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Bisalloy Appoints Shane Gleeson as New Group General Sales and Marketing Manager

Naval Technology - Thu, 06/10/2016 - 01:00
Bisalloy Steels CEO and managing director Greg Albert announced today the appointment of Shane Gleeson to the position of group general manager sales and marketing.
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SNC-Lavalin secures contract extension to support Royal Canadian Navy’s vessels

Naval Technology - Thu, 06/10/2016 - 01:00
SNC-Lavalin has announced that it has secured a two-year contract extension from the Government of Canada to provide In-Service-Support (ISS) to the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) minor warships and auxiliary vessels.
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Maritime Sustainment Capability (MSC) Vessel

Naval Technology - Thu, 06/10/2016 - 01:00
The New Zealand Defence Force's (NZDF) future ice-capable fleet replenishment tanker is scheduled to be delivered in January 2020.
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UK Navy’s frigate HMS Westminster completes refit programme

Naval Technology - Thu, 06/10/2016 - 01:00
The refit programme of the UK Royal Navy’s Duke Class Type 23 Frigate HMS Westminster has been completed.
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Annual Military Airworthiness Conference in Lisbon

EDA News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 17:02

Hosted by the National Aviation Authority of Portugal (Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional, AAN), the Annual Military Airworthiness Conference kicked off in Lisbon this Wednesday with keynote speeches delivered by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq and General Manuel Teixeira Rolo of AAN.

The two-day event (5/6 October) brings together key stakeholders from national authorities, industry, European agencies, NATO and international organisations for presentations and discussions on a variety of topics related to harmonization of military airworthiness requirements , implementation experiences and integration into a global context.

In his speech, Mr Domecq stressed that standardisation, including in the area of airworthiness requirements, was a "key enabler" for the implementation of the EU Global Strategy. "The application of common standards and recommended best practice is a key enabler for defence cooperation and helps strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial base. Most importantly, from a defence perspective, such standardisation would support effective cooperation and improve interoperability", he said. 

He also recalled that since the establishment of the Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum, a lot of work has been done particularly in the area of European Military Airworthiness Requirements, the EMARs. “With the EMARs that are now developed, nations have created a baseline for a common approach to processes like certification, organisational approvals and the preservation of airworthiness”. However, “a real common approach can only be established if EMARs are also implemented in a uniform way, which is a national responsibility of the Member States”, he stressed.

Based on an earlier EDA funded study by Eurocopter, it is estimated that the adoption by Member States of optimised and harmonised military airworthiness regulations through the European Military Airworthiness Requirements would deliver a reduction of up to 50% of the development time and at least 10% of development costs up to initial-type certification. Significant further cost savings could also be achieved during the in-service phase.
 

Positive trend

Currently, the status of implementation of the EMARs varies from nation to nation, and at this stage the application is still mostly limited to some multinational aircraft programmes like A400M. “That said, there are signs that things are moving in the right direction. For example, NAHEMA has decided to use EMARs for the certification framework of its NH90 programme. And the participating nations in the MRTT programme will make use of the EMARs to benefit from a common approach”, Mr Domecq said. In the next years, the focus should be on the standardisation of how the Member States ensure and preserve their military airworthiness, Mr Domecq said.

The ultimate outcome Member States should aim for, he said, should include:

1. a single certification approach for multinational programmes, which would result in less development costs and optimised use of certification resources;

2. the development and application of common agreed industrial standards which would strengthen the position of the European defence industry in the global market;

3. optimised pooling and sharing of spare parts and maintenance resources within a single regulatory and oversight system (of key interest in relation to civil-derivative aircraft, but also with regard to military platforms such as A400M, Eurofighter, NH90 and others);

4. optimised use of oversight resources by collaboration in oversight obligations;

5. minimised gaps or differences between national regulatory and oversight systems, which would in turn minimise safety risks in multinational materiel cooperation programmes.

 

More information:
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Inside Exercise Unmanned Warrior

Naval Technology - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 13:17
This month the Royal Navy is hosting a large-scale demonstration of maritime autonomous systems, which will see 40 participants from industry, academia and defence operating unmanned and autonomous vehicles. Katie Woodward finds out more about the Un…
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EDA’s Personnel Recovery Demonstrator used in Polish courses

EDA News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 09:44

EDA’s Personnel Recovery Functional Area Service Advanced Technology Demonstrator (PR FAS ATD), a sophisticated information management and Command & Control (C2) tool recently developed within the European Defence Agency to increase the efficiency of personnel recovery actions during military operations and missions, has now started being used by Member States in national PR courses.

Poland broke the first ground with two national Personnel Recovery (PR) courses, one in May and the most recent one from 12-23 September at the National Defence University in Rembertów in which the PR FAS ATD was successfully deployed and used. Organised on a regular basis by the Personnel Recovery Branch of the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command (AFOC), these courses aim at familiarising Polish military staff with PR. More than 60 students were trained on how to collect information and plan the recovery of isolated personnel in challenging and realistic scenarios. EDA facilitated the on-site training of users and provided information and technical support. The demonstrator almost completely replaced the usual ‘table-top’ exercise.
 

Easy to handle

After the courses, students agreed that the demonstrator was easy to use and intuitive. They especially praised its accuracy and considered it an important step in the delivery of PR education and training. “I believe that PR FAS ATD is a very handy tool for exercise purposes and I liked using it” said Major Robert Kietliński, one of the trainees. “Although it is just a technical demonstrator, I can see its potential benefits for real-life missions”.

Lt. Col. Zbigniew Zblewski, the chief of the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command Personnel Recovery Branch, welcomed the new possibilities offered by the demonstrator as a “significant leap forward” in PR training. According to him, “it is time to use the demonstrator on a much wider scale and to introduce it to more students”. “Every piece of available information that matters for PR is centralized in a single tool, everything is stored within the system which is very convenient for students and future controllers alike”, he commented.

The National Defense University in Rembertów was also engaged in the project; its representatives noted that “PR FAS ATD is an important step towards modernizing Personnel Recovery and unifying this field of knowledge within the Polish Armed Forces”. Moreover, an evaluation of the course results showed that students with varying degrees of knowledge of PR consistently found the system to be user friendly and comprehensive; they also concluded that it had improved their knowledge of PR significantly.
 

Demonstrator ready for other deployments

PR FAS ATD is the latest operational output developed in the context of the EDA’s Project Team Personnel Recovery. The tool supports planners and controllers with a number of functionalities and improved situational awareness. While it is usually possible to use the demonstrator through a standard PR FAS physical workstation, an internet-based (on-line) solution was chosen for the Polish course with the connection of six different computers each running an independent system.

EDA has distributed the tool to all its participating Member States (pMS), the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) and the European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC). The Capability, Armament & Technology Director, Air Commodore Peter Round, underscored that” the EDA is always ready to provide deployment support and training”. The Agency is also working to address the various aspects of the through-life management of the tool to ensure its operational functionality in the long-term. “An important objective of the EDA is to support member states in the development of the capabilities required to effectively recover isolated personnel and save lives”, Pete Round stated.

 

More information:  
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AUSA 2016: First JLTVs accepted, new testing round to begin

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
The US Army has accepted its first seven Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) at the end of September and is soon shipping those to test sites, programme officials told reporters on 4 October. Some JLTV testing was deferred during an engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase, as the
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AUSA 2016: GE begins testing large helicopter engine

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
The first full version of a large turboshaft engine being developed for the US Army as an option for its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme has begun testing, manufacturer General Electric (GE) Aviation announced on 3 October. The Future Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE) began full-scale rig
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AUSA 2016: QinetiQ NA unveils new UGVs, partners with MILREM

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
QinetiQ North America (NA) has unveiled two new unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) at the annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) 2016 in Washington, DC, and announced a new teaming arrangement with Estonia's MILREM. QinetiQ's new platforms build on their two most popular UGVs: the Talon and Dragon
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AUSA 2016: Roboteam rolls out new capabilities

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
Roboteam unveiled a new operational capability for its Micro Tactical Ground Robot (MTGR) unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and details of countries evaluating its larger Probot platform and opportunities at the annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) 2016 conference in Washington, DC.
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Havelsan buys Quantum3D

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
Havelsan has completed its acquisition of US-based flight simulation company Quantum3D, the Turkish firm announced on 4 October. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quantum3D will be operated as two companies by Havelsan, with Quantum3D Government Systems as the business facing US and foreign
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Indian Navy receives first of new class of Mk IV LCUs

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
India's state-owned shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), delivered the first of a new class of eight in-house designed Mk IV Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels to the Indian Navy (IN) on 30 September. According to the Indian Ministry of Defence, L-51 is expected to be
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Russia suspends MOX nuclear disarmament deal

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
Russia announced on 3 October that it would suspend a major arms control agreement with the United States meant to de-weaponise at least 34 tonnes each of excess weapon-grade plutonium, about enough for 17,000 nuclear weapons, by converting it to mixed oxide fuel (MOX). The Plutonium Management and
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South Korea to buy additional Taurus missiles

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
In a bid to bolster its strike capabilities amid growing threats from Pyongyang, South Korea is planning to buy additional Taurus KEPD 350K air-to-surface cruise missiles that can be carried by its F-15K Slam Eagle fighters, Yonhap news agency reported on 4 October. "The military has recently
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Tanzania shows off amphibious warfare capability

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
The Tanzanian People's Defence Force (TPDF) demonstrated its combined arms capability on 30 September, when it carried out a beach assault in front of president John Magufuli, Chief of Defence Forces General Davis Mwamunyange, and other senior officers. The exercise was held in the Bagamoyo area of
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UK Typhoons go independent over Iraq and Syria

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
UK Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s are flying self-contained missions over Syria and Iraq thanks to the availability of the P1Eb weapons integration software package, IHS Jane's has learned. Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots who have recently flown combat missions over Syria and Iraq told IHS Jane's that the
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Violent risks intelligence bulletin - 5 October 2016

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
Americas Colombia - 4 October 2016: In La Granada, Saravena, Arauca, ELN rebels blew up a section of Ecopetrol's Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline. Colombia - 4 October 2016: President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the bilateral ceasefire with FARC militant group would only hold
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Work continues on UK carrier Queen Elizabeth ahead of sea trials

Jane's Defense News - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 02:00
Key Points A power and propulsion de-risking trial is planned before the end of 2016 A thermal spray deck coating is being applied to protect Queen Elizabeth's flight deck from the extreme temperatures produced by the F-35B Lightning II engine Setting-to-work, test, and acceptance activities on
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2nd Batch of MRAPs Sent to Egypt | Airbus A330 MRTT Takes Maiden Flight in Spain | Philippine Prez Expresses Hostility; Ready to Break Up with America

Defense Industry Daily - Wed, 05/10/2016 - 01:58
Americas

  • Lockheed Martin is to upgrade a target acquisition and vision sensor aboard US Army AH-64E Apache helicopters. The upgrade to the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor, or M-TADS/PNVS on the AH-64E was commissioned by the Army under a $49 million contract. Lockheed said that under the award it will produce an additional 42 Modernized Day Sensor Assembly upgrade kits and spares for the US Army as part of Lot 1 production at two of its facilities in Florida.

Middle East & North Africa

  • A second batch of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles have been delivered to Egypt under the US Excess Defense Articles grant program. While the exact number of vehicles delivered remains unknown, the original shipment contained 762 MRAPs. First used for US operations in Afghanistan, the vehicles will give enhanced levels of protection to Egyptian soldiers tackling Islamist militants in the Sinai desert.

  • Regional changes and increased demand has Israel looking for more airborne early warning, communications intelligence and electronic intelligence aircraft. It’s believed that the newly agreed 10-year $38 billion foreign military financing package from the US may facilitate the needed acquisition, which will add to the Gulfstream G-5 Shavit COMINT/ELINT aircraft and G-550 Eitam AEW aircraft that are in service. An IAF source said that the radar and other systems that are installed in the two types have been upgraded, and now have an improved performance.

Europe

  • The Ukrainian state-owned Kiev Design Bureau released footage of the successful test of their Sarmat anti-tank guided missile. Sarmat missiles form part of a module mounted on jeeps and can engage tanks, motionless helicopters, sea vessels, and ground forces. Its smaller version has a maximum range of about 8,200 feet, and the larger variant has a range of about 16,400 feet.

  • An enhanced production version of the Airbus A330-200-based multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) has made its maiden flight in Spain. Manufacturer Airbus stated the aircraft – already carrying its advanced refuelling boom system and under-wing hose and drogue pods – “performed in line with expectations”. The enhanced model represents the new build standard that also will be delivered to other future customers of the MRTT, which currently include France, South Korea, and a consortium of NATO members.

Asia Pacific

  • Philippine hardman Rodrigo Duterte has continued his war of words with the Pentagon, saying he doesn’t need to buy arms from US manufacturers. Telling US President Barack Obama to “go to hell”, Duterte continued with “If you don’t want to sell arms, I’ll go to Russia. I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said ‘do not worry, we have everything you need, we’ll give it to you'”. His comments were the latest in a near-daily barrage of hostility toward the United States, during which Duterte has started to contrast the former colonial power with its geopolitical rivals Russia and China.

  • Singapore remains interested in purchasing the F-35, however it won’t be until a 2030s timeframe. While the country has long been linked to the F-35 program, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said his country’s crop of F-15s and F-16s will “last us well into the next one or two decades.” This is backed up by last December’s $914 million award to Lockheed Martin to upgrade Singapore’s 60 plane F-16 fleet, with work occurring through 2023.

  • Two more H225M helicopters are on their way from Airbus with Thailand looking to add to the existing fleet of four of the twin-engined type operated by the Royal Thai Air Force. Delivery of the two Caracals is due in 2019, and will be preceded by another pair due to be handed over this year dating from a 2014 order. The H225Ms will be used on a variety of missions including combat search and rescue, and troop transportation.

Today’s Video

Highlights from North Korea’s first airshow:

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