Defence`s Feeds

At today’s 13th EDA REACH plenary meeting, experts from the Ministries of Defence of participating Member States exchanged views with representatives of the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Space Agency (ESA), national space agencies as well as the European defence industry on the latest developments regarding the implementation of the European Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and other relevant EU regulations on chemicals and waste regulations in the defence domain. 

The main aim of the meeting was to jointly explore ways and means to meet the objectives of these EU regulations and ensure their coherent application in the defence sector while, at the same time,  mitigate their possible impact on the operational capabilities of participating Member States’ Armed Forces and the competitiveness and innovation of the EU defence industry, as an important stakeholder in support of European defence capabilities. The discussions were based on EDA’s ongoing activities in the area of REACH and other relevant EU chemicals and waste regulations, as well as recent regulatory developments at European level such as the EU Green Deal  and EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability towards a toxic-free environment.

The European defence industry was represented at the meeting by some 70  representatives from a wide range of stakeholders with expertise/activities in the area of REACH and other relevant EU chemicals and waste regulations such as the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), National Defence Industry Associations (NDIAs), individual industries, research and technology organisations, and academia. 

The main conclusion of the debate was that, while EDA participating Member States and the EU defence industry strongly support the implementation of REACH in the defence domain (for its positive effects on human health and the environment), it is crucial to ensure that potential negative impacts of its implementation on defence are identified at an early stage in order to be mitigated appropriately. To this end, EDA’s work on REACH is considered very important.

Background

EDA is addressing REACH and its defence implications since 2009, at the request of its participating Member States and in close coordination with the European Commission. 
The Agency’s work in this field was guided until recently by the EDA REACH Roadmap 2018-2020  which was adopted by Member States in October 2017 and contained a comprehensive list of activities, the majority of which have recently been successfully completed, or are continuous in nature. 

A follow-up EDA REACH Roadmap for years 2021-2023 is currently in the last stages of approval by EDA participating Member States. In addition to REACH, this roadmap also covers activities related to other relevant EU chemicals and waste regulations, on the basis also of the outcome of a recent EDA study.

EDA closely engages with and regularly invites key stakeholders to EDA REACH meetings, such as the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency, the European Space Agency and (under the overarching comprehensive EDA approach on industry engagement) EU defence industry, in order to facilitate closer and more transparent interaction on defence-related REACH issues, which is seen as an important success factor for EDA’s work in this field. 

More information

• EDA REACH Activities

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Americas

The US Navy announced the start of its first manned and unmanned capabilities exercise on April 19 at Naval Base San Diego. Executed by the Navy’s 3rd Fleet, “Unmanned Battle Problem 21” will “generate warfighting advantages in integrating multi-domain manned and unmanned capabilities into the most challenging operational scenarios,” ist says in a statement. Unmanned systems, including the MQ-9 Sea Guardian and MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles, Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk unmanned surface vessels and small and medium unmanned undersea vehicles with modular payloads will be involved in exercises.

The USS Oakland, the Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, was formally commissioned in a weekend ceremony, as the first LCS ships face retirement. The Oakland, an Independence-class trimaran 418 feetlong and designed to carry a crew of 40 in shallow water and ocean-going situations, officially joined the Navy fleet in Oakland, California on April 18.

Middle East & Africa

The Advanced Electronics won a contract modification for the F-15 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Electronic System Test Set (ESTS). Services acquired under this effort are to provide the RSAF with an upgraded ESTS. The RSAF currently uses an A31U18240-2 ESTS configuration, and this shall provide the scope to upgrade and install the A31U18240-3 and A31U18240-4 configuration (frequently referred to as -3 and -4, respectively), as well as familiarization training, regression testing, and travel. Work will be performed at the RSAF Central Maintenance Facilities within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Science and Engineering facility in Huntsville, Alabama; and Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and is expected to be completed April 16, 2021.

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Asia-Pacific

Boeing won a $79.5 million contract modification for KC-46A long lead spares, initial spares and support equipment. This modification provides mission essential long lead spares, initial spares, and support equipment for use on the Japan KC-46 aircraft being produced under the basic contract. The US Air Force awarded Boeing $279 million for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) first KC-46A tanker in December 2017. The agreement was completed through the Foreign Military Sale process between the US government and Japan. Japan is now on contract for a total of four KC-46 tankers. Japanese partners produce 16% of the KC-46 airframe structure. Work under the contract modification will take place in Everett, Washington. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2024.

News reports from Taiwan say the Ministry of National Defense intends to submit budget request for a new early warning radar system in 2022. As per reports, the new radar is likely to be the same AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS that Taiwan had wanted to build in the southern part of the island. Currently, it has only one system on Leshan mountain. The site is said to be Lilongshan, north of Hengchun.

Today’s Video

Watch: F-15s Fighter Jet at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia

At a high-level online conference co-hosted today by the European Defence Agency and the Portuguese Ministry of Defence (under the auspices of the current Portuguese EU Presidency), senior representatives from Ministries of Defence, defence research centres, industry, European institutions as well as NATO discussed existing and future challenges and opportunities related to emerging disruptive technologies in defence.

Emerging disruptive technologies (EDTs) such as artificial intelligence, big data, quantum technology, robotics, autonomous systems, new advanced materials, blockchain, hypersonic weapons systems and biotechnologies applied to human enhancements - to name only them - are expected to have a disruptive impact on defence and revolutionise future military capabilities, strategy and operations. The conference provided a comprehensive overview of EDA’s role in European defence research and stressed the need for Member States and the EU to sustain and further increase investment in innovative and disruptive technologies to support state-of-the-art defence capabilities.

The event was opened by the Portuguese Minister of Defence, João Gomes Cravinho (speaking from Porto) and EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý.  

In his speech, Minister Cravinho stressed the need for cooperation and synergies between civil and military actors in order to get the most out of new emerging technologies for defence. “When it comes to EDTs, we need to stimulate synergies between NATO, the European Commission and EDA, taking advantage of civil-military cooperation and the dual-use nature of technological development”, he stated.

EDA Chief Executive Šedivý said in his speech that the EU’s strategic and political defence ambitions can only be credible if they are underpinned by technology and innovation. “For the EU to be a credible security provider and a trusted partner in defence, we must focus our efforts on the development and mastering of technologies that have a serious potential to revolutionise our military capabilities, strategies and operations. Emerging Disruptive Technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum technologies or hypersonic weapons and new space technologies, must be in the centre of our capability development”, he stated. 

Jiří šedivý, EDA Chief Executive Disruptive technologies for disruptive capabilities

The opening part was followed by several keynote speeches.

Focusing on the disruptive potential of technologies at the interface between security, defence and space, Stephen Quest (European Commission Director at the General Joint Research Centre) said the strategic importance of cross-fertilisation between civil-military industries was behind the Action Plan the European Commission has presented last February to enhance synergies and cross-fertilisation between civil, defence and space industries. The Action Plan covers three priorities, Mr Quest said. “First, to build new synergies among EU programmes and instruments so that disruptive technologies can find concrete uses across civil, defence and space industries. Secondly, to enable that defence and space technologies find concrete civil applications, the so-called ‘spin-offs’. And thirdly, to facilitate the use of civil research and innovations into new European defence projects, the so-called ‘spin-ins’”. The Commission will present by October a roadmap on key technologies for security and defence including options for (a) boosting research, development and innovation and (b) reducing strategic dependencies in critical technologies and value chains, he said. 

General André Lanata, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, said EDTs were technologies whose practical uses have the potential to fundamentally change the way military forces operate. If we are serious about seizing the opportunities of EDTs, we need to fundamentally change the way we operate and think. We need resources and above all a cultural revolution, he stated.  Innovation and EDTs offer a wide range of opportunities for fruitful boosts to EU-NATO cooperation, he added. 

Petter Bedoire (Chief Technology Officer, Saab Group) referred to the need to make sure the new technologies developed will create opportunities rather than threats. There is also the challenge of finding a balance between the possibilities enabled by disruptive technologies and the defence capabilities actually required by the Armed Forces, he said.   

Panel discussions

Throughout the day, the conference attendants witnessed three successive panel discussions: 

• The first one on Disruptive Technologies and the Expected Impact on Defence with the following panellists: MGen Corte-Real Andrade (R&T Director, MoD Portugal), Jean-François Ripoche (EDA RTI Director), Sylvia Kainz-Huber (Head of Unit, DG DEFIS, European Commission), MGen Herminio Maio (MPCC Chief of Staff), Pablo Gonzales (Chairman of ASD DRDT Working Group and Director NATO & EU Defence Programmes, Indra).
• The second one focused more specifically on Artificial Intelligence with an interesting exchange of views between the panellists Auke Venema (R&T Director, MoD The Netherlands), Alípio Jorge (Coordinator for the national strategy for AI, Portugal), Jonas Andrulis (CEO Aleph, Alpha GmbH), Anna-Mari Heikkila (VTT Finland) as well as Panagiotis Kikiras (EDA Head of Unit Innovative Research).
• The third one, centred on Autonomous Systems, featured Mr Martin Jõesaar (Chief of Project Office at the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments), José Santos Victor (Director of Instituto de Sistemas e Robótica, Portugal), Joachim Schaper (Head of AI and Big Data at Porsche), Paolo Arrighi (Chief Technology Officer - Land Armaments and Systems, Leonardo), Mário Martinho (EDA CapTech Ground Systems moderator).

The conference was closed by Vasco Hilario (National Armaments Director, Portugal) and EDA RTI Director Jean-François Ripoche.

Digital exhibition

Conference participants ware also able to visit a digital exhibition of EDA research and technology activities, showcasing a number of Member States successful cooperation projects.

More information

• Portuguese Minister of Defence speech
• EDA Chief Executive speech