Sikorsky won a $98.9 million deal for UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft. UH-60 Black Hawk is a multi-mission helicopter developed by Sikorsky that has been operational in the US Army since 1978. The export version of the UH-60 Black Hawk is designated as S-70A. Work will take place in Connecticut. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2027.
The US Navy is seeking proposals to build a low-cost unmanned vessel capable of towing and launching many unmanned vessels into contested environments. A design and construction contract could be awarded by mid-2026, with expected vessel delivery beginning within two years.
Middle East & AfricaThe Israeli government is asking local defense manufacturers to design and produce longer-range, more stealthy armed drones for use against Iran. Defense sources told Breaking Defense that the new unmanned systems would provide the country with more attack options in the event of a conflict with its arch-foe.
EuropeSweden will deliver new military aid worth $287 million to Ukraine. “It’s a bigger military support package than all eight previous packages combined,” Kristersson told a news conference. “It’s the single largest we’ve done, and we follow exactly the Ukrainian priority list of what they themselves think they need just now,” the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference. Kristersson also noted the government was closely following developments concerning the explosion in Poland near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday and that more information was needed to gain a clearer picture of what happened. On Tuesday an explosion in the eastern part of Poland, close to the Ukrainian boarder, led to an emergency meeting of the NATO ambassadors. It is still unclear wether the explosion came from Russian missile. NARO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg however said on Wednesday that the explosion was most likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.
The armaments group Rheinmetall has set itself higher financial targets for the medium term because of the armament in many NATO countries. In 2025, the Düsseldorf group wants to achieve sales of between 10 and 11 billion euros, as it announced on Wednesday at an investor event in Vienna. The operating profit margin, which Rheinmetall uses to measure its profitability, is expected to increase to around 13 percent.
Rheinmetall AG will soon dispatch main battle tanks and other military hardware to Slovakia, a move that will allow the country to transfer equipment to Ukraine as NATO continues to support Kyiv in its fight against Russian forces. The German defense company said Wednesday that it would be sending 15 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and ammunition to Slovakia as well as a service package including training and spare parts. The first vehicle is expected to be shipped in December and the company aims to complete deliveries by the end of 2023. The vehicles that Rheinmetall will be providing were formerly in the inventories of various states, the company said.
Asia-PacificTaiwan has introduced its new single-rotor drone for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The unmanned system was unveiled by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCIST) during a demonstration conducted on Tuesday. According to local media outlets, the drone features a larger payload capacity than other unmanned aerial vehicles in Taiwan’s arsenal.
Today’s VideoWATCH: US intelligence believes Ukraine fired missile that landed in Poland
BAE Systems Land & Armaments won a $32 million contract modification, for M2A4 and M7A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of August 23, 2023. M2A4 is designed to provide protected transport of soldiers and direct fires to support dismounted infantry, disrupt or destroy enemy military forces, and control land areas. The Bradley Engineering Change Proposal (ECP), termed M2/M7A4, includes changes intended to restore ground clearance, suspension reliability, and lost mobility, and to improve situational awareness. The M2/M7A4 maintains the survivability enhancement features found on legacy vehicles, to include the Bradley Urban Survivability Kits, Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles, and Add-on Armor Kit that the Army developed and fielded based on lessons learned during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Huntington Ingalls Industries won a $36 million modification for work previously authorized and completed, related to the various warfare system installations and testing necessary to support the completed construction for USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the lead ship of her class of. The Gerald R. Ford class is a class of nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Work is already completed and took place in Virginia.
Middle East & AfricaSpain has once again extended the deployment period of a Patriot air defense missile unit in Turkey. This time, the soldiers and their equipment will remain till June 2023. Deployed in Adana, the Spanish Patriot unit has been stationed there since 2015. Taking over from the Netherlands, which arrived in January 2013 to protect Turkey from possible attacks by Syria.
Iran unveiled the longer-range Sayyad 4B surface-to-air missile for its Bavar-373 air defense system earlier this month. The latest in the Sayyad series of solid-fuel missiles struck a target at 300 kilometers (186.41 miles) in an October test, an increase of 100 kilometers (62 miles) over earlier versions, state-backed Tasnim News reported.
EuropeGermany and Spain are planning to train thousands of Ukrainian troops under an EU program to help bolster Kyiv’s fightback against Russia, officials said Tuesday. Their assistance adds to announcements already given by other EU countries that they will train Ukrainian soldiers on their territories.
Asia-PacificSouth Korea has embarked on a new $38-million project to upgrade its K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. The country’s Agency for Defense Development will reportedly invest in a super long-range cannon to double the shooting range of the weapon system. The upgrade comes amid rising demand for increased shooting range due to increased artillery threat from North Korea and the rising capabilities of rival products.
Today’s VideoWATCH: Iran’s New Air Defense Missile – Sayyad 4B
Today, Defence Ministers were presented with the results and recommendations of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the EU defence review. It finds that increases in defence spending following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine represent both an opportunity and challenge for European defence. Today’s CARD Report also shows that the announced additional funds may fill long-standing capability gaps. CARD has identified a likely recovery point in 2023, when Member States can move past the underinvestment in defence following the 2008 financial crisis. However, spending in isolation and leaning towards non-EU suppliers risk increasing fragmentation and undermine broader efforts to deliver capable and coherent European armed forces. It also finds that defence planning continues to be done mostly in isolation and that Member States remain unconvinced by European cooperation projects.
Today, during the European Defence Agency (EDA) Steering Board, Ministers of Defence were presented with the 2022 CARD Report developed in close coordination with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU Military Staff (EUMS) over the past year.
Head of the Agency, High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell said: “The message from CARD is clear. We cannot just spend our way out of the mistakes made following the financial crisis. Defence cooperation coupled with increased spending is the only way to ensure Europe has capable and ready armed forces, able to respond to any crisis. With CARD, we have a unique overview of all 26 EDA Member States’ national defence planning and capability development efforts. Member States now know where and with whom they can invest and develop military capabilities together. We must move past recovery and, with war back in Europe, move towards winning the future by building a true European defence.”
SPENDING, PLANNING, COOPERATING: CARD’s RECOMMENDATIONSThe CARD report offers Ministers of Defence key strategic and political messages, actionable recommendations and options to generate collaborative projects.
EDA Chief Executive, Jiří Šedivý said: “Without having a robust portfolio of high-end military capabilities for a wide spectrum of operations – including high intensity – the EU will not become a credible security provider. CARD has a crucial role to play by informing national policy makers, planners, and armament staff of concrete collaborative opportunities to that end. At EU level we must now work to shift the balance and make cooperation the norm. The progress on cooperation projects since our 2020 report has been limited, renewed cooperation on next-generation capabilities is essential to meet future needs.”
DEFENCE SPENDING: RECOVERY POINT FROM 2023Defence expenditure grew significantly to €214 billion in 2021 (up 6% compared to 2020) and is estimated to grow further by up to €70 billion by 2025. CARD finds that if announced defence spending increases are followed through, Member States will possibly have recovered in 2023 from the underspend of the financial crisis and can give greater focus to future defence needs.
CARD identifies a clear risk from isolated defence spending in the medium to long term. This risk seems further substantiated if Member States favour individual, non-EU off-the-shelf procurements over longer-term investments.
DEFENCE COOPERATION: EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE NORMThe report finds that defence cooperation remains the exception rather than the norm. CARD finds that Member States implement their plans to a large extent at national level, with only 18% of all investment in defence programmes conducted in cooperation with other EU countries. However, some collaborative opportunities identified in the 2020 CARD cycle have led to PESCO projects. CARD concludes that Member States mainly seek cooperative solutions for projects when they coincide with national plans, benefit national industry, or consolidate a strategic partnership.
Many Member States regard European collaborative approaches as more time consuming and complex, and often opt for national solutions or non-EU suppliers. Cooperation primarily takes place among neighbouring states in existing cooperation frameworks, while broader European collaborative approaches are usually not the preferred choice. CARD finds that the main impediments to cooperation stem from the complexity of legislation, pressing timelines and budget availability as well as the allocation and retention of the right experts, making full engagement with the EU defence initiatives difficult for many Member States.
DEFENCE PLANNING: LACK OF FOCUSTo overcome the lack of coherence in the EU defence landscape, CARD finds the need for a common long-term capability outlook, built upon the common strategic vision provided by the Strategic Compass. EU defence initiatives must be further embedded into national defence planning and policy documents. Based on the most promising of the identified collaborative opportunities, six ‘focus areas’ were selected for their high potential to boost the EU's and its Member States’ operational performance. The six areas should be further developed to better reflect high intensity requirements and preserve industrial know-how.
Notes for editors
European Union Ministers of Defence approved on Tuesday a significant European Defence Agency (EDA) budget increase for 2023, reflecting the Union’s higher level of ambition and a tangible reinforcement of the Agency in support of growing national defence efforts. The decision was taken at the EDA ministerial Steering Board in Brussels, under the chairmanship of the Head of the Agency Josep Borrell. Ministers also considered the main findings of the EU’s defence review, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD). In the margins of the meeting, Defence Ministers signed a new EDA programme, the Military Computer Emergency Response Team Operational Network (MICNET).
The EDA budget for 2023 will rise 15% to € 43.5 million, compared to 2022, following approval by Defence Ministers at the Steering Board. After several years of zero net growth budget, the increase will help enhancing domain expertise on land, in the air, at sea, in space, and in cyber.
Crucially, the operational budget from which EDA directly finances cooperative defence projects will rise 47% next year. An important part of the increased budget is set to be invested by EDA in innovation through the Agency’s Hub for Defence Innovation (HEDI). This rise also cements EDA’s role as the EU’s main forum for defence cooperation, in full support of national strategies
At the Steering Board, Defence Ministers also adopted EDA’s planning framework for 2023-2025, which provides an overview of the nature, scope and expected impact of EDA’s activities in support of Member States in the years to come.
Ministers focused on the findings and recommendations of the 2022 CARD report, the EU’s defence biannual review that aims to better align Member States’ defence efforts and identify areas where they can cooperate. Together with the EU Military Staff, EDA has provided a picture of the existing defence capability landscape.
As defence spending rises again across the EU, CARD has a central role to play by pointing the way towards projects in the Permanent Enhanced Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the European Defence Fund or other frameworks.
EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said the rise in national expenditure was both an opportunity and challenge for European defence. He urged Member States to work together.
“Without having a robust portfolio of high-end military capabilities for a wide spectrum of operations, the EU will not become a credible security provider. Spending in isolation and leaning towards non-EU suppliers risk increasing fragmentation and undermine broader efforts to deliver capable and coherent European armed forces,” Chief Executive Šedivý said.
The goal, he said, is to prepare today by planning for 2040. Once the investment shortfalls of the past have been compensated for, Member States should work on a common, long-term capability outlook for the EU defence landscape with a greater emphasis on an EU approach for cooperative capability planning.
In the margins of the Steering Board, Defence Ministers signed the new EDA programme for the Military Computer Emergency Response Team Operational Network (MICNET). The establishment of this operational network of national response teams, known as milCERTs, is a substantial step towards enhancing the level of cooperation in the cyber domain at EU level.
Eighteen countries will join this new EDA programme, which aims to foster the exchange of information at a time when computer networks are increasingly contested and the number of cyber-attacks against the EU and its Member States continues to grow. MICNET will be managed by EDA and will also be the first outcome of the new Joint Communication on the EU Policy on Cyber Defence from head of Agency Borrell in his role as High Representative/Commission Vice-President, presented earlier in November.