Defence`s Feeds

The French Navy's new Missile de Croisière Navale (MdCN) land attack cruise missile made its operational debut as part of allied strikes against Syrian chemical weapon sites during the night of 13-14 April. Three MdCN missiles were launched from the Aquitaine-class FREMM multimission frigate

Soviet Kub (SA-6 Gainful) Short-Range Air Defense Missile System

US, British, and French forces bombarded Syrian sites connected to the country’s chemical weapons programme in a predawn attack on 14 April, with most of the missiles coming from naval assets. At least 69 of the 105 weapons launched on three Syrian sites came from naval forces, according to

Key Points Allied navies and air forces launched 105 TLAM, JASSM-ER, MdCN, Storm Shadow, and Scalp missiles into Syria Syrian and Russian forces said most missiles were intercepted, but the Pentagon said none were intercepted US, UK, and French forces fired a variety of sea- and air-launched

The International Conference on Cyber Defence – Building a Rapid Response will be held in the Central Military Club, Sofia, Bulgaria, from 13 to 14 June 2018. This event is co-organised by the Bulgarian EU Presidency and the European Defence Agency (EDA).

The aim of the Conference is to highlight the requirements and solutions for a rapid response to cyber defence crises and how the associated challenges can be met through different research and technology, education, training and exercises initiatives at EU level.

The conference will offer an excellent knowledge-sharing opportunity within the gathering of representatives from governments, EU, academia, Armed Forces, industry, and innovation centers.

The conference will comprise presentations on operational challenges together with presentations by industry start-ups, small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), cyber defence companies, government structures, and academic institutions.  The topics to be discussed will be related with the following thematic areas:

• setting the requirements for rapid response
• rapid response solutions
• research and innovation on cyber cefence
• training, developing and exercising a Rapid Response Force
• cross-sectorial cooperation on EU civil-military synergies
• the new EU Cyber Defence Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation Platform 
  
  

Call for papers 

A call for papers on topics of interest has been published here. Accepted papers will be presented at the conference.

For more detailed information, please visit the Conference website.

 

Russian Kh-35 Anti-Ship Cruise Missile

Americas

• A contractual row between the US Department of Defense (DoD) and Lockheed Martin has resulted in the Pentagon ceasing to accept deliveries of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. While it is not clear when exactly the suspension of deliveries began, it follows a previous halting for 30 days in 2017 after corrosion where panels were fastened to the airframe were discovered on 200 aircraft. Sources close to the issue speaking to Reuters claim the recent halting was due to arguments over who would foot the bill to cover the sending of Lockheed technicians to travel around the world to remedy last year’s issue on jets based overseas. Two unnamed foreign military sales customers have also stopped accepting aircraft.

• The first range test of Lockheed Martin’s AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) from an F/A-18 Super Hornet will take place later this year. Speaking to Military.com, Lockheed’s vice president of strike systems, Alan Jackson said captive-carry testing is currently underway following a successful jettison release test last year. The munition has already been tested and dropped from the B-1B bomber and will be operationally fielded on the platform this September following two more flights this summer. Based on the AGM-158B JASSM-ER, the LRASM hosts the sae capabilities but can also detect, identify and attack moving, maritime targets. In addition to the Super Hornet, Lancer, and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the LRASM can also be deck-launched from a vertical launch system on a Navy destroyer.

• Jane’s reports that the US Air Force intends to commence integration of the next-generation Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missile on the B-52H bomber from next year, despite the fact no contractor has been selected to develop the missile. According to a pre-solicitation notification released by the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) on April 10, the service intends to award the bomber’s manufacturer Boeing with $250 million for the integration and testing work from January 1, 2019 until December 31, 2023. As to the development of the missile itself, both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are currently competing—which intends to replace the AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM)—to develop the LRSO, with the former’s design expected to draw on its AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). Raytheon have yet to reveal any information on its proposed solution. The program is currently in the technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase and is expected to be ready for fielding in about 2030.

Middle East & Africa

• Israel is considering joining the potential procurement of V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft with a larger heavy-lift package that aims to replace its fleet of aged CH-53 Yasur helicopters. Tel Aviv had initially put a pause on buying six Ospreys last year, three years after the US State Department cleared the potential sale. However, the freeze was short-lived with Israeli officials restarting talks over their purchase late last year. According to NAVAIR officials, any sale of V-22s would be part of a package with heavy-lift helicopters—Israel is considering both the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion and the Boeing CH-47F Chinook—adding that European countries such as Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK have also been targeted as potential foreign buyers for the Osprey. The export push comes as the V-22 joint program office looks to fill vacant production capacity ahead of the release of a third multi-year production contract for V-22s this summer. According to Flight Global, the next five-year production plan calls for introducing CMV-22s with the US Navy, and delivering 17 V-22s ordered by Japan, along with additional shipments to the USMC and AFSOC.

Europe

• European missile consortium MBDA and Lockheed Martin have successfully completed qualification testing of the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) from Lockheed’s Extensible Launching System (ExLS) 3-Cell Stand Alone Launcher. MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) is a highly compact missile that enables multiple weapons to be fitted in limited spaces. It is the most modern air defence missile of its class on the market and has recently completed a highly successful series of firings by the British Royal Navy. The ExLS allows CAMM to come in a quad-pack arrangement which allows to store and fire 4 missiles from a single cell and is specifically designed for use on smaller naval platforms that are unable to accommodate the larger 8-cell MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS). A MBDA press release said the qualification tests took place in the UK towards the end of 2017.

• German ministers have told its lawmakers that the air force’s Panavia Tornado fighters are unable to fight at night. According to local media, the problem is two part: Firstly, the current lights used by displays “are not suited for night-vision mode”, meaning pilots would be blinded by them should they use light enhancing goggle. Secondly, it has been reported that certification officials are unsure they can obtain documentation from the goggles producer that would be required for a fleet-wide approval. Germany’s Tornado fleet are not new to such issues. Earlier this year, it was reported that the fuel used by the German Tornado fleet appears to have been mixed with ‘too much bio-diesel’.

Asia-Pacific

• Ahead of its stall at this week’s Defexpo 2018 in Chennai, India, MBDA’s one-year old joint venture with Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T)—L&T MBDA Missile Systems Limited (L&T MBDA)—has given updates on the various guided weapons systems being offered to the Indian military. The 5th Generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM 5) is being offered to the Armed Forces under the Buy (Indian – IDDM) procurement category, with a fully functional simulator to feature at Defexpo. Meanwhile, the joint venture is offering to the Indian Navy, for its Naval Surface Platforms—the Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) and the Medium Range Anti-Ship Missile System—both of which are being offered under the Buy and Make (Indian) Category. The JV added that it was also preparing to participate in various ‘Make’ category projects. India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative aims to develop India’s industrial and manufacturing base through its defense procurements.

Today’s Video

• Flying demo of Pakistan Army Mi-35:

A UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Raytheon Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft has been despatched to Cyprus as part of a build-up of coalition assets in advance of a potential strike against Syria. Open-source tracking picked up the ADS-B transponder of the RAF aircraft, serial number JZ690, as it took off

The European Defence Agency (EDA) and national defence technology experts are mulling how to build on the results of a recently completed EDA research project that involved swarmed but heterogeneous sensor platforms. Two of the central problems now awaiting solution are how to generate sufficient

NATO and other international organisations are grappling to frame a response, military or legal, to cyber attacks that fall short of war but pose potentially deadly threats to society. “The allies now find themselves in a sort of ‘Article Four-and-a-half’ situation today, caught

Rolls-Royce and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) have signed an agreement to jointly assemble MTU Series 8000 engines in India that will power navy and coastguard vessels. They will assemble the 16-cylinder and 20-cylinder MTU Series 8000 engines at state-owned GSL’s new facility in Goa, the

Key Points Russia has said the Syrians shot down five of eight missiles launched by Israeli jets on 9 April The Israelis nevertheless still hit a hangar at T4 airbase The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that Syrian air defences were able to shoot down Israeli stand-off missiles on 9

Nearly 170 UK Royal Air Force (RAF) student pilots are waiting to complete their flight training because of blockages in the service’s training organisations preventing them from moving to the next stage in their flying courses. The issue appears to have dramatically escalated since June 2016

Event On 11 April 2018, a German humanitarian worker was abducted by armed men near Ayorou in the western Tillabéri region close to the border with Mali He was returning from an assessment mission when his vehicle was ambushed by eight gunmen on four motorbikes. His four Nigerien colleagues

BAE Systems has invested GBP10 million (USD14.2 million) in its Maritime Integration & Support Centre (MISC) in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, which will facilitate research into technologies such as artificial intelligence, information and electronic warfare, unmanned vehicles, and new weapons.

Boeing has entered an industrial partnership with Indian companies Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) to support the local production of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. In a joint statement issued 12 April the three companies said their arrangement

The Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) has acquired three vessels from Norwegian company Solstad Farstad. The Brazilian Navy and Solstad Farstad signed a deal on 4 April for three Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels, constructed between 2010 and 2011, to be refitted as support vessels (Navios de

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has begun work on a new programme that aims to bolster the hardware side of electronic system security. The System Security Integrated through Hardware and Firmware (SSITH) programme aims to protect systems against broad classes of hardware

Event On 10 April, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of its United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) to April 2019. MINUJUSTH replaced the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in October 2017 initially for a six-month period, with the aim of

Following the decimation of its Pascagoula River shipbuilding facility as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has revealed plans to restore the site to support existing ship construction and modernisation efforts. In addition to supporting current activities,