Defence`s Feeds

Turkish defence minister Fikri Isik has described Germany's decision to restrict arms exports to Turkey as unacceptable and called on Berlin to act reasonably. He added that the problems with Germany had not yet affected Turkey's military operations. "We are working hard for the rapid

FOUR people were killed and 15 others were wounded when unidentified militants detonated a grenade targeting a bakery in Jolo in the Philippines' Sulu province on 25 March, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A CIVILIAN was killed and five others were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated near a market in Subaihat in Abu Gharib in Iraq's capital Baghdad on 22 March, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

A CIVILIAN was killed and three others were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated in Hoor al-Basha district in Iraq's capital Baghdad on 26 March, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

TWO civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants at a roadside, detonated near a market in Radwaniya in Iraq's capital Baghdad on 27 March, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

TWO soldiers were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated at a roadside in Abu Gharib district in Iraq's capital Baghdad on 9 March, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

TWO explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated as they were defusing it in al-Naimaya district in Iraq's capital Baghdad on 21 March, Iraqi News reported. No group claimed responsibility for placing

India's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the INR42 billion (USD646 million) procurement of 100 modified South Korean Hanwa Techwin K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52-calibre tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) for the Indian Army on 29 March. Officials said the contract for the K9 Vajra

The Indian Navy (IN) decommissioned its fleet of Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-142M long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft on 29 March after 29 years of service. At a ceremony presided over by IN Chief of Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Tu-142Ms, of which Jane's understands

Emirati / Jordanian Nimr Light Utility Vehicle

BAE Systems has developed a new F-35 Lightning II flight simulator facility to allow pilots to prepare for trials on the British Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.

The US Navy, British Royal Navy and France's Marine Nationale have signed an agreement to ensure continued security at sea.

Australia-based Bisalloy Steel Group has announced a co-operation agreement with Swedish speciality steel manufacturer Swebor Stål Svenska for the distribution and sale of high-performance armour steel products to the civilian and defence armour mark…

Kongsberg Maritime has been contracted by the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) for the delivery of four complete HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems.

For military professionals, SAVOX THOR® is the only truly tactical headgear system that offers state-of-the-art ballistic protection together with integrated communications, hearing protection sensor data routing, centralized power management and nig…

The 4th European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training (EART 2017) exercise is currently underway at Eindhoven Airbase until 7 April. Four European nations (Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France) have been training together since March 26 concurrently with the multinational Frisian Flag fighter training exercise. 

EART 2017 specifically aims to train tanker crews in AAR operations within a realistic and multinational framework. In combination with the Frisian Flag exercise, EART 2017 represents a unique opportunity for specific training for air crews, planners, taskers and engineers in planning and executing missions in a complex COMAO (composite air operation) environment.

During the training exercise, crews will have the opportunity to increase their know-how in complex multinational scenarios. Furthermore crews can enhance their knowledge of multinational tanker aircraft and exchange information and procedures. EART 2017 is part of an approach that puts a premium on joint training exercises and increased standardisation to enhance overall effectiveness and interoperability of forces.
 

EART 2017 Press Day

A Press Day for EART 2017 was held on March 29th. It was attended by Member State’s representatives, exercise partners and the media. The event provided an opportunity to witness at first hand the latest developments in joint European AAR training.

Speaking at the Press Day of EART 2017, EDA Director for Capability, Armament & Technology, Mr. Peter Round commented: “AAR is one of the four key projects in which EDA and its Member States has identified a capability gap. We are working hard to overcome the shortfall in Europe in the AAR domain and this exercise is very important building block in that process. Training and standardisation leads to increasing interoperability and thus to a more efficient capability and force enabler in the sky.”
 

Why AAR Matters 

AAR is an area with Europe faces critical capability shortfalls, highlighted by operations in Mali, Libya and Kosovo. With AAR, pilots can extend the radius of their planes and flight time, and more complex missions can be performed. Moreover, the planes do not need to return to their base to refuel between missions. 
 

Background 

The EART concept was introduced in 2014 following EDA’s air-to-air refuelling (AAR) initiative, and is run by European Air Transport Command (EATC) from Eindhoven airbase. It is a dedicated AAR training for tanker and crews to become familiar with scenarios they are not regularly exposed to, maintain proficiency and enhance knowledge of multinational tanker aircraft. The exercise is supported by the Host nation (the Netherlands), MCCE and EDA. EART is organised on a yearly basis and is pooled with the multinational Frisian Flag fighter exercise that operates from Leeuwarden Airbase.
 

More information:

• Air-to-Air Refueling Project page
• 4th European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training takes off in the Netherlands
• Air-to-Air Refueling Fact sheet

During the second week of March, the EDA Workshop on High Performance Light Weight Structures and the 36th meeting of the CapTech Materials & Structures took place at Airbus facilities in Manching (Germany). During the week, more than thirty experts, representing the Materials network from various European Ministries of Defence, industry, SMEs and academia related to this technology domain, gathered to share interests and plan future R&T activities.

Today, aerostructures know-how is mainly based on monolithic metallic and composite material structures. This also holds true for military applications. The potential offered by combining different materials in a hybrid design solution, by developing novel design concepts or by integrating several functionalities within one design solution etc. is not fully utilized today. Therefore, on 7 March 2017, high-level experts on materials and structures for defence platforms gathered to define a potential European level cooperative R&T project that will represent an important step toward further developing this concept. This form of international collaboration facilitates the sharing of background information on European interests and of current or foreseen issues specific to this domain. Having and applying the resulting insights could lead to forging common targets and to helping further EU collective capability in high performance low weight structures. The main outcome of the workshop was the identification of the most promising avenues for cooperation in this area, namely preparing the knowledge base required for future platforms, starting with design elements derived from existing ones  and identifying capability requirements and maintenance needs which exceed the current state of the art. 

This interesting and constructive workshop was followed by the 36th meeting of the CapTech Materials & Structures. The meeting focused on the review of the CapTech’s current activities and on the discussion about future actions and upcoming opportunities for advancing the scope and coverage of its work. Special attention was given to the impact of the ongoing developments in European defence research on the future SRA. These circumstances have been acknowledged as game changers also for the Materials & Structures community. In this regard, the planning of the new Materials Strategic Research Agenda, (SRA) following the EDA Overarching Research Agenda (OSRA) methodology, was discussed in depth. In order to prepare this update, the OSRA methodology was also applied to the development of Technology Building Blocks (TBBs) by analysing the technology gaps identified in the current SRA. 

Another evolving dimension of particular relevance is the incorporation of new Materials CapTech members, resulting from the continuous efforts of EDA and the Materials CapTech National Coordinators to welcome key stakeholders, growing the CapTech network from one meeting to the next one. On EDA’s side, the joint efforts with the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) to support dual-use small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is continuously leading to concrete opportunities by identifying SMEs potentially interested in the work of the CapTech. At this moment, the network is composed of more than 200 experts from various types of entities (Ministries of Defence, industry, SMEs, research centres and universities). 

The workshop and Materials CapTech meeting was co-organized by the EDA’s CapTech on Materials & Structures, the German Ministry of Defence-WIWeB, and Airbus DS-Manching.

Image Source: Airbus DS – Flughmuseum Messerschmitt, Manching (Germany)
 

More information:

• For further information, please contact CapTech.Materials@eda.europa.eu 
• EDA Research & Technology Web
• CapTech and CapTech Materials & Structures Web
• European Defence Agency Role in Research & Technology - Towards Enhanced European Future Military Capabilities
• 3 out of 3: another SME-led R&T project supported by EDA is awarded ESIF funding (EDA’s News)
• EEN dual-use PoCs on “EDA’s COSME web-platform”

Americas

• The US Army Research Laboratory is exploring the possibility of giving troops a body-worn weapons mount, or “third arm,” that would decrease the weight of combat loads carried by soldiers and free up their hands for other tasks. Weighing less than 4 pounds, the Laboratory is testing the body-worn weapon mount with the M4 carbine, but also have plans to extend testing with the M249 squad automatic weapon or M240B machine gun. The ARL also plans to examine the device’s potential applications for various fighting techniques, like shoot-on-the-move, close-quarters combat, or even shooting around corners with augmented reality displays.

• A number of US senators have come together in a bipartisan effort to pressure the Trump administration into approving two key defense deals with India. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va urged Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in joint letters to approve co-production of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 in India and to approve the export of General Atomics’ Guardian, a nonlethal maritime version of the MQ-9 Reaper. Speaking on the F-16 negotiations, the letters stated that a successful deal “will increase interoperability with a key partner and a dominant power in South Asia, build India’s capacity to counter threats from the north, and balance China’s growing military capability in the Pacific,” while on the Guardian UAV deal, the men warned that a failure to go through with the sale “will not only have implications for regional security in the Asia-Pacific, but could also significantly impact the MQ-9 production line and put thousands of US manufacturing jobs at risk.”

Middle East & North Africa

• Israeli Air Force G550 Eitam airborne early warning aircraft have been fitted with a new sensor that allows onboard EL/W-2085 radars to detect UAVs. The upgrade was carried out by installing new software blocks into the original hardware of the aircraft’s airborne radar. Over the last number of years, Israel has noticed that a growing number of UAVs operated by militants from inside the Gaza Strip and Lebanon have attempted to enter Israeli airspace. An anonymous service official stated that the new upgrade to the Eitam platform will allow the air force to create a full aerial picture, even in areas that are beyond the capability of any ground-based radar.

• China is to commence building a UAV factory in Saudi Arabia, the first to be built in the region. Permission to allow the Chinese to build the factory was given following the signing of a partnership agreement between the Saudi King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation — part of a wider economic pact in the fields of energy, culture, education and technology worth $65 billion. China will build their CH-4 UAV at the new facility and will also use the location to promote after-sales services for China’s clients in the Middle East in addition to satisfying Saudi orders.

Europe

• Kongsberg Maritime will provide HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle systems to Norway in an $18.2 million deal. Possessing a depth rating of over 9,000 feet and outfitted with advanced sensors, the systems will assist Oslo in the detection and identification of mines. Included in the contract are training and maintenance, as well as the provisions for mission planning, execution and analysis, plus launch and recovery systems both for the Navy’s mine hunting vessels and mobile containers. Delivery of the system has remained undisclosed.

• Ukrainian firm Practika has revealed details of the Otaman modernisation package developed for the BTR-60-series armoured personnel carrier (APC). Upgrades found in the new version feature substantial changes to the original vehicle design, a new hull built of modern steel, new powertrain, redesigned interior, and additional armor options that will increase survivability. Development of the new model began in mid-2016 and the firm plans to begin operational testing of the prototypes in late spring.

Asia Pacific

• An agreement has been signed between Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency and the UK Ministry of Defense to exchange information about future fighter technology as well as a possible co-development of a next-generation aircraft. The deal also keeps the door open to working with other countries on future projects. News of the Japan-UK fighter agreement comes only two months after London won a $125 million contract from the Turkish government to initiate collaboration on Ankara’s TF-X fighter program.

• The Malaysian government has said that it has yet to decide on whether it will go ahead with a $2 billion procurement of Rafale fighters from France. Bilateral talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and French President Francois Hollande did see the leaders discuss the aircraft deal, which aims at replacing Kuala Lumpur’s fleet of MiG-29 combat planes, half of which are grounded. Malaysia’s Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was reported in the media as saying the race for new fighter jets has narrowed to the Dassault Rafale and the BAE Systems-built Eurofighter Typhoon. Speaking on the decision, President Hollande said, “all I would like to say is that the Rafale jet is the best in its category, and then we propose to discuss the prices, and the specifications. I trust you will make the decision when the time comes.”

Today’s Video

• The first two TC-90s arrive in the Philippines from Japan:

The US Navy has awarded a contract to Aerojet Rocketdyne to mature the demonstration capabilities of a power and energy management system for underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs).

BAE Systems has completed the anti-ship missile defence (ASMD) upgrade works on the Royal Australian Navy's last Anzac-class frigate, HMAS Stuart.