approach to the drone as a learning experience for a new combat aircraft development that is on the horizon between Germany and France. In addition, he told Defense News there is some hope of redemption for problem-plagued projects of the past. For example, the European drone will come in one base configuration for all the countries that users can then move to expand, avoiding too many separate build types that came to haunt the A-400M, Hoke said. “This is a chance to prove that we can work in a different way together,” he said. One of the configurations will entail a strike package, though officials said they had yet to think about the particulars of that mission set. In an apparent nod to Germany, Hoke told Defense News that the combat capability would depend on political sensitivities in each user nations, and that customers can opt to solely install the reconnaissance features. Armed drones are a thorny subject in Germany, as the weapons conjure up images of the U.S. government's targeted killing of suspected terrorists, which many in the country reject. By the time the issue of armaments comes up for the Eurodrone, however, there may already be a resolution. That's because upcoming parliamentary decisions could lead to Germany's first-ever armed drone, the Heron TP, leased through Airbus from Israel. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2018/04/26/companies-unveil-eurodrone-model-at-berlin-air-show/

By: Todd South The new chief for research in the Pentagon is building an artificial intelligence center, pushing for self-driving vehicles in combat zones and more powerful lasers, and says solving the hypersonic gap means updating testing facilities. Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin testified before the House Armed Services Committee last week, answering questions on a range of gear and procurement questions. But those most relevant to service members included weapons systems on the horizon that troops could see in combat with near peer adversaries. More rapid development will include the use of unmanned ground vehicles in formations. The Army recently announced the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division will have a robotic combat vehicle called the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport in the ranks this year for testing, which will develop the likely full-fielding gear mule-type robot. Simple tasks, such as delivering food, mail, water and fuel, could be automated sooner than some think, Griffin said. “I think, frankly, we're going to have self-driving vehicles in theater for the Army before we'll have self-driving cars on the streets,” Griffin said. “If that can be done by an automated unmanned vehicle with a relatively simple AI driving algorithm where I don't have to worry about pedestrians and road signs and all of that, why wouldn't I do that?” Griffin pointed to Chinese systems that have been fielded or can be soon fielded that can launch a strike and reach out “thousands of kilometers” from the Chinese shore and “hold our carrier battle groups or forward deployed forces on land” at risk. “We, today, do not have systems which can hold them at risk in a corresponding manner, and we don't have defenses against those systems,” Griffin told the House Armed Services Committee members on April 18. Another Chinese technology threat includes the nation's development of swarm drone technologies to counter U.S. airpower and other strengths. That means getting powerful laser systems up to snuff. But it won't happen tomorrow. “We need to have 100-kilowatt-class weapons on Army theater vehicles. We need to have 300-kilowatt-class weapons on Air Force tankers,” Griffin said. “We need to have megawatt-class directed energy weapons in space for space defense. These are things we can do over the next decade if we can maintain our focus.” Scientists he's been talking with have told him that level of laser power is five to six years away and a “megawatt laser” is within a decade with persistent investment. ‘An unacceptable situation' Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., pointed out that the testing facilities, such as White Sands Missile Range in his state, have scarcely seen any upgrades or improvements in the past two decades, despite leaps in technology for missiles, lasers and other items. Griffin agreed, saying at a low estimate at least 20 such testing facilities across the nation are in the same situation. He said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency does most of the leading-edge work on hypersonic missile systems and they have exactly one testing facility, a NASA wind tunnel near Langley, Virginia. “This is an unacceptable situation,” Griffin said. He promised to return with budget requests to renovate those facilities to improve testing. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., asked about a new area of focus that has broad-reaching effects: artificial intelligence. Griffin oversees the creation of a Joint Artificial Intelligence Center that would create AI solutions for all the service branches. He deferred on the details but told members that he expected to return with a plan within two months. “We owe the Congress a report, I think, about two months from now on what our A.I. strategy will be. And the JAIC, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, will be a part of that overall strategy,” Griffin said. The plan must consider the 592 projects across the Defense Department that have AI as part of their development. https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-military/2018/04/24/new-pentagon-research-chief-is-working-on-lasers-ai-hypersonic-munitions-and-more/