Defence`s Feeds

Key Points Embraer is finishing its final Super Tucano for Lebanon Company feels confident it can find further international success with the aircraft Embraer is finishing up the last Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack turboprop as part of a six-aircraft deal

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) unveiled two new Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) variants at the annual CANSEC conference in Ottawa from 31 May to 1 June. The LAV 6.0 Combat Support Vehicle- Ambulance (CSV-A) and the LAV 6.0 Combat Support Vehicle- Maintenance and Recovery (CSV-MR) are

SEVEN police officers and a civilian were killed when a police armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) placed on a roadside by Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen militants in the Mangai area of Kenya's Lamu County on 31 May, Associated Press reported. Army personnel responding to

The Indian Navy (IN) will imminently commission into service the first of six licence-built French Kalvari (Scorpène)-class diesel-electric submarines, according to the navy’s chief of staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba. “INS Kalvari is going through the final phase of trials and we are

Indra is hoping to build on the success of its MRBR-800 system in the submarine electronic support measures (ESM) domain to win upgrade contracts, the company told Jane’s at Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2017. The company’s MRBR-800 system combines radar ESM (RESM) and electronic

Harris Corporation has secured new contracts to deliver sonobuoy launching technology for the US Navy's P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC has won a one-year contract modification in support of the US Navy's TH-57 Sea Ranger trainer helicopter fleet.

The US Navy has accepted the delivery of its first $12.9bn Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), in Newport News, Virginia, following the successful completion of sea acceptance trials.

German manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz has introduced its advanced naval navigation and bridge system, Synapsis Naval, which features a user-centred design.

3W-International's new customer services for new and existing customers is known as 3W Engineering Services.

Americas

• The US DoD has announced the successful test of its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor against a ICBM-class target. During the test, the US Missile Defense Agency launched an unarmed ICBM from Kwajalein Atoll, while the exoatmospheric hit-to-kill interceptor was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Various defense firms announced their involvement in the test, which saw Raytheon provide the interceptor as well as its sea-based X-band radar and AN/TPY-2 radar, Boeing with its Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, while Orbital ATK provided its ICBM target rocket for the national security system test.

• ATK Orbital has announced that it has received a $90 million contract from Northrop Grumman for composite materials meant for maintenance of the B-2 Spirit heavy stealth bomber. The deal will also include the production and delivery of 17 Hot Trailing Edge (HTE) parts for the bomber as well as Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) work. Work will be conducted over a five-year term and contains options for follow-on orders.

• Triumph Group will continue to manufacture parts for the V-22 aircraft if Boeing Bell successfully negotiates its next V-22 Osprey Multi-year 3 contract with the US Navy. In a renewed statement of work, Triumph added that it will also manufacture cargo ramps and doors for the aircraft, in addition to components including the empennage, elevator, ramp extensions, ramp mounted weapons system floor boards, main landing gear doors. Deliveries of the components in support of the Multi-year 3 contract would begin in 2019.

Middle East & North Africa

• Turkish defense electronics firm Aselsan is looking to secure s contract to supply very high frequency (VHF) radios to the Ukrainian armed forces. As many as 600 VHF units are being sought by Kiev, who are assessing proposals in accordance with the following: cost effectiveness; scalability and application potential; compatibility with the systems used by the Ukrainian Army, Navy and Air Force; NATO compliance; transfer-of-technology, offsets (e.g. co-production) and credit. Aselsan’s software defined radios (SDR) have already been exported to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Europe

• PGZ, a Polish defense firm, has moved to purchase Naval Shipyard (SMW) from the Polish Treasury in a deal expected to reach $60.1 million. Announcing the deal, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kownacki added that after the shipyard’s finances are overhauled, it will take part in a multi-billion dollar program to build three submarines. Three companies have applied to take part in the procurement procedure: France’s DCNS, Sweden’s Saab and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, but ministry officials have emphasized they expect the selected supplier to closely cooperate with Poland’s defense industry on the contract.

Asia Pacific

• South Korea’s Defence Ministry intentionally omitted details about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system battery (THAAD) in a report last week, according to a probe issued by President Moon Jae-in. The report failed to include details stating that four additional launchers have been added to the THAAD site as the new government was preparing for Moon’s summit with US President Donald Trump next month. An earlier version of the defense ministry report specified the total number of launchers being prepared for deployment and the name of the US military base where the four were being kept, but the reference was removed in the final version delivered to the government, according to presidential Blue House spokesman Yoon Young-chan.

• The Indian government has decided to cancel its Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SR-SAM) contest and will instead buy more of the indigenous Akash air defense missile system. A $2.7 billion contract released by New Delhi calls for two regiments of the system which will be delivered and inducted into the Indian Army in 2018, bringing to four the total number of Akash systems deployed with the service. The return to the Akash to the Indian Army comes after officials complained that the system experienced deficiencies in forward deployed locations which resulted in an upgrade of the system and which added systems required by the Army.

• Pakistan has received seven surplus Sea King helicopters from the British Royal Navy. Officials in Islamabad said that the helicopters will first undergo maintenance services undertaken by M/s Vector Aerospace before being shipped to Pakistan for deployment later this year. Built under license by Westland Helicopters, the deal for them was signed by Pakistan and Britain’s Ministry of Defense last year.

Today’s Video

• Ka-52 helicopter attacks Islamic State targets in Syria:

The Russian Navy's Admiral Essen frigate and Krasnodar submarine have conducted cruise missile strike missions against terrorist organisation ISIS from the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

United Electronic Industries (UEI) provides solutions for a wide range of military data acquisition, monitoring and control applications.The company's products are designed to handle adverse environm...

Viana do Castelo Class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are under construction for the Portuguese Navy.

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has laid the keel for its future Harry DeWolf-class Arctic offshore patrol ship (AOPS) HMCS Margaret Brooke at Halifax Shipyard in Nova Scotia, marking the beginning of the vessel's construction.

GE Marine Solutions has successfully completed fire testing on its new composite LM2500 marine gas turbine module.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The European Commission Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Lowri Evans, and the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Jorge Domecq, today signed a Delegation Agreement by which the Commission entrusts the EDA with the management of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) to be launched in early June. The signing was attended by Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux (DG GROW) as well as Jean-Eric Paquet, the Commission's Deputy Secretary-General.

The aim of the Preparatory Action, which is the first substantial EU funded action for defence research, is to demonstrate the added-value of EU-funded research in the defence sector. Running over a three-year period (2017-2019), the PADR will be a genuine test-bed for proving the relevance of European defence research and laying the foundations for a fully-fledged EU defence R&D programme in the Multi-annual Financial Framework beginning in 2021. It is a central element of the ‘Research Window’ of the European Defence Fund proposed by the Commission last November.

The PADR will provide European added value as the research projects will focus on capability priorities at European level, notably through the Capability Development Plan (CDP), and on areas where Member States can no longer afford to act alone. Thereby, it will also create new incentives for cooperation both among governments and industry.

At the signing ceremony, Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska stated: “The Commission is ready to play its role to the full and to even put EU funds and legal frameworks to support defence research and defence capabilities. This is potentially a game changer. However, to achieve this we need the expertise of the EDA. Together we can make a real difference. This partnership will continue to be important as we build the Defence Fund with the implementation of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme”.

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq thanked the Commission for making the Delegation Agreement possible and said the EDA was looking forward to a good and fruitful implementation. He stated: “Our work in carrying forward the Preparatory Action will be in line with EDA’s role as central operator for EU funded defence related activities as well as the preferred cooperation forum and management support structure at EU level for participating Member States to engage in technology and capability development activities, highlighted at EDA’s last Ministerial Steering Board. I am proud we have successfully achieved this agreement which lays the basis for a sound and fruitful cooperation between the Commission and EDA for the years to come. It is a balanced Delegation Agreement in which the Commission and EDA will be genuine partners. The Preparatory Action on Defence Research will be the test bed for the coming European Defence Research Programme”.

 

Foundations laid by successful Pilot Project

The foundations for the Preparatory Action were laid last year with the successful launch of a much smaller ‘Pilot Project on Defence Research’ which is also managed by the EDA on the basis of a Delegation Agreement signed in November 2015. The Pilot Project was a first opportunity for the EDA to demonstrate its ability to manage EU funding for defence research.

Mr Domecq stressed that the Agency was now ready and well prepared to run the much bigger PADR with its €90 million budget of which €25 million are earmarked for 2017.

The EDA played an important ‘upstream role’ in setting up the Preparatory Action and will also have a crucial ‘downstream’ task to fulfil, as a hub for the exploitation of the outcome of the different R&T projects under the PADR.

 

Next steps

Now that the Delegation Agreement is signed, the EDA will immediately proceed with its implementation. The first step will be the launch, on 7 June, of the 2017 calls for proposals. An Information Day is then scheduled for 27 June in order to inform entities from industry and the research community (including universities) about the opportunities and modalities of the Preparatory Action. Proposals can be submitted by the autumn and the signature of the first grant agreements is envisaged by the end of this year. Calls for 2018 proposals are expected to be launched early next year.

 

More information:

• EDA factsheet on PADR
• Practical details on 27 June Information Day
• Preparatory Action on Defence Research: Commission adopts financial decision with project détails (EDA webnews, April 2017)
  
  

On 8 June, SEDE will consider the draft report by Bodil Valero (Greens-EFA, Sweden) on "Arms export: the implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP". The EU collectively is the second largest arms supplier in the world (with 26% of all sales) and the Common Position is a set of rules, guidelines and principles that govern the exports of arms, military technology and equipment and intends to enable EU Member States to make socially responsible decisions concerning those exports.
In her draft report Ms Valero makes a series of recommendations in order to improve the implementation of the Common Position with the aim of avoiding that military technologies are exported to non-eligible countries and un-authorised end users. She also makes proposals to boost information exchange among Member States, to make their reporting more standardised and timely and to increase the role of parliaments and public opinion in scrutinising the arms trade.
Further information
Draft report
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Speedcast International Limited has expanded its contract with Airbus, one of the world's largest defence contractors, to include a partnership in the Philippines.