Defence`s Feeds

As it continues its war in Ukraine, Moscow knows it can count on the support of Syria as a rear base, afer six years engagement in the Syrian conflict (IO, 08/03/22) and an even longer bilateral relationship. However a series of

The GISEC security fair in Dubai, which opened its doors on Monday, has provided an opportunity for the US cloud

On 14 March, before Berlin's scheduled order of 35 F-35 planes from Lockheed Martin, Peter Lütz, head of aeronautical engineering

On 9 March the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah appointed both a new Deputy Prime Minister and

The Qatari embassy in Washington registered Omar Franco and Chris Berardini of the law firm Becker & Poliakoff on the

The Russian military assault on Ukraine that began on 24 February and the subsequent retreat towards the West prompted several

Russian T-16 Armored Recovery Vehicle

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

While France's military budget should maintain its upward trend as planned, the conflict in Ukraine could have a significant impact on where the extra funds will be spent. The most pressing needs to address will be its intelligence requirements. The

The Protection déployAble modulaiRe Anti-DronEs (Parade) contract put out to tender by French military procurement agency, the Direction Générale de l'Armement

By issuing a new tender call for the supply of secure communications systems to its overseas delegations on 7 March,

Off the scene for a while, Syria's National Security Bureau chief Ali Mamlouk (IO, 07/01/22) has reemerged this month, reappearing

China - Xi Jinping's PM choices both from security worldFollowing Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang's press conference on 11 March,

A Russian flag removed in the Courchevel ski resort, a star dancer quits the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet, Russian personalities confined

Intelligence Online understands that a new fake news tracking organisation GVNIE (Groupe de veille numérique à l'intégrité électorale) put together

Chinese HQ-29 Anti-Ballistic and Anti-Satellite Missile System

Some 90 experts from across Europe met on 15 March for a workshop organised under the EDA-managed Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED) to discuss the crucial question of Europe’s dependency on critical raw materials that are relevant to defence. 

The workshop built on the consolidated work of EDA’s Materials CapTech to discuss and assess how circularity can contribute to reducing those dependencies. The event gathered representatives from Member States’ Ministries of Defence, the defence industry, research institutes and centres, foundations and universities. Specific contributions were also made by the European Commission’s DG DEFIS and DG GROW as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Participants discussed circularity principles and defence supply chain specificities, and addressed concrete ideas, for instance how critical raw materials could be recycled from Li-ion batteries and superalloys, or how alternative coatings could be used in the production of specific parts of defence equipment. The idea is that the IF CEED’s joint discussions and activities, coupled with the identification of possible funding and financing sources, will help trigger concrete collaborative projects with a clear and coherent roadmap. 

The Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED) is co-funded by the European Union (under the LIFE programme) and the Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - Directorate of Defence.

More info

• IF CEED

• Materials CapTech. 

Chinese HQ-19 Anti-Ballistic Missile System

EDA’s Steering Board in National Armament Directors’ (NAD) composition met on 16 March under the new chairmanship of Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard, Director of the Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation. The meeting allowed National Armament Directors to discuss European defence cooperation in light of the changed security environment. They also exchanged views on the Agency’s support roles in the European Defence Fund (EDF), innovation in EU Defence, EU-NATO cooperation, as well as on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards in defence.

Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard, Director of the Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation, opened the first physical EDA Steering Board of National Armaments Directors since the COVID-19 pandemic, “We come together in a time when the European security environment has drastically changed. New and vital requests in the area of defence procurement will need to be addressed quickly. It is important that we use the tools we have at our hands to improve our defence capabilities in cooperation whenever possible.”

EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý emphasised in his update in relation to the war in Ukraine, “EDA’s role is to support Member States. In this time of crisis, I want to reiterate that the Agency is at the service of Member States, and we will support you wherever we can in the short-, mid-, and long-term.”

After a presentation by Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý on the progress made on a wide range of EDA projects, programmes and activities, National Armaments Directors discussed the different ways and means the Agency supports the European Defence Fund, also to explore additional options for optimising this support. To that end, a specific Task Force has been established within EDA to coordinate the Agency’s contribution to the various phases (upstream, implementation and downstream) of the EDF. It was stressed that a continued close cooperation between Member States, DG DEFIS and EDA remains crucial to fully exploit the potential of the EDF for the benefit of a more coherent European capability landscape and a more competitive defence industry.

EDA’s enhanced role in defence innovation was also discussed by NADs, including the Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI) within the Agency. The topic will also be on the agenda on the upcoming Steering Board meeting in capability directors’ formation. EU-NATO cooperation was also discussed, in the presence of NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, Camille Grand. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues were also on the agenda of NADs based on an EDA paper, including an action plan, for addressing the impact on European defence of ESG standards and taxonomy issues discussed in the context of the European Commission. Finally, new defence cooperative opportunities were addressed and discussed by NADs, including in the important area of common procurement.

Launched with great fanfare, the first edition of the World Defense Show (WDS, IO, 14/03/22) in Riyadh on 6-9 March