Defence`s Feeds

Australia’s Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) - an independent entity that promotes collaborative research projects with research and industry – has signed an agreement with the Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA), it has been announced. The DMTC said in a press

Boeing expects to begin flying prototype Block 2-configured CH-47 Chinook helicopters the next couple of years, with production for the US Army set to follow after, a senior company official told reporters on 18 May. Speaking at the Philadelphia production facility, Boeing's vice-president and

The Chilean Ministry of Defence (MoD) has authorised the Chilean Navy to start a selection process to buy two new submarines, aiming to replace its two Type 209/1400L boats currently in service. In 2016, the Navy finished defining requirements for the new vessels and, with the MoD's authorisation,

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed on a draft framework for a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS) in a bid to ease regional tensions over territorial disputes in the area. "We are pleased to announce that the senior officials have completed

EVENT On 17 May, the Constitutional Court ruled against two clauses included in the 2016 Legislative Act for Peace, which establishes the mechanism for the approval of legislation needed to implement the peace agreement signed between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de

The export version of China's Harbin Aviation Industries (Group) Company (HAIG) Z-19 Black Whirlwind armed reconnaissance/attack helicopter has made its maiden flight. Called the Z-19E, the new variant took to the skies on 18 May over the city of Harbin in China's northeastern province of

The first of 309 Piranha 5 armoured personal carriers (APCs) for the Royal Danish Army was rolled out on 17 May in a ceremony at the facilities of manufacturer General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag (GDELS-Mowag) in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The Piranha 5 was selected by the Danish Defence

Key Points A SDSM-led government is likely to remain in power in the six-month outlook challenged by the VMRO-DPMNE, which will be in opposition. Nationalist protests, mainly in the capital Skopje, are likely within the next six months. Relations with Albania and Bulgaria are likely to deepen,

The US Navy's (USN's) Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded General Atomics a USD195.2 million contract modification for manufacture, assembly, test, and checkout of the advanced arresting gear (AAG) for the future nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 80) on 18 May 2017. The

EVENT On 18 May, Medellín's Public Prosecutor's Office warned its counterparts in other cities that five official vehicles stolen from its premises may be used to perpetrate terrorist improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on government and police buildings elsewhere in Colombia. The

American Kel-Tec RDB Semi-Automatic Rifle

The US Navy's Strategic Systems Programs has awarded a $64.68m contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company to support weapon systems integration under the common missile compartment (CMC) programme.

The British Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunter HMS Grimsby is set to undergo a full refit programme at Rosyth Royal dockyard in Scotland.

3W International (3W) supplies patented next-generation heavy-fuel (HF) engines for helicopters, unmanned fixed wings, and hybrid unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the naval industry.

The Armed Forces of Honduras is acquiring a logistics support and cargo vessel named Buque de Apoyo Logístico y Cabotaje (BAL-C) from Colombia to improve the country's maritime security capabilities in La Mosquitia and other remote areas.

Rolls-Royce has secured a new contract to deliver MT30 marine gas turbines for the next three vessels in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy's Daegu-class frigate programme.

The Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) have commenced their 24th Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises 2017 (SIMBEX-17).

The SENER (Shanghai) Systems Co office has signed an agreement to authorise the use of its FORAN system by the Register of Fishing Vessels of Hebei Province (RFVHB), in China.

At the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) ministerial Steering Board which met this Thursday morning under the chairmanship of HR/VP Federica Mogherini in her capacity as Head of the Agency, Defence ministers endorsed the conclusions & recommendations of EDA’s Long Term Review (LTR), approved the establishment the Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM) as an EDA Ad-Hoc Cat A programme and encouraged the Agency to continue, together with the EEAS, its work on the definition of the planned Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD).

The Long Term Review (LTR) conclusions and recommendations endorsed by Ministers will reinforce the Agency to keep it fit for purpose in the light of upcoming, more ambitious tasks and challenges deriving from the EU’s new Global Strategy.

Set to be implemented over the coming months, the agreed measures will strengthen the EDA as the main intergovernmental prioritisation instrument at EU level in support of capability development, with a more output-oriented Capability Development Plan (CDP) and a key role in operating the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD).

They also will enhance the EDA as the preferred cooperation forum and management support structure at EU level to engage in technology and capability development activities, ranging from R&T to critical enablers, exercise and training as well as support to operations, including the industrial dimension. The Agency is also to be reinforced as an interface between Member States and EU institutions and as a central operator for EU-funded defence-related activities such as, for example, the upcoming Preparatory Action on defence research and the future European Defence Research Programme.

 

Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM)

Ministers welcomed the financial and legal package presented by the Agency and approved the setting up of an Cooperative Financial Mechanism as an EDA Ad-Hoc CAT A programme. Negotiations with Member States on a Programme Arrangement will start soon. The EDA was invited to report to the Steering Board on progress made during these negotiations before the signature of the Programme Arrangement.

The objective of the Cooperative Financial Mechanism, to which contributing Member States would participate and contribute on a strictly voluntary basis, is to incentivize defence cooperation by overcoming the lack of budgetary synchronisation between Member States and the problems that this causes for the launch of cooperative defence cooperation projects. Experience has shown that unsynchronized budget availability at the launch phase of a collaborative programme is one of the key challenges.

Through the CFM, Member States can support each other via a system of reimbursable advances and deferred payments. The mechanism can also be used more widely as a hub for managing investments, such as EDA R&T projects, and ring-fencing resources allocated for cooperative purposes. It will facilitate the launch of collaborative projects and have positive repercussions in capability, technological and industrial terms.

 

Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD)

Ministers welcomed the work carried out by the EDA, in close cooperation with EEAS, on the definition of the scope, principles, methodology and detailed modalities of the CARD which will start with a trial run as of this autumn. The Agency was encouraged to pursue this work. Minister agreed to present a report on the trial run to the Steering Board in November 2018.

The CARD aims at facilitating Member States delivering in particular on EU capability development priorities agreed in the framework of the Capability Development Plan (CDP). The CARD will also allow Defence Ministers to regularly take stock of the European capability development landscape, assess progress in cooperative capability development to date and share information on defence spending plans.

 

Engagement with industry, other topics

Ministers endorsed EDA’s revised approach towards establishing a structured dialogue and enhanced engagement with industry based on a set of priority actions focused on the capability development process, exercises, R&T prioritization, innovation, SES/SESAR, Key Strategic Activities and support to industry. These priorities will guide the 2017-2018 activities of EDA in relation to industry. The Steering Board tasked the Agency with presenting an assessment report of these priorities and their implementation in November 2018.

Ministers also welcomed the work already conducted by the EDA on the Preparatory Action on Defence Research, with the Delegation Agreement expected to be signed end of May. Ministers also took stock of the Agency’s main cooperative programmes (such as, for example, Air-to-Air Refuelling, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems - RPAS, GovSatCom and Cyberdefence) and reviewed the progress made in other projects within the portfolio of more than 50 capability projects currently run by the EDA.

SAES will be participating at the SITDEF International Exhibition in Lima, Peru, from 18-21 May.