Defence`s Feeds

Americas

• Two men in California have been charged for taking part in a scheme to smuggle $3 million worth of military aircraft parts and other defense equipment to Iran. Zavik Zargarian and Vache Nayirian stand accused of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, according to the US Department of Justice. If convicted, Zargarian faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in federal prison and a $4,770,000 fine, while Nayirian faces a maximum sentence of 95 years in prison and a $3,770,000 fine, prosecutors said. Their trial begins on December 20.

• Expect to hear more about the DoD Strategic Capabilities Office’s (SCO) swarming drones concept in the coming months, says deputy secretary of defense Ash Carter. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington last week, Carter claimed the technology has made some important strides in recent weeks, but specific details are still being kept close to the chest of the SCO. The office is currently testing the Perdix, a palm-sized, expendable UAV that springs out of a fighter jet’s chaff dispenser and flies low to capture video. However, Perdix is not believed to be part of the swarming drones concept.

• The first upgunned Stryker infantry carrier vehicle has been returned to the US Army. Designated as the Stryker Dragoon, the vehicle comes armed with a more lethal 30mm cannon and will be fielded with the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment in May 2018. Other new aspects of the upgrade include an integrated Kongsberg MCT-30mm Weapon System with a remotely-operated, unmanned turret; a new, fully-integrated commander’s station; and upgraded driveline component and hull modifications. Full rate production will commence following an abbreviated test phase in Spring 2017.

Africa

• A delegation from Airbus visited Nigeria following a proposal earlier this year to sell their C295W light transport aircraft to the Nigerian Air Force. While it remains to be seen how many of the aircraft Nigeria would purchase, Airbus is expected to include training and support personnel in any deal made. Ghana, Mali, Algeria and Egypt have all either ordered or currently operate the C295W as Airbus looks to grow sales to the African market. This September saw the company help bring a Portuguese maritime surveillance/patrol variant of the C295 to display at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition in South Africa.

Europe

• Polish prosecutors are to investigate the recently scrapped Caracel military helicopter deal with Airbus to see if the move circumvented Polish law or was linked to corruption. Speaking to local media, prosecutor Michal Dziekanski said “this will be a complicated, comprehensive investigation, encompassing a very large set of evidence.” Tomasz Siemoniak, the defense minister responsible for originally brokering the deal during the previous administration, called the Airbus tender “fair and transparent” and said it was canceled by his rivals for political reasons.

• Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft operated by the RAF will live to fly until at least March 2017 despite the fact one of the five-strong fleet should have been retired by now. Manufacturer Raytheon has been contracted for $159 million in support work on the remaining fleet which will see four Sentinel aircraft continue in operation until 2021, extended from the previous retirement date of 2018. Funding has yet to be released in order to keep the fifth plane flying over the same period with a decision expected in March.

Asia Pacific

• This week will see China unveil its J-20 stealth fighter during a flight demonstration at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai. The warplane, along with the J-31, are attempts by Beijing to close the technological gap with the US and to increase their offensive and defensive capabilities. While the J-31 is still in development, it is hoped that the plane will compete with the US-made F-35 on the international market.

• Israeli-made Heron and Searcher UAVs will be armed with missiles by India. Known as Project Cheetah, the program will see the drones equipped with advanced surveillance technology as well as the ability to conduct surgical strikes, severing the need for the deployment of further aircraft. It’s expected that Israeli firms will be involved in the upgrades. The armed drones will then undergo operations against militants fighting in the disputed Kashmir region with the aim of limiting Indian military casualties.

Today’s Video

Testing of the Chengdu J-20 earlier this year:

M1126, post-IED
(click to view full)

Under current plans, the 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicle will be the future backbone of 8 US Army and 1 National Guard medium armored brigades. The 5th Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis, WA was the first Stryker unit sent to Afghanistan, deployed in the summer of 2009 as part of a troop level increase. The brigade was equipped with 350 Stryker vehicles. In the first few months of deployment, they lost 21 soldiers, with 40 more wounded, to IED land mines. The losses prompted the Army to examine modifications to their Stryker vehicles, in order to make them more resistant to land mines.

One result is the Stryker hull redesign, creating the v-hulled Stryker DVH. The US Army is now on pace to order 2 brigades worth, as it moves toward the end of Stryker armored vehicle production.

Strykers, Struck: The Afghan Experience & Response Struck Stryker
(click to view larger)

The Strykers have come under criticism for their performance in Afghanistan since the first Stryker brigade was deployed there in the summer of 2009. The Stryker vehicles have been faulted for their lack of maneuverability on rough terrain, a problem that Canada’s similar LAV-IIIs have also experienced.

That creates an associated vulnerability to IED land mines planted in the road. In June 2009, the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division deployed to Kandahar province. It had 37 troops killed in action and 238 wounded over its year-long deployment, and their flat-bottom Strykers were diverted part-way through into road guard missions, away from intense combat. Their replacement, the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, continued the “freedom of movement” missions, and had suffered 14 KIA, 5 noncombat KIA, and more than 100 wounded, as of May 2011. Stars and Stripes reports:

“In one incident in August [2010], a 1st Squadron flat-bottomed Stryker was struck by a massive bomb hidden in a highway culvert in Kandahar province. The blast peeled away the armor protecting its engine like the skin of an orange, snapped off a wheel at the axel and mangled the metal cage that was designed to protect troops from rocket-propelled grenades.

[Pfc. Dustyn Applegate]… doesn’t rate the Stryker as a good vehicle for the sort of counter-IED mission that his unit was engaged in… “That’s the bad thing about the Stryker,” he said. “It has a flat bottom, so when the blast happens, it just blows up instead of up and out like with an MRAP. There is no safe place on the Stryker.”

On the other hand, “M1126 Strykers in Combat: Experiences & Lessons” detailed surprisingly positive reviews of the wheeled APCs’ performance in Iraq. There, they made good use of roads, and their relative silence compared to tracked vehicles was an asset in urban warfare. If the Stryker is not the vehicle for all situations, it has at least proven to be very useful under defined circumstances.

Any campaign that includes the mission of securing key roads, which is to say any mission that depends on economic progress and trade growth, will find Strykers very useful – so long as they remain survivable.

Deflecting Danger: The Strykker DVH Effort V-Hull at work:
Cougar MRAP
(click to view full)

Hence the Stryker double-v hull design, which channels blast force away from the vehicle and its occupants. The US Army has announced contracts to produce 742 Stryker DVH vehicles, as retrofits and as new production vehicles. That’s the full extent of the current plan, which was a major step beyond the program’s initial plan of 450 Stryker DVHs.

The modified M1126 Stryker ICVV/DVH infantry carrier is the base variant for 7 additional configurations, which will be employed as part of coherent v-hulled Stryker Brigade Combat Teams: M1129 DVH Mortar Carrier, M1130 DVH Command Vehicle, M1131 DVH Fire Support Vehicle, M1132 DVH Engineer Squad Vehicle, M1133 DVH Medical Evacuation Vehicle, M1134 DVH Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle, and the Infantry Carrier Vehicle DVH-Scout (ICVV-S). The ICVV-S is a new configuration that allows internal stowage of the Long Range Advance Scout (LRAS) surveillance system, which is mounted externally on the standard M1127 Reconnaissance Vehicle.

The Stryker DVH program retains a connection with overall Stryker modernization efforts. In a sense, it just prioritized one element of that plan for faster fielding, and made them the front-line vehicles for an SBCT in-theater. That will rise to 2 SBCTs by the end of 2012. After that, the Army says that:

“Once the Army decides on the appropriate future force structure, fleet mix and overall number of combat vehicles, the quantity of DVH Strykers and variants of Strykers will be finalized.”

America isn’t the only one upgrading its LAV-IIIs. Blast-protection efforts are underway for Australia’s ASLAVs, and in Canada via the near-term LAV LORIT program, and their longer-term LAV-III upgrade to the same base vehicle.

To date, however, the Stryker Double-V Hull remains unique to the USA.

Left Behind

Stryker M1128, Iraq
(click to view full)

Some Stryker typers won’t be getting the DVH treatment. The US Army does not plan to purchase Stryker DVH versions of the M1127 Reconnaissance vehicle (which does have an ICVV-S DVH counterpart), M1128 MGS assault gun, or the M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle. Once the DVH vehicles are done, and the last set of M1135s are ordered and produced, overall Stryker production will end.

During the December 2010 Stryker DVH Configuration Steering Board, the Army decided not to pursue full-rate production for the standard M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System, either. While the M1128’s 105mm gun offers potent firepower, the type already has significant weight and protection issues that haven’t been resolved. The Army decided that neither continued production nor DVH made sense for this type, unless the Stryker Modernization program gave the vehicle more base heft and power.

That seems less and less likely. According to US Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry:

“Stryker Modernization has been replaced with a reduced-scope Engineering Change Proposal (ECP). The scope of the ECP for Stryker upgrades is still to be determined, but the following will be considered: buy-back Space, Weight, Power, and Cooling (SWaP-C) deficiencies, improve mobility and protection, and provide ability to accept future network and protection upgrades.”

Contracts & Key Events M1126 DVH Exchange
(click to view full)

Under the contracts, the GM General Dynamics Land Systems Defense Group partnership in Sterling Heights, MI will provide design and integration engineering services, test articles/prototypes, and procurement of materials, including long-lead materials, to support the modified hull design with related integrated system changes. The US Army says the contract objectives are an integrated solution that will provide improved protection levels to support operations in Afghanistan.

The Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, MI manages these contracts.

FY 2017

M1126 DVH
(click to view full)

November 1/16: The first upgunned Stryker infantry carrier vehicle has been returned to the US Army. Designated as the Stryker Dragoon, the vehicle comes armed with a more lethal 30mm cannon and will be fielded with the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment in May 2018. Other new aspects of the upgrade include an integrated Kongsberg MCT-30mm Weapon System with a remotely-operated, unmanned turret; a new, fully-integrated commander’s station; and upgraded driveline component and hull modifications. Full rate production will commence following an abbreviated test phase in Spring 2017.

FY 2016

May 9/16: The US Army has awarded General Dynamic Land Systems a $329 million contract for the production, logistics product development, and test support for the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) 30mm lethality upgrade. Upgrading the lethality and durability of the Army’s Strykers has become a recent priority for the service as the Pentagon looks to increase the vehicle’s operational capabilities. General Dynamic’s work on the project is expected to run until January 15, 2021.

March 4/16: An industry wide search is to be carried out by the US Army to seek increased capabilities for its Stryker units. The Army will look at different sensors, better ways to integrate capabilities, and ways to make vehicles more survivable. This will go beyond the current efforts to upgun the armored vehicle by adding 30mm cannons or Javelin missiles, and to add Double-V Hulls for extra durability. The new and improved vehicles are expected to reach operational capability by early 2018.

February 15/16: The US Army plans to upgun their 8×8 Stryker armored vehicles. The vehicles will be fitted with a 30mm automatic cannon, that comes with air-burst shells, for use in air defense activities. The gun would allow the vehicles to act as a mobile anti-aircraft gun, as the Army looks to increase capabilities of existing systems, while funds for any major programs are non-existent. The upgunning with the 30mm cannon was initially intended to destroy light-armored vehicles such as the Russian BMP, with the inclusion of the air-burst shells allowing for greater capabilities.

November 6/15: Lithuania has requested 84 Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicles from the US, with the State Department approving the potential Foreign Military Sale. The request also includes 30mm cannons – recently approved as an upgrade for some US Strykers stationed in Europe – and Remote Weapons Stations, as well as machine guns, communications systems and auxiliary equipment. The potential deal is estimated to value $599 million, with 30 US government or contractor personnel required to travel to Lithuania to help implement the introduction and sustainment of the Strykers.

October 6/15: The Army’s Stryker vehicles will benefit from a $411 million upgrade program for the vehicles’ main armament, with the 2016 NDAA bill including $314 million for modification work to the fleet to up-gun their 12.7mm cannons to 30mm guns. The remaining $97 million is earmarked for R&D, with the House and Senate Armed Service Committees criticizing the Army for an increasingly unacceptable per-vehicle cost to upgrade the Stryker fleet. A response to fears that the Strykers would be out-gunned by would-be Russian adversaries in Europe, the Army was given a provisional thumbs-up for the upgrade work in April, with the Hill stipulating that the upgrades will be limited to the Army’s European-deployed Strykers rather than form a fleet-wide upgrade program.

FY 2013 – 2015

May 5/15: The Army’s European-deployed Stryker mobile guns have been given a provisional thumbs-up for more powerful weapon systems. The current 12.7mm machine guns will be upgraded to 30mm autocannons, with the “high priority need” a reflection of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s requirement for increased lethality, according to a memo obtained by Breaking Defense earlier this month.

Jan 12/14: Good news, bad news. The good news: the Army wants to convert all 9 of its standard Stryker Brigades to the DVH configuration, using the DVH Exchange option.

The bad news is what you’d expect: no funding beyond the first 2 brigades they’ve already done, and the 3rd they hope to finish by 2016 (q.v. Sept 10/13). Which means GDLS Canada’s LAV-III/ Stryker manufacturing equipment will have to be placed in layaway mode for a future production line restart, to be triggered by either future US Army orders or foreign sales. Either way, however, a line restart always costs extra. Sources: Defense News, “US Plans Radical Upgrade of Stryker Brigades”.

Sept 10/13: 3rd brigade. The Project Manager for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team received the approval from the Army Acquisition Executive to begin buying a 3rd brigade of Stryker DVH vehicles to switch with an existing brigade. The initial 66 vehicle conversions of an eventual 337 have been awarded via a $118 million contract to GDLS. Deliveries will begin in July 2014, and the initial 66 will be complete by February 2015.

As of this order, the DVH Exchange pilot program had wrapped up in April 2013 after delivering 52 vehicles on time and under budget. Remaining brigade orders will be based on the availability of funding, using an incremental approach over FY 2014-2016. Sources: US Army, “Army gives green light for procurement of 3rd Stryker Double-V Hull brigade” | GD, “General Dynamics Awarded $118 Million for Stryker Double-V Hull Vehicles” | Yellowhammer News, “80 Anniston Army Depot jobs preserved with DVH Stryker announcement”.

Orders for 3rd brigade begin

Oct 15/12: DVH Exchange. The US Army announces that they’ve completed the 1st vehicle in their Stryker DVH exchange program. The exchange involves taking a standard Stryker variant, reusing common parts, refurbishing them, and inserting the parts into a vehicle on the DVH production line.

The Army is documenting the teardown and reuse process, in hopes of having clearer figures if the Army decides that it wants more Stryker DVHs later on. Obviously, they’re hoping to find out that this saves money, by using a lot of the old parts. Once they’ve had a chance to try and make this process more efficient, then cost it, they’ll be in position to present a case. US Army.

FY 2012

M1126 DVHs, Afghanistan
(click to view full)

March 4/12: Plans. The US Army clarifies its plans for the Stryker DVH: 760 total, to be delivered by the end of 2012, equipping 2 Brigade Combat Teams. When queried, however, Lt. Col. Peggy Kageleiry said that:

“…the Army has a current procurement target of 742 Double-V Hull (DVH) Stryker vehicles… which will be completed by December 2012. Procurement of 158 NBCRVs which are on contract in FY12 & FY13, will complete the current planned Stryker vehicle purchase. Once the Army decides on the appropriate future force structure, fleet mix and overall number of combat vehicles, the quantity of DVH Strykers and variants of Strykers will be finalized.”

With respect to performance in-theater, Lt. Gen. Bill Phillips, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, says there have been about 40 land mine incidents for the DVH. In 38 of those incidents, all soldiers walked away with just minor injuries. In his words: “That vehicle has performed beyond our expectations.”

Jan 18/12: Industrial. GDLS’ newly-acquired Force Protection manufacturing facility in Ladson, SC, will be doing work on another v-hulled vehicle. About $10 million in new work is moving there, to install additional combat-related communication and protection equipment on 292 Stryker DVH (Double-V Hull) 8×8 wheeled APCs, which are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

The new work begins in March 2012, and will occupy about 45 jobs until about February 2013. Force Protection.

Jan 17/12: DOT&E Report. The US Defense Department’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation issues his FY 2011 Annual Report, which includes the Stryker DVH program. The program get good reviews, based on tests. The modified Strykers retained the same basic mobility, proved their performance against land mines, and actually had better reliability than their flat-hulled counterparts. They were rated both operationally effective for performance, and operationally suitable for reliability.

Quibbles were minor, involving data collection for the M1126 ICVV’s operational assessment, and problems with the Stryker DVH driver’s compartment being too small for larger Soldiers. The Army is planning a driver’s compartment redesign, and will continue to test the other 7 DVH variants through Q3 2012. In the nearer term, February 2012 is expected to see the end of Styker ICVV-Scout operational testing, and M1129 Mortar Carrier Vehicle DVH developmental and operational testing, at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

Oct 25/11: +177. General Dynamics Land Systems announces a $367 million order for another 177 Stryker double-V hull (DVH) wheeled APCs, raising the US Army’s buy to 2 full Stryker DVH Brigade Combat Teams. Work on Stryker DVH vehicles is performed in Anniston, AL and Lima, OH, as well as the main production facility in London, ON, Canada (W56HZV-07-D-M112, #0266, Mod.1).

The firm says that over 320 double-V-hulled Stryker vehicles have been produced so far, under a contract awarded in July 2010 for 450 double-V-hull vehicles. Deliveries will be complete by July 2013. DID checked with GDLS, and confirmed that this order brings the total number of ordered Stryker DVH vehicles to 742.

Oct 5/11: +115. General Dynamics Land Systems announces a $243 million contract to produce and deliver another 115 Stryker DVHs. General Dynamics will also provide production sustainment support and obsolescence management services. Work will be performed in Anniston, AL, London, ON, Canada, and Lima, OH. Deliveries will be complete by September 2012 (W56HZV-07-D-M112, #0266).

The firm says that about 300 double-V-hulled Strykers have been delivered so far, under a contract awarded in July 2010, with initial deliveries rolling out in May 2011. This order begins to go beyond the program’s original goal of 450. GDLS.

FY 2011

M1126, Mosul – no DVH
(click to view full)

June 1/11: A $40 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification “for Stryker double-V hull development and delivery of prototype vehicles.”

Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, MI, and London, Ontario, Canada, with an estimated completion date of July 30/12. One bid was solicited, with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

May 20/11: Deployment. Stars & Stripes relays the US Army’s statement re: Afghan deployments of the Stryker DVH, and also details combat statistics and criticisms related to the Stryker’s deployments in Afghanistan.

May 9/11: Deployment. US Army:

“In the coming weeks, Soldiers in Afghanistan will begin to see 150 new Strykers with a double-V hull, or DVH… The Stryker DVH, with enhanced armor, wider tires and blast-attenuating seats, went from conception to production in less than one year… “The rapid turnaround of the DVH is responsiveness at its best,” Col. Robert Schumitz, Stryker Brigade Combat Team Project Management Office, project manager, said… Engineers at General Dynamics Land Systems conceived of the double-V-hull design and tested it at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif… There are 140 Stryker DVH’s already in the Army supply chain, and plans are to field a total of 450 vehicles.”

April 12/11: +404. A pair of contracts worth $49.5 million revise earlier orders for 404 vehicles. The wording is confusing, but GDLS clarifies that: “The dod announcements are not new vehicles or contracts” – designating them as limit increases to existing contracts.

A $37.2 million firm-fixed-price contract revises the not-to-exceed amount and obligated amount for Double-V hull production cut-in to 178 Stryker vehicles. Work will be performed at London, Ontario, Canada, and Anniston, AL, with an estimated completion date of Feb 29/12. One bid was solicited and one received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

A $12.3 million firm-fixed-price contract revises the not-to-exceed amount and obligated amount for Double-V hull production cut-in to 226 Stryker vehicles. Work will be performed at London, Ontario, Canada, and Anniston, AL, with an estimated completion date of Feb 29/12. One bid was solicited and one received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

March 3/11: +15. GM GDLS Defense Group, LLC in Sterling Heights, MI receives an $18.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract that will “provide for support for 19 Stryker flat-bottom vehicles and 15 Stryker double-V hull vehicles.” Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, MI, with an estimated completion date of Feb 29/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

Dec 3/10: Support. A $91.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee/firm-fixed-price contract, for service to support performance specification changes to the Stryker vehicle. These changes will design and buy “necessary components to support the Stryker mine protection kit” for vehicles in the Afghan theater.

Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, MI (5%), and London, Canada (95%), with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/10. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

Oct 27/10: +46. A $8.3 million firm-fixed-price contract cuts the modified double-v hull design into another 46 Stryker vehicles on the production line. Note that cut-in contracts pay for making the changes and for the new materials, not for the entire Stryker.

Work will be performed in London, Canada (50%), and Anniston, AL (50%), with an estimated completion date of Feb 29/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112, #0256). This order brings the total to the program’s goal of 450 vehicles.

Oct 13/10: +45. A $9.5 million firm-fixed-price contract to cut the modified double-V hull design into the production of another 45 Stryker vehicles. Work is to be performed in London, Ontario, Canada (50%), and Anniston, AL (50%), with an estimated completion date of February 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

FY 2010

M1129 MC – no DVH
(click to view full)

Aug 10/10: Renovations may be more difficult than they first appear. A $20 million firm-fixed-price contract adds the modified hull design (double-V hull), into an additional 78 new-build vehicles, raising the total to 359. It also revises the obligated amount for the previous 281 vehicles (vid. July 9/10). Work is to be performed in London, Ontario, Canada (50%), and Anniston, AL (50%), with an estimated completion date of Feb 22/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112). See also GD release.

Aug 6/10: A $9.8 million firm-fixed-price contract revises the obligated amount for the production cut-in of the revised Stryker performance and hull design into 281 new-build vehicles (vid. July 9/10). Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, MI (30%), and London, Canada (70%), with an estimated completion date of Feb 16/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

July 9/10: A $30.1 million firm-fixed-price contract directs production cut-in of the revised Stryker performance specifications, which incorporates a modified double-V hull design, into 281 vehicles. The new vehicles will be sent to Afghanistan. Work will be performed in London, Canada (70%), and Sterling Heights, MI (30%). Deliveries will begin in January 2011 to allow vehicles to be available for use by the Stryker brigade that will rotate into Afghanistan in 2011, and will be completed by February 2012. (W56HZV-07-D-M112). See also GDLS release.

June 1/10: The GM GDLS Defense Group, LLC in Sterling Heights, MI recently received a $29.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract buys 14 Stryker Double-V Hull prototype vehicles for government ballistic, performance/durability, and logistics testing and demonstration.

Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, MI (41%); and London, ON, Canada (59%), with an estimated completion date of Nov 30/11. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by TACOM, CCTA-AI in Warren, MI (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

April 9/10: A $58.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a modified hull design for the US Army’s Stryker vehicles to improve performance and survivability in Afghanistan. Work is to be performed in Sterling Heights, MI (41%), and London, Ontario, Canada (59%), with an estimated completion date of Nov 30/11 (W56HZV-07-D-M112).

March 11/2010: During US Senate testimony in early 2010, Gen. George Casey said that the US Army was planning to modify the Stryker vehicle with a double V-shaped hull designed to deflect land mine blasts from below.

The Stryker M1135 NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) reconnaissance and M1128 MGS assault gun variants would reportedly not be modified under the current plan. That could create field issues, since the M1128 is meant to act as firepower support in Stryker brigades.

Additional Readings

• General Dynamics Land Systems – Stryker ICV, DVH

• US Army – Army plans major Stryker upgrades. Outlines the next steps beyond the DVH program. A number of DVH vehicles will probably receive these retrofits as well.

• DID – Stryker DVH Armored Vehicles for Colombia. The country ordered 24 LAV-III DVHs in January 2012.

In the first nine months of this year, over 5,000 Afghans voluntary returned to Afghanistan from Europe. The recent signing of an agreement between Afghanistan and the European Union to allow deportations of those who have not been accepted as asylum seekers means the numbers of Afghans returning from Europe will rise. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica and Fazal Muzhary have been looking into the fate of recent returnees, who may have gone heavily into debt to fund their trip, and hearing from two young men who have just returned from Norway after trying to bicycle their way to a life in Europe.

This dispatch is part of a joint migration series by AAN and the Kabul office of the German foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).

In early October 2016, Afghanistan signed four new readmission agreements, with Germany, Sweden, Finland and the EU. (2) These new agreements are a response to the large influx of Afghan asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016, with over a quarter of a million Afghans arriving in Europe in this period (see AAN earlier reporting on Afghan migration here and here). Germany, one of the main countries pushing for a deal, received the bulk of the influx, with 180,000 asylum applications by Afghans in 2015 and 2016.

The agreements were partly in response to the trouble European countries faced in getting the Afghan authorities to cooperate with the deportation of failed Afghan asylum seekers. The agreements have widely been interpreted as a signal that European countries intend to significantly accelerate the rate of forced and voluntary returns.

Voluntary and forced returns

On 24 February 2016, a group of 125 Afghans arrived in Kabul from Germany (see here). This was the first group of voluntary returnees from Germany, after Europe’s ‘migration crisis’ in 2015. Germany hosts the highest number of Afghan refugees after Pakistan and Iran (for the number of Afghan refugees in Germany for the last 13 years, see here). Apart from having their trips back to Afghanistan paid, the German government – in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – also provided each of the 125 returnees with 700 Euros to help with their reintegration. Around 70 Afghans from this group continued their journey to their home provinces; IOM also covered the cost of this second stage of the trip, as well as accommodation in guesthouses in Kabul ahead of the journey.

The rate of voluntary returns from Europe has been steadily increasing. Between 2003 and the beginning of 2016, IOM facilitated over 15,000 voluntary returnees from countries including the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France, Belgium and Australia, in other words, on average, a little over a thousand individuals per year. In the first half of 2016, over 4,000 voluntary returns including 440 families were assisted by IOM. In this period, the highest number of voluntary returns was recorded from Germany (51 percent) followed by Greece (26 percent) and Turkey (10 percent). The majority of the returnees belonged to the age group of 19-26 (40 percent, out of which 87 percent were male) followed by 27-40 (21 percent, out of which 74 percent were male).

In terms of the Afghan government’s stance when it comes to repatriations of Afghans from Europe, its focus so far had been on trying to prevent mass forced returns (or any forced returns at all). Recently, however, after a long negotiation process with the EU, the Afghan government had been forced to accept a series of readmission agreements in which it committed itself to readmit Afghan nationals who are found to have no legal basis for remaining in an EU member state (for more details see AAN reporting here). Although the agreements contain no indication of numbers (other than that it says that there will be no more than 50 non-voluntary returnees per flight in the first six months), an earlier leaked memo stated that “more than 80,000 persons could potentially need to be returned in the near future.”

The Afghan government does not appear to have a policy in place to deal with this potential influx of returnees from Europe, many of whom will have exhausted their economic means during their journey to Europe and their families may well have gone into debt or sold economic assets, such as land, to help send them (see previous joint AAN and FES study on this issue here http://aan.af/2452WyK). Although there seems to be a document called the Comprehensive Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme, (AAN has not seen the document, but an advisor with the refugees’ ministry mentioned it in a conversation), it is yet to be incorporated into the Strategic Solutions for Afghan Refugees programme, a regional multi-year initiative, which aims to help facilitate voluntary returns and sustainable reintegration, while at the same time providing assistance to host countries. The programme, moreover, would need to be funded and implemented by IOM, or another agency.

The government and the refugees’ ministry may also be overwhelmed with returnees from another quarter: already this year (figures from early September 2016), more than 225,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan and 245,000 people become IDPs this year. This means that, already, over one million people are anticipated to be ‘on the move’ internally and across borders in 2016 (see UN Humanitarian Flash Appeal from September 2016 here). The returnees from Europe, who, so far, have come in far more limited numbers and get help from IOM, do not seem to have been a priority and the Afghan government seems to have relied on the fact that they are already receiving some support from their temporary hosts in Europe. But as their numbers rise, the issue will become more pressing.

This is particularly relevant, as public opinion will probably not respond favourably. Many Afghans believe their government is not doing enough to persuade European governments, as well as Pakistan and Iran, to allow Afghans to stay, as long as the country is still in conflict and the economy weak. Although forced returns from Europe have been limited, they are likely to pick up in the near future. Voluntary returns, already at an all-time high, are also likely to sharply increase (particularly as pressure grows in European countries). The concerns are what will happen to those returning in the near future, whether voluntary or forced.

AAN spoke to two recent returnees from Europe – Muder Khan from Khost province and Rahmatullah from Samangan – who spoke about the individual experiences of those who have tried their luck in Europe, but end up being returned home.

The travel to Europe: taking the Arctic route

Both of these returnees were young men who had travelled to Norway via Russia in the autumn of 2015. This was at a time when Afghans overtook Syrians in terms of numbers of arrivals in Norway. They travelled via what the Reuters news agency has referred to as ‘the Arctic route’. According to Reuters, almost 22,000 people sought asylum at Norway’s borders in the first ten months of 2015, including 7,858 from Syria and 4,079 from Afghanistan – with a record number of arrivals at the most northern frontier of 196 per day in November 2015 (compared to 10 arrivals throughout the whole of 2014). The Norwegian directorate of immigration even sent a tweet warning in November 2015 that single Afghan men who have legal papers to stay in Russia, risk being sent back to Afghanistan if seeking asylum in Norway (see here).

Muder’s story

Muder Khan, a man in his late twenties from Khost province, made use of the so-called ‘bicycle loophole – a legal loophole that allowed people to cross the remote Arctic Russian-Norwegian border by bicycle (described in a Guardian article here). He had found a smuggler in Gul Bahar business centre in Kabul and left money with a friend, who was charged with paying the smuggler once he safely arrived in Norway. He then first travelled to Russia on a 40-day tourist visa arranged by the smuggler and then crossed the border with Norway by bicycle, again on advice of the smuggler. This northern route, across the Arctic Circle, was much less busy and faster than the Balkan route was in 2015 and 2016. He recollected the journey he undertook in October 2015 in his interview with AAN:

I left Afghanistan for Europe in October 2015 and arrived in Norway in November 2015. Initially, I wanted to go to Germany… but in the end, my target was just to get to Europe and to find a safe place. First the smugglers told us that the way through Ukraine would be easy, because we could fly to Moscow and from there go to Ukraine and from Ukraine to Europe… I had a 40-day Russian tourist visa with me. When the Russian soldiers stopped us in Belgorod [near the Russian–Ukrainian border] they asked us where we were going. The smuggler had advised us to tell them that we were going to a wedding party. But the Russian border guards still detained us. We were held for three days and three nights; then they released us. When we got back to Moscow, the smuggler told us that the route through Norway was much easier and that we could easily get to Europe from there.

I spent ten days in Moscow, after I returned back from the border with Ukraine. After that we went Murmansk where we stayed for a few days. After ten days the Russian soldiers [probably referring to Federal Border Service guards] provided bikes for us and from there we biked onto Norwegian soil. The Norwegian soldiers [at the other side of the border] welcomed us. When we showed them our documents, they took our passports and after checking them they took us to a city.

Rahmatullah’s story

Our second interviewee, Rahmatullah, is a Shia Muslim from Samangan province whose family lives in Karachi in Pakistan. He chose to leave Afghanistan via the Arctic route in mid-September 2015. He said he was, “too afraid of the smuggling route through Iran,” hence had chosen the route via Russia. He shared the following story with AAN:

I wanted to go to Europe through Russia. First I went to Moscow by plane. From Moscow we went to Murmansk by plane and from there I got into Norway. I arrived in Norway in October 2015. I had not decided to go to Norway in the beginning. I wanted to go to Austria and that was also what I had agreed with the smuggler. But when we got to Moscow, I found out that some of my friends tried to go to Austria through Ukraine and had faced a lot of problems. These friends told me not to go to Austria. And then the border was also closed.

Refusal, deportation and arrival

Both men received a negative response from the Norwegian government after which both claimed they were detained (see here for an overview of Norwegian asylum procedure and here what happens if the asylum claim had been rejected). Rahmatullah did not give any details on how he was arrested by the Norwegian police, but he told AAN that he spent two weeks in detention, before he was sent back to Afghanistan:

After I got a negative response from the Norwegian government, the police put me in jail. The reason they gave was that whoever receives a negative response from the Norwegian government, tries to flee the country. They thought I would escape from Norway. Therefore they did not let me out of the jail at all. After that, I hired a lawyer for my case. An Afghan and three Norwegians helped me to pay for the lawyer who worked on my case. When the police put me in jail, they told me that they would deport me in two weeks. My lawyer sent my documents to the UN, but since there was too much workload on the UN workers, they could not deal with my documents. The lawyer told me that after I was sent back to Afghanistan, he would still follow my case. I was deported on 21 June 2016. Since then I have been in touch with my lawyer. He said he is still trying [to get him back to Norway].

After a month in detention, the Norwegian government also sent back Muder Khan. He told AAN the following story of his arrival to Norway and stay in the country:

When we got onto Norwegian soil, for the first three to four months, the police treated us well, but later they put us in small rooms; there were 15-20 people in one room and the rooms were very cold. Other people who were with me in Norway had their applications rejected very quickly, but I only got my answer after eight months. The reason they gave for the rejection was that, since I am living in Khost province, which is not a secure province, I should better move to Kabul city.

This is not a surprising answer. “The courts in Europe accept that many are in danger in their home provinces, but they argue that these people can be safe in Kabul,” Liza Schuster told AAN. Schuster is a lecturer at the City University of London, who has researched what happens to Afghans post-deportation. (See also her recently published article, in which Schuster questions European court decisions, and argues that Kabul is not safe for people to be deported back to the city).

Muder Khan explained to AAN how he was returned to Afghanistan, without making it fully clear whether he was deported or returned willingly. This is what he told AAN:

After I got the rejection, they put me in jail for a month [he is referring to a centre for deportees or asylum centre as the jail]. The jail cells were small. I was kept in the cell from eight in the evening till nine in the morning. After I spent one month in jail, the Norwegian government deported me [NB he used the English term and it was not clear if he meant the return was voluntary or force]. They didn’t ask me anything or say anything or promise anything. I thought: even if I resist and say that I don’t want to go back to Afghanistan, it will not change the decision of the Norwegian government. So I kept silent and they sent me back to Kabul.

Muder Khan was sent back on 3 September 2016, ten months after he arrived in Norway in November 2015.

Both men had spent a small fortune to pay for their travel to Europe. Rahmatullah, a cook who had worked for international media companies in Kabul since 2010, paid 17,000 US dollars to reach Norway. Since he returned in June 2016, he lives in Kabul on his own, while his family is still in Karachi. He has no job and no money to pay his debts. He told AAN:

I am not happy with my life, because I cannot freely walk in the city as other people can [he is referring to threats he said he received from locals in Samangan, because he worked with international organisations as a cook]. I am waiting for the response from my lawyer, I hope he will help me get back to Norway. If nothing happens I may go to Karachi and join my family. I don’t feel safe here and I don’t want to stay here.

Muder Khan worked as an interpreter and contractor with the American military in Khost and as a project supervisor with MEC, earning 600 US dollars a month. He paid 13,000 US dollars for his trip to Norway. He is in Kabul. He told AAN he cannot go back to Khost province:

I am going from one friend to another [staying in their houses]. I have no job at all. Currently I am in debt for 7,000 US dollars to my friends who helped me. I also sold a car to finance my trip to Europe.

Support for those who return

Those who choose to return voluntary with IOM assistance generally receive several benefits, as opposed to those who do not join the scheme. A facilitated return often includes travel costs and in-airport support with check-in and arrival (deportees get this too), a medical assessment before travel, including basic treatment and referrals, temporary accommodation in Kabul and onward transportation to the provinces, information provision and counselling, often a small cash grant to address the most immediate needs during travel and on arrival (clothing, communication etc), and more extensive post-arrival counselling services, if required. Finally, to ease the reintegration, voluntary returnees can receive additional support in the form of training, business start-up funds, job referrals, and schooling and living cost assistance. These programmes are designed to allow returnees to finish their education, to learn a skill (like carpentry), start small business, or find a job to help ease their reintegration.

Both Rahmatullah and Muder Khan said there was little help on offer. Muder Khan, for example, said:

The Norwegians paid me 350 US dollars for travel expenses in Afghanistan. The police who deported me told me I can also submit an application [for a reintegration grant] to the Norwegian embassy to provide me with 1200 US dollars, but I have not submitted it yet… The Afghan government did not support me and I have no budget to start a business with, but still I am looking to find a job.

Rahmatullah, it seems, got his 1200 US dollars grant from the Norwegian government immediately:

When the Norwegian police deported me to Kabul, they gave me 1160 US dollars. The Norwegian government also paid the expenses for a hotel in Kabul where I stayed for 14 days. The Afghan government did not give me anything; instead the Afghan police at the airport insulted me by using abusive words against me.

The size of the assistance grant depends on the governments that are sending back the migrants. For example, the UK government pays only 100 pounds to returnees, the German government around 700 Euros and the Finnish around 1000 Euros. The grant money is intended to help people get through the first couple of weeks or months after their return.

However, many people, like Rahmatullah and Muder Khan, have sold their belongings and borrowed a lot of money from family and friends, or moneylenders. After being forced to return to Afghanistan, if they are not plugged into a support network, they risk facing serious challenges. According to Schuster, “Those without networks face destitution, or worse, and are often forced to risk trying to return to the dangerous provinces [they had left in the first place].” Her research on what happens post-deportation found that, for these reasons, 80 percent of those who are deported, are likely to migrate again. Schuster, believes deportation represents a crisis that must be resolved. In a recent co-authored article (“What happens post-deportation? The experience of deported Afghans” with Nassim Majidi, Migration Studies journal) she argues:

If someone is deported before debts can be repaid, and if they are unlikely to be able to repay it post-deportation, there is a strong incentive to re-migrate, even if that means increasing the original debt. Debts, whether to family members or to more formal lenders, cannot be written off and those lenders recognize that their best chance of repayment is through financing re-migration.

Although, according to Schuster, most undocumented Afghans in Europe work in the shadow labour market, making minimal daily wages, for Afghans this still represents more money that many of them could make in Afghanistan. The chance of landing a job in Europe is thus considered insurance that they would be able to pay their debts and financially support their families.

Some European governments believe that media campaigns would change the way Afghans think. The German government, for example, has channelled money through the refugees’ ministry in an effort to try to stem the mass exodus of Afghans, with a social media and billboard campaign (from March 2015) (see here). It uses graphic images and messages aimed at discouraging those wanting to leave, such as, “Don’t go. Stay with me. There might be no return!” The number of Afghans leaving the country, however, continued to increase in the second half of 2015, and coincided with the opening of the Balkan route (see AAN report here).

The relatively unsuccessful media campaign resulted in a change of narrative of some donor countries, which started to consider re-shuffling the development aid towards the provinces which were sending the highest numbers of migrants to Europe to try, not only to prevent migration, but also help returnees to reintegrate. However, the Afghan government’s policy, which until recently was exclusively focused on defying readmissions, requires some fundamental reshaping and rethinking. Afghanistan has just received a pledge of 15 billion US dollars for the next four years at the Brussels conference on Afghanistan (see AAN recent reporting here), but with the government, and in particular the refugees’ ministry in denial of the problem, and not ready to cooperate, it seems that Europe would be a driver of the reintegration process itself.

 

 

(1) In the past 15 years, Afghanistan has signed memoranda of understandings on returns and readmissions with several EU/Schengen member states. These allow the countries to return or deport Afghans who failed in the asylum application. Including with France (2002), UK (2002), Netherlands (2002), Denmark (2004), Switzerland (2005), Norway (2005), and Sweden (2006, until 2009).

The EU and Afghanistan signed the readmission agreement on 2 October 2016 after a year of negotiations and several last minute hurdles – including, on the Afghan side, refusals to sign and an attempt to involve parliament. President Ghani and Dr Abdullah both backed the agreement, while Minister for Refugees Balkhi said Afghans migrants should be allowed to stay, regardless of whether their claims for asylum were accepted or not.

See AAN recent reporting here.

 

More than 12,000 people have already signed a petition asking the Geneva-based giant Trafigura to sell only gasoline and diesel that comply with European standards around the world.
The Swiss trader business model of producing and selling highly polluting high sulfur fuels in Africa has also been politically critical. In Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, the responsible authorities and members of the government have had to answer many questions and criticisms about the health consequences of poor sulfur standards and poor quality fuels.

Swiss commodity trading companies take advantage of weak fuel standards in Africa to produce, deliver and sell diesel and gasoline, which is damaging to people’s health. Their business model relies on an illegitimate strategy of deliberately lowering the quality of fuels in order to increase their profits. Using a common industry practice called blending, trading companies mix cheap but toxic intermediate petroleum products to make what the industry calls “African Quality” fuels. These intermediate products contain high levels of sulphur as well as other toxic substances such as benzene and aromatics.

By selling such fuels at the pump in Africa, the traders increase outdoor air pollution, causing respiratory disease and premature death. This affects West Africa, in particular, because this is the region where the authorised levels of sulphur in fuels remain very high. West Africa does not have the re ning capacity to produce enough gasoline and diesel for its own consumption, and so it must import the majority of its fuels from Europe and the US, where fuel standards are strict, Public Eye`s investigation September 2016 analyse writes.

To draw attention to this swiss illegal traffic, thanks to Public Eye's "Return to sender" action, the container Irene Rainbow, with on board a container marked "Return to sender" ", Filled with polluted air from the Ghanaian capital traveled 7,000 kilometers separating Accra from the port of Anvers and was then transported to Geneva, where it was handed to Trafigura.

Tag: dirty dieselSwitzerland

In his latest contribution to the Centre for Security Governance blog, CSG Senior Fellow David Law discusses new initiatives and ongoing efforts by the Canadian government as part of its overall strategy of re-engagement with peace operations. This article is a follow-up to the CSG blog series which explored the security sector reform (SSR) dimension

Cable specialist SAB Bröckskes has put a broad range of new cable materials on the market for medical devices. In addition to the basic type with high-abrasion and tear strength, the bio compatible material series SABmed S contains an ultra-flexible …

GMT Rubber-Metal-Technic Ltd is an internationally recognised designer and supplier of rubber-metal anti-vibration mounts and shock-protection products for clients in the naval and marine industries.

Grants agreements worth a total of €1.4 million were signed today 28 October at the European Defence Agency (EDA) for three selected research activities to be carried out under the EU’s first Pilot Project in the field of defence research.

The grant agreements were signed at the European Defence Agency in presence of EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq, European Commission Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux (DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and representatives of the three winner consortia.
 

Uncharted territory – An EU first

The signing marks an important step in EU defence integration since it’s the first time that the European Union is testing the conditions for defence research in an EU framework, funded by the EU budget.

The Pilot Project also paves the way for the launch, in 2017, of the European Commission’s Preparatory Action (PA) on defence research which, in turn, leads to a fully-fledged European Defence Research Programme (EDRP) as part of the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027). All of them - Pilot Project, Preparatory Action and the future European Defence Research Programme - should support R&T that is serving capability priorities identified by Member States in the Capability Development Plan and be taken up in future collaborative capability programmes.

DG GROW Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux said: "EU funding for defence research was almost inconceivable a few years ago for EU institutions, Member States and the defence community. This Pilot Project is therefore the precursor of a new era."

Mr Delsaux thanked the European Parliament for its support on the Pilot Project and underlined that a lot of effort and intensive work done by both from the Commission and the EDA, to make the Pilot Project work. He also explained that there is still a long way ahead for EU funded defence research and that "the Commission, in accordance with its institutional role and in full compliance with the EU legal context, is ready to work on defining the optimal framework and overseeing the implementation of the defence research priorities set by the Member States."

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq said: “Today’s signing marks an important milestone and opens a new chapter in the way defence research is funded in Europe. The European Parliament, the European Commission and the EDA have worked together, hand in hand, to set up this Pilot Project which is an important test bed for more defence research funded from the EU budget in the future”.

He particularly thanked German MEP Michael Gahler and other members of the European Parliament’s SEDE committee whose relentless efforts back in 2014 resulted in the EP earmarking funding for an EU Pilot Project in the field of defence research for the first time ever. “The EDA is now looking forward to advancing the activities and making the Pilot Project a success”.

Mr Domecq stressed the “additional boost” EU funding possibilities, such as the Pilot Project and the upcoming Preparatory Action, will give to defence R&T by complementing national research programmes and existing cooperative funding schemes. “Using the EU budget for funding defence R&T will help to generate critical mass, to network European research entities and to increase interoperability and standards. The Pilot Project has already shown to what extent EU funding in conjunction with priorities set by Member States at intergovernmental level can be a powerful catalyst to attract Primes and SMEs, Research Centers and Academia, from big and small Member States. Research in defence also has concrete and profitable spill-over effects for everyday life”, he said. “R&T is not nice-to-have. It is an essential prerequisite to develop the required defence capabilities of the future and thus to provide for our citizen’s security”, the EDA Chief Executive concluded.
 

EDA call for proposal

The three activities were selected following an EU-wide call for proposals organized by the EDA between 23 March and 23 June 2016. They cover the following topics:
 

• Inside Building Awareness and Navigation for Urban Warfare (SPIDER) - Grant: €433.225

 The objective of this activity is to provide a proof of concept for an innovative system to improve soldiers’ inside building awareness by introducing into buildings miniaturized sensors which can move and change position to provide better coverage and improved performance. The activity will analyse the possibilities that new technologies and pioneering concepts provide to this aim. The proposed system will be composed by two distinct sensor subsystems: a static outdoor subsystem (a network of radiofrequency sensors that can recognize humans inside the building) and a mobile indoor subsystem which will be based on mobile robots capable of sensing the interior of the building using video camera and range-finding sensors such as depth sensors. The robots will be controlled by operators through a secure communication system. A separate station will receive all information obtained by both outdoor and indoor sensors to reconstruct an indoor map of the building. By visualizing the indoor map, the soldiers will have a crucial awareness enabling them to safely navigate inside the building. The system will be designed to be highly robust to endure operation in hostile environments.

This activity was won by a consortium led by TEKEVER, a Portuguese technology company, and composed of IT Aveiro - Instituto de Telecomunicações (Portugal), Aralia (Spain) and the Bulgarian Defence Institute (BDI).
 

• Standardisation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Detect and Avoid (TRAWA) - Grant: €433.292

 The aim of this activity is to contribute to the development of standards for a performant and affordable detect and avoid (DAA) system usable on-board Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). In concrete terms, it will specify ‘well clear’ boundaries in exact terms so that specifications for DAA technical systems can be derived from them. It will also develop requirements for remote pilot HMI (Human Machine Interface) characteristics. In addition, a method will be provided through which it can be identified which RPAS types can be integrated into airspace together with other aircraft categories, and vice versa, given their DAA technology capabilities. The proposed solution will be complementary with on-going European activities of the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE), Eurocontrol and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in this field. It will in particular follow the EUROCAE ED78a standardisation process. The activity is an enabler for the widespread use of RPAS in non-segregated airspace in Europe because it supports the development of standards for the certification of DAA solutions and helps to identify technology capabilities which need to be developed by the European defence industry.

This activity was won by a consortium led by the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) with the following partners: the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR), Deep Blue (Italy), Tony Henley Consulting (UK) and EuroUSC (Italy).
 

• Unmanned Heterogeneous Swarm of Sensor Platforms (EuroSWARM) - Grant: €434.000

This activity will demonstrate, through a live experimentation, that typical military missions and tasks can be performed in exemplary scenarios by an unmanned, autonomous and heterogeneous ‘swarm’ system of systems, using emerging enabling technologies.

EuroSWARM’s main objectives are: - to develop key techniques for adaptive, informative and reconfigurable operations of unmanned heterogeneous swarm systems, namely: optimal task allocation and resource management; sensor fusion, cooperative guidance, robust sensor network; - to integrate the developed enabling techniques; - to validate the developed enabling techniques based on empirical simulation studies; - to demonstrate the proposed solutions based on a small scale of experiments.    

The activity is expected to deliver a control & command architecture for autonomous and heterogeneous swarms of sensors. The architecture will host a wide variety of piloted and autonomous swarm elements, such as unmanned air/ground/naval platforms, steerable mast, unattended remote-controlled sensors, protective devices (laser, jammer, smoke generators etc.). Any kind of weaponry is excluded from the system. Using static/mobile sensors and vehicles in an unmanned swarm-based autonomous system such as EuroSWARM can become a pilot for large scale usage to deal with critical European and global challenges such as border control or surveillance-security.

The activity was won by a consortium led by the University of Cranfield (UK) which also includes the French aerospace research agency ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales), the Swedish Defence Research Agency FOI and the University of Patras (Greece).    
 

Pilot Project implementation

The signing of the grant agreements fires the starting shot for the implementation phase of the three activities as off 1 November 2016. SPIDER and EuroSWARM will be delivered after 12 months (November 2017) while TRAWA will run for 18 months (May 2018).

The Pilot Project is run and managed by the EDA on behalf of the European Commission based on a delegation agreement signed between the Agency and the Commission in November 2015. As a result, the EDA is responsible for the project’s implementation and management.
 

More information:

• Details on the three projects (Pilot Project call for proposals)
• Factsheet ‘Preparatory Action for CSDP-related research’

 

The EUPOL police mission in Afghanistan is a major and long-standing contribution of the European Union to the rebuilding of the Afghani state. However, its current mandate will expire in December 2016 and discussions are currently ongoing about the possible future modalities of EU engagement to which the hearing on 9 November could make a valuable contribution.
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On 10 November, SEDE/AFCO Committees will hold a first joint exchange of views on the INI report “Constitutional, legal and institutional implications of the CSDP: possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty”. The report will examine the legal possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty as well as the necessary institutional set-up to make CSDP more operational.
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will take place on Wednesday 9 November, 9:00-11:00 and 15:00-18:30, and Thursday 10 November, 9:00-12:30 in Brussels.

Organisations or interest groups who wish to apply foraccess to the European Parliament will find the relevant information below.

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Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

In downtown Caracas, six to eight hooded gunmen, allegedly members of armed 'colectivos' group, attempted to break into the offices of the controller commission at the National Assembly, threatening the employees. Parliament's security personnel temporarily detained the men before freed them.

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