EDA News

The European Defence Agency’s (EDA) ministerial Steering Board met today under the chairmanship of the Head of the Agency, Federica Mogherini. Defence ministers shared their expectations and views ahead of the presentation  of the first full CARD Report which will be delivered to the Steering Board in November 2020.
 

Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD)

Ministers took the opportunity to highlight their expectations and share success factors they deem important ahead of delivery of the first full CARD Report. The discussions come at an important juncture in the CARD process, as EDA together with the EU Military Staff (EUMS) are currently carrying out bilateral dialogues with each Member State to complement and consolidate information it has already gathered on national defence planning.  

Ministers discussions focused around CARD’s relevance for national defence planning and its contribution to other EU defence initiatives. Ministers expressed their views on how best to structurally integrate CARD into national planning and decision-making and how to incentivise the translation of CARD recommendations into new collaborative projects. 

CARD provides an overview that will allow Member States to better coordinate their defence planning and spending and engage in collaborative projects, improving consistency in Member States defence spending and overall coherence of the European capability landscape. 

“CARD is designed to be a ‘pathfinder’ helping Member States to get a better picture of the European capability landscape and identify new opportunities for cooperation on capability development and procurement, while avoiding duplication of work with NATO. CARD will over time play a crucial role in providing a comprehensive picture of Member States’ defence plans and capabilities, the state of collaboration, as well as progress towards EU capability development priorities.” Jorge Domecq, EDA’s Chief Executive, commented.
 

2020 budget

Ministers also approved the Agency’s general budget 2020 on the basis of a proposal made by the Head of the Agency at the level of €34.125 M. This is with the understanding that pending further clarification of the Brexit situation in 2020, an Amending Budget, that takes into account the role EDA plays in the context of major EU defence initiatives and the Agency’s core activities, will be submitted by the Agency to the Steering Board
 

EDA to take forward PESCO project on CBRN surveillance

EDA has for the first time been chosen to support the development of a PESCO project as an Agency initiative, in line with the PESCO commitment to use EDA as the European forum for project capability development. The project, CBRN Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS), will provide a rapidly deployable 24/7 chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) surveillance capability.

CBRN SaaS involves four contributing Member States (cMS), Austria (lead), Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. Following a request from the project lead, on behalf of the cMS, CBRN SaaS will be taken forward as an EDA project. The transfer was formalised today during a signing ceremony in the margins of the EDA Steering Board (full press release).

 
  EDA press contacts:

Elisabeth SCHOEFFMANN
Head of Media & Communication
elisabeth.schoeffmann@eda.europa.eu
T+32 470 87 01 65

Paul QUINN
Media & Communications Officer
paul.quinn@eda.europa.eu
T+32 2 504 28 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antti Kaikkonen, the Defence Minister of Finland, visited the European Defence Agency on 11 November where he was welcomed by Chief Executive Jorge Domecq. The Minister was accompanied by the Defence Political Director, Janne Kuusela, as well as other officials from the MoD.

A wide range of topics related to European defence cooperation were discussed, including the state of play on the EU defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF), the importance of ensuring their coherent and efficient implementation, as well as the need for Member States to embed them into their national defence planning in order to reach the goal of a more coherent, efficient and interoperable European defence landscape.

Finland’s role and participation in EDA projects were also discussed during the visit. Minister Kaikkonen  was presented with detailed updates on several ongoing projects including the air-to-air refuelling Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) or the Agency’s work related to governmental satellite communication (GovSatCom) and the EU Satellite Communication Market (EU SatCom Market).

The European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Cyber Ranges Federation project, in which 11 Member States federate their national cyber ranges and thereby improve their respective cyber defence training capabilities, reached an important milestone with the successful multinational demonstration exercise held in Helsinki. The event, co-organised by the Finnish MoD and EDA, was attended and supported by experts from several contributing countries (Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Latvia) as well as the European Space Agency (ESA). 

Two and a half years after the launch of the Cyber Ranges Federation project (the first ever cyber defence pooling & sharing project initiated by the Agency), the objective of the live demonstration was to showcase the practical implications and benefits of connecting and jointly using Member States’ cyber ranges in order to improve and expand each one’s cyber training capabilities. The event allowed participants to witness first-hand what the project aims to achieve and how it has already enhanced the cyber expertise and skills of each of the contributing Member States. 

Practically speaking, the event consisted of a live fire exercise, based on a fictive but realistic training scenario, in which one team had to respond to and defend itself against cyber attacks from another. The exercise used SD-WAN technology as the backbone network technology. The participating national cyber ranges as well as the European Space Agency’s were all interconnected and interacting in real time, with and each of them having its own particular role to play in the exercise.

The demonstration event was part of the ‘European Union’s combined Cyber and Hybrid Week’ which is currently being held in Helsinki under the auspices of the Finnish EU Presidency. The aim of the week is to create synergies by combining three independent events: EDA’s Project Team Cyber Meeting (5-6 November), EDA’s Cyber Ranges Demo Event (6 November) and the Cyber Power in Hybrid Warfare-symposium organised by the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (7-8 November).

“Finland, as an active player in Cyber domain, has been honoured to be in the lead of this project since Sept 2018. Finalizing challenging project is always a result of good and fruitful cooperation – in this case between 11 contributing member states. It´s very significant to continue developing just established Cyber Ranges Federation platform in the future”, said Jukka Juusti, Permanent Secretary of Finnish Ministry of Defence.

“There isn’t probably a domain from which more new security threats are emerging than from cyber. Therefore, stepping up our common cyber defence is a matter of priority and urgency, as it is also reflected in the revised European Capability Development Priorities approved last year. By pooling and sharing their national cyber ranges, participating Member States will be able to improve their joint training conditions and, as a result, strengthen their cyber resilience. This successful exercise has shown that we are on the right path”, said Jorge Domecq, EDA’s Chief Executive. 

“It is now well ascertained that space systems play a crucial role in the security, wellbeing and economic success of Europe. Protecting space assets from cyber threats is therefore a key priority and technological challenge. ESA has a duty to protect its Member States’ investments in space. Today we witnessed a successful demonstration of the ESA-EDA partnership. A partnership that will continue to be instrumental in increasing Europe’s cyber resilience, namely through strengthening cyber response skills and capabilities in ESA. Todays` significant exercise illustrates our existing cyber resilience capabilities located in the European Space Security and Education Centre in Belgium. Cyber threats are constantly evolving. We must therefore maintain and strengthen our capabilities and have made the necessary funding proposals to the Council at Ministerial level to be held in late November. The vitality of our cooperation with EDA and its Member States will continue to play an important role in the future. This is therefore but a beginning, as we are currently considering the creation of a Joint ESA-EDA Cyber Resilience Task Force to further explore cooperation avenues, including with other European partners,” added Jan Woerner, ESA’s Director General.
 

Background

The aim of EDA’s Cyber Ranges Federation project is to develop a more sophisticated and powerful platform for cyber training purposes connecting Member States´ national Cyber Ranges to one another and enabling other countries, which don’t have their cyber ranges, to train and improve their cyber defence skills nevertheless. A European federation of cyber ranges, i.e. the availability of mutually accessible cyber defence training and exercise ranges, may in the future leverage other benefits, such as cyber research ranges and cyber simulation & test ranges.
 

Contacts:

• Finnish MoD spokesperson: harri.reini@defmin.fi
• EDA spokesperson: elisabeth.schoeffmann@eda.europa.eu
• ESA spokesperson: florent.mazurelle@esa.int
  
  
  

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk today visited EDA for talks with Chief Executive Jorge Domecq on current and future opportunities for cooperation. 

It was the first encounter between Mr Domecq and Minister Zagorodnyuk who was appointed in August this year. Discussions mainly focused on the state of play of Ukraine’s participation in EDA projects and activities under the Administrative Arrangement (AA) signed in December 2015, which identifies four main areas for initial cooperation: Single European Sky, Standardization, Training, Logistics.

Minister Zagorodnyuk and Mr Domecq took stock of the good progress made so far in the implementation of the AA and exchanged views on ways to further enhance and facilitate Ukraine’s involvement in EDA projects and activities within the four areas. 

“We look forward to pursuing our cooperation with Minister Zagorodnyuk and his team building on what has already been achieved since the Administrative Agreement was signed in 2015”, Mr Domecq commented. 

Minister Zagorodnyuk expressed his gratitude for the support of Ukraine and informed the Chief Executive about the restart of the political establishment in Ukraine and that the President, the Parliament and the Government have already taken practical steps to radically accelerate reforms in Ukraine. The Minister emphasised that the MOD of Ukraine is focusing on achieving practical results on the reforms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and gave notice on the main tasks of the Ministry of Defence in the short term. 

The Minister stressed his interest in increasing practical cooperation between the MOD of Ukraine and EDA, in accordance with the Administrative Arrangement signed in 2015. He further informed about Ukraine's aspiration to take part in PESCO projects with EU Member states when a decision about participation of third States is made.

Minister Zagorodnyuk in his visit to EDA was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Defence Ms. Alina Frolova and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yehor Bozhok.
 

More information:

• EDA-Ukraine Administrative Arrangement
• EDA Chief Executive visits Ukraine (webnews Nov 2018)
  
  

This week (22/23 October), EDA hosted the third PESCO workshop related to the European Secure Software Defined Radio (ESSOR) project which aims to develop common technologies for European military radios. 

The adoption of these technologies as a standard will guarantee the interoperability of EU forces in the framework of joint operations, regardless which radio platforms are used. The ESSOR project will provide a secure military communications system, improving voice and data communication between Member States’ Armed Forces on a variety of platforms. In addition, it will deliver guidelines related to the validation and verification of waveform portability and platform re-configurability, setting up a common security basis to increase interoperability between the forces. By ensuring that military radios are fully accessible, shared and used by all Member States, the effectiveness of joint operations can be increased substantially. 

To that end, the Member States participating in the ESSOR project - Belgium, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal (with Estonia and Ireland as observers) - have moved forward to implement a common architecture analysis of software radios in Europe. 

The ESSOR project activities are currently performed by the consortium A4ESSOR through a contract managed by OCCAr.  A4ESSOR is a joint-venture of the following companies: Thales (FR), Leonardo (IT), Indra (SP), Radmor (PL), Bittium (FI) and soon Rohde & Schwarz (DE). 

The ESSOR PESCO project presents exceptional technological characteristics: it is based on the state-of-the-art technology in the radio field, and it aims at developing the most advanced concepts and solutions for communications applicable to several waveform layers. It builds a complete set of capabilities which will satisfy the most demanding, modern and future communication requirements. 
 

EDA supports development of ESSOR CONOPS 

Earlier this month (11 October), the 2nd ESSOR workshop on the development of a “concept of operations” (CONOPS) had already taken place at the Agency. It allowed the project Members States to gain insight into the process and methodology which are compliant with NATO Architecture Framework version 4. The CONOPS aims at describing the operational needs, visions and expectations of the operational users (from tactical level to component command) on the new waveforms to be developed in the context of the PESCO ESSOR project. It analyses operational scenarios using vignettes and identifies categories of architectural information which are further developed into operational requirements and technical requirements. A questionnaire is being distributed to operational staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force to gather inputs on the role of software defined radio to ensure interoperability among military communication and information systems in a future pervasive interconnected battlefield. 
 

Background

PESCO, the Permanent Structured Cooperation set up in December 2017, allows the 25 participating Member States to jointly plan, develop and invest in shared capability projects, and enhance the operational readiness and contribution of their armed forces. The aim is to jointly develop a coherent full spectrum force package and make the capabilities available to Member States for national and multinational (EU CSDP, NATO, UN, etc.) missions and operations. 

For more information on PESCO visit the website https://pesco.europa.eu/. 

 

A joint EDA-NATO Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) Conference, the first of its kind in this format, was opened this morning by the Dutch Minister of Defence, Ank Bijleveld (who spoke via video message), NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, Camille Grand, and EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq. It followed a successful first European AAR conference organised by EDA last year.

The event, moderated by the Chairman of the Aerial Refuelling Systems Advisory Group (ARSAG), General John Sams, brought together key decision-makers from the EU and NATO as well as the wider transatlantic and international AAR community, including industry, to discuss current and future challenges and coordinate efforts in this important domain. Among the high-level speakers of the conference were notably Major General Laurent Marboeuf, the commander of the European Air Transport Command (EATC), Major General Jose Maria Juanas from the Spanish Air Force, Colonel Juergen Wallwei from the German Military Aviation Authority and Dave Benson from the US Air Force Aerial Refueling Certification Agency (ARCA). The list of all speakers is available in the conference agenda at https://aarconference.org/agenda.

A special focus was put on ways and means to enhance euro-atlantic AAR interoperability. Throughout the day,  the topic was presented, discussed and analysed in various sessions dealing with different aspects, from the optimisation of existing capabilities and the development of new capabilities to the operational and industrial implications of it.

In his opening speech, Jorge Domecq praised the good cooperation between EDA, NATO and ARSAG in such crucial a domain than air-to-air refuelling. “This is yet another testimony of pragmatic cooperation, to ensure complementarity of efforts and avoid unnecessary duplications, as called for by the EU-NATO Joint Declaration”, Mr Domecq said.  

Over recent years, important progress has been made in order to mitigate the important capability gap Europe still has in the field of AAR (establishment of a Multinational MRTT Fleet, AAR exercises organised by the European Air Transport Command, gradual entrance into service of the A440M, successful clearance campaigns between A400M tankers and various receivers, etc.), “but it is not sufficient”, the EDA Chief Executive stressed: “What we really need is to ensure that the AAR shortfall, like capability gaps in other areas, is addressed in a more systematic way”. Therefore, the fact that AAR was reconfirmed as one of the EU Capability Development Priorities (it is embedded in the wider Air Superiority priority) which were approved by EU Member States in 2018, in full complementarity with NATO’s NDPP, will enable the continuation of this effort.  Work is now underway to implement the priorities, including the AAR related one, through Strategic Context Cases (SCCs). 
 

Challenges in the short, medium and long term

“In the short-term, the main challenge is to optimise the use of the existing AAR assets available in Europe, and we can do that through, for example, increased participation in annual European AAR Training (EART). But we can also increase interoperability by increasing AAR clearances - because a tanker without a clearance is not a tanker”, said Mr Domecq who also stressed that the certification of AAR is clearly an airworthiness aspect. In this respect, he welcomed that airworthiness authorities in the AAR field now realise and agree on the fact that “the technical assessment of an AAR clearance is their responsibility”. In the medium-term, the challenge is to cover the peak demand in AAR during the initial phase of an operation or conflict when air superiority is not yet assured, for instance by expanding the MMF fleet. “EDA stands ready to assist interested Member States in the process to explore their potential participation in this important project”, Mr Domecq said.  And finally, in the longer term, the challenge is to close the remaining capability gap, both in strategic and tactical AAR, including by developing automated/autonomous air to air refuelling systems (A3R) as a useful complement to manned AAR capabilities. “It is evident that the future of AAR will be automated”. 

EDA will organise a workshop on 28 January 2020 to bring together Member States and industry to discuss the way ahead on this topic.

 
More information: 

• AAR Conference paper
• Speech by EDA Chief executive Jorge Domecq
• Video message by Dutch Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld
• Speech by NATO Assistant SG for Defence Investment, Camille Grand

 

After a test run in 2018, EDA has now completed the first fully-fletched Defence Energy Managers’ Course (DEMC)  in which participated a total of 17 students from eight EDA Member States. The course, one of the Agency’s most recent training and education activities, aims at increasing Armed Forces’ energy efficiency and reducing the military’s overall energy consumption through the introduction of defence-specific energy management systems based on the ISO 50001 standard.  

The DEMC provided both theoretical and practical training to energy managers from Member States’ ground forces and air forces as well as navies. The course was launched in November 2018 and attended by personnel from the Armed Forces and/or Ministries of Defence from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  

The course was split into five distinct modules: three classroom-type sessions and two more practical modules which, in total, lasted some 11 months. Participants increased their knowledge of the complexities of managing energy within a defence organisation (energy management systems were applied to different military installations, from air and naval bases to governmental facilities) and learned how to structure and implement efficient energy management systems. Throughout the course, students were supported by mentors and members of the European Defence Energy Network (EDEN) which also allowed them to have permanent access to the networks’ on-line resources.

The successful completion of the first DEMC marks an important milestone in EDA’s efforts aimed to increase energy sustainability in defence sector and reduce the military’s environmental footprint, also building on the work done in the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CFSEDSS) sponsored by the European Commission and the Agency’s own Energy and Environmental Working Group.

Two additional courses are currently underway; they will be completed by May 2020.

The whole DEMC project is run by EDA’s Industry, Synergies & Enablers Directorate (ISE) and delivered by GEN Europe and the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources & Savings (CRES). 

More information

• Third Defence Management course launched
  
  

EDA’s 2019 Military Airworthiness Conference, a two-days event organised with the support of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence, was opened today in Vilnius by EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu. 

The conference brings together key stakeholders from national authorities, industry, European agencies and international organisations, to exchange views and best practices related to the harmonisation of European military airworthiness rules and standards. Common airworthiness approaches and standards are viewed as critical enablers for enhanced European defence cooperation.  

Over the two days, four main topics are being addressed through specific sessions: i) the impact of European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs) on military aviation; ii) opportunities and challenges related to that; iii) lessons learned from EMARs implementation so far; iv) and the experiences made by third-party stakeholders.
 

Good progress made over past 10 years

In his opening speech, EDA Deputy Chief Olli Ruutu thanked the Lithuanian Armed Forces for hosting the event and for their strong interest in the work of the Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum and the harmonisation of airworthiness approaches.  

Since work started ten years ago on the harmonisation of airworthiness approaches in Europe, much has been achieved, Mr Ruutu said.  “The majority of EDA participating Member States have already implemented or are in the process of implementing European Military Airworthiness Requirements in their national regulations. But as you all are aware, the implementation of EMARs is not only about translating them in regulations but also about turning them into practice. And that makes EMAR implementation the most important phase in the harmonisation process and crucial for gaining the full benefits”, he stressed. Implementing the EMARs often means a different approach to military airworthiness that requires a change in safety culture, the Deputy Chief Executive stated. 

Further progress is also required as regards the cooperation between the national military airworthiness authorities in Europe, a topic which is already in the focus of the MAWA Forum.  “Since last year when the MAWA Forum adopted a new airworthiness roadmap, the forum has started several activities to develop harmonised practices and procedures with the objective to increase the level of standardisation and cooperation in the area of initial approvals of and oversight over organisations that provide services in the military airworthiness domain”, Mr Ruutu recalled. In parallel, Member States are engaged in mutual recognitions. “At this stage, 35 active recognitions are already in place between EDA pMS and several recognitions have been concluded with Military Airworthiness Authorities from other countries worldwide. These recognitions familiarise nations with each other’s airworthiness systems. It facilitates the exchange of lessons learned and the development of best practices and helps to build mutual trust and confidence, which are the cornerstones for cooperation”, Mr Ruutu welcomed. 
 

Towards aligning the national airworthiness systems

Based on this, Member States should now consider which additional cooperation steps they could take in the area of military airworthiness in line with their PESCO commitments, he said. “I believe it is now good to reflect on the best cooperative working structures for military airworthiness authorities; keeping in mind that we need to ensure that we are as effective as possible in aligning the national airworthiness systems towards a single reference without affecting national sovereignty as regards airworthiness risk acceptance. We need to facilitate an increased efficiency in certification, approval and oversight activities but also provide industry with a single framework to meet the requirements of all participating Member States”, Mr Ruutu said.
 

Background

The Military Airworthiness Authorities (MAWA) Forum oversees the development and maintenance of the European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs) and promotes ways and means to harmonise the military airworthiness oversight across Europe.

Picture: Bundeswehr Technical Center for Information Technology and Electronics in Greding (Germany)

With its final working group meeting held at the Agency premises on 26 September, EDA’s European Network on Electro Magnetic Effects Test & Evaluation capabilities Rationalisation (ENTER) project has been officially concluded. 

Launched in 2014 as a so-called Category B project within the EDA’s Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB) initiative, it was supported by eight Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and The Netherlands. The main objective of ENTER has been achieved: the creation of a coordinated network of EME (Electro-Magnetic Effects) test centres in the participating countries, which will facilitate the future cooperation among them based on a shared technical understanding and background. The various centres attached to the network are: 

• Armament and Defence Technology Agency, Electrical Engineering Division (Vienna, Austria)
• Royal Military Academy, Department of Communication Information Systems & Sensors (Brussels, Belgium)
• Military Technical Institute (Prague, Czech Republic)
• WTD 81 - Bundeswehr Technical Center for Information Technology and Electronics (Greding, Germany)
• CISAM - Centro Interforze Studi Applicazioni Militari (Pisa, Italy)
• INTA - Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (Torrejon de Ardoz - Madrid, Spain)
• FMV - Swedish Defence Materiel Administration – T&E Division (Ostersund, Sweden)
• RNLM/DMI/MT Sensors and Weapon Systems (Den Helder, The Netherland).

The network of EME test centres and related national experts will now continue to cooperate in the specific EME sector within the DTEB framework. The damaging effects of electromagnetic interference pose unacceptable risks in military technologies. Against this backdrop, the ENTER network will jointly develop ways and means in order to mitigate the risks of fatal electromagnetic interference during EU missions, among other things by examining the hazardous impact of civil equipment on military operations and vice versa.

Besides working on the network, the ENTER project also allowed participating Member States to conduct joint tests, to promote the use of harmonised test procedures, maintain and develop T&E capabilities and expertise and share knowledge, expertise and equipment. ENTER’s results and final recommendations will be further exploited to improve the EME section of the DTEB database.
 

More information:

• Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB) – EDA project page

EDA’s Steering Board has just approved the launch of a 4-year CAT B project aimed at developing a swarm of biomimetic underwater vehicles for underwater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (SABUVIS II). It builds upon previous collaboration carried out under the SABUVIS I project which was completed in 2019. So far, two Member States (Poland, Germany) are contributing to this new project for which a project arrangement is expected to be signed later next year.

The new project is important for defence as Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) are being increasingly utilised for a variety of differing tasks in the maritime environment. They represent a viable alternative to the operation of manned platforms and are particularly well suited to the rigours of an inhospitable domain that places a premium on technical advancements. 

Taking the natural world as its template, this collaborative project seeks to replicate some of the key features of marine life, principally those of propulsion and behaviour, so as to ensure the successful completion of underwater operations. A key feature of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions (ISR) for example, is the necessity to undertake these missions covertly, and those systems that are difficult to detect, both visually and audibly, provide the optimum solution. 

 

Building on the findings of SABUVIS I

This project is a continuation of the successful collaboration enjoyed between Poland, Germany and Portugal in the first SABUVIS project. In this first iteration, three different Biomimetic Underwater Vehicles (BUVs) were constructed with the resulting conclusion that BUVs can be designed with varying degrees of similarity with living organisms. Some of the identified benefits are that undulating propulsion consumes less electrical energy than conventional propulsion systems utilising screw based propellers, and different hydroacoustic signatures are produced with a corresponding lower noise level. 

This second phase will now expand upon, and investigate further, the swarm aspects with more tightly cooperating vehicles, moving in formations and consisting of vehicles having specific functions or tasks to perform. The project in particular will focus on the lead vehicles, who are responsible for the navigation function. 

The expected advantages of utilising vehicles in a swarm are reliability and efficiency. Firstly, the swarm system can incorporate redundant elements, essentially extra vehicles, which increases reliability in performing a task – the loss of one element does not result in the mission being abandoned. Secondly, the distribution of sensors and devices necessary to perform the mission across a number of vehicles makes it possible to reduce the size and complexity of vehicles and thus ensures simpler construction. Technological areas that the project will also focus on are in the area of navigation and principally in GPS denied areas, optical surface coastal navigation systems and new biomimetic drives.  

The principle organisations planned to undertake this project are the Polish Naval Academy and also the Wehrtechnische Dienststelle für Schiffe und Marinewaffen der Bundeswehr, Maritime Technologie und Forschung (WTD 71) in Germany. The project is as a result of the successful cooperation in EDA’s Maritime Capability Technology Group. 

The Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM), an innovative programme initiated by EDA with a view to facilitating the financing of collaborative defence capability and research projects – for instance if unsynchronised defence budgets in participating Member States hinder or impede the launch of such projects – is now in the starting blocks. The final version of the CFM’s Programme Arrangement (PA), negotiated over the past two years, has been sent out this week to Member States for signing.

Eleven Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) have already declared their firm willingness to sign and to join the CFM in the near future. More countries might join the programme in the coming weeks. The CFM will enter into force when the last country having declared its intention to join will have signed the PA. 

Developed as a so-called ‘Category A’ programme of the Agency, the CFM is entirely voluntary. Member States can freely decide if they wish to participate, contribute and support projects.

The CFM will be structured in two pillars:

• the first pillar foresees the European Investment Bank (EIB) as the sole lender through the conclusion of bilateral framework loan agreements between EIB and the interested Member State. To obtain the EIB’s financial support, projects submitted must respect the eligibility requirements set by the Bank lending policy, while the volume of the lending facility and the interest rate applied are negotiated on a case-by-case basis by the EIB and the interested MS and set out under each individual Framework Loan Agreement. The EIB involvement is supported and facilitated by the EDA which will act as the ‘Facility Agent’ on behalf of EIB under its instructions and responsibility, serving as a primary point of contact between the EIB and the beneficiary country in the technical assessment of the feasibility of each project;
• the second pillar provides for a State-to-State support facility, structured as a system of reimbursable advances and deferred payments. It can be used to support any defence related project, in full compliance with national and European law. The facility is structured as a set of individual bank accounts which are opened and managed by the EDA under the control of the CFM participating Member States. Within that pillar, any CFM Member can submit a request for financial support to the CFM programme. While the Programme Arrangement provides the overarching legal framework setting the general requirements and conditions for State-to-State support, the specific conditions of each advance will be set out in separate agreements to be concluded between the supporting CFM Member State, the beneficiary country and the EDA, as facilitator.
  The administrative and operational costs of the CFM will be covered by existing EDA resources meaning CFM members will not have to bear additional costs for the management of the mechanism. Notwithstanding any financial support granted under the CFM, projects or programmes subject to such financial support will remain at all times governed and managed according to their own rules.
  
  

 More information:

• European Defence Agency and European Investment Bank sign cooperation agreement (EDA webnews February 2018)

 

Defence is a central public sector which consumes a significant amount of energy. Increasing energy efficiency and boosting renewable energy can bring significant advantages to the sector and help with the protection of critical energy infrastructure. In addition, these efforts can contribute to the EU’s climate-neutrality objective for 2050. The importance of these policies for the defence sector was highlighted by the launch in Brussels on 19 September of the third phase of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS III). Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, and Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), gave the green light for the Phase III of the Forum to start as of 1st October 2019. 

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq welcomed the welcomed the launch of phase III, stressing that “the Consultation Forum enabled several Ministries of Defence to develop national defence energy strategies, implement Energy Management Systems and launch projects related to energy performance. Particularly, the forum facilitated the elaboration of 18 defence-energy project proposals, in addition to numerous project ideas. EDA expects that the realisation of these projects can act as an enabler of military operational capabilities and support the Ministries to address common energy challenges at multi-national level.” 

Phase III of the Forum, which will last for four years, will continue to address the implementation of the EU legal framework on energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy security in the defence and security sector in. It will also aim at preparing the defence sector for new technologies such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, e-mobility and other innovative energy systems.  

Phase III will also see the organisation of a series of important events, from high-level conferences to thematic workshops and table-top exercises. Another focus will be put on bringing closer the energy and defence communities and facilitate the dialogue between experts from the Ministries of Defence, Energy and Interior to create synergies and effective solutions. To this end, the EDA and the European Commission’s Directorate for Energy intend to organise a Joint Defence Energy Conference.
 

More information:

• Website: Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector 
• Factsheet: CF SEDSS (Phase II)

Senior officials of the four organisations signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the European Defence Agency (EDA), the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU Institutions, Bodies and Agencies (CERT-EU) met today at the EDA premises.

The purpose of the meeting was to update each other on relevant developments and to assess the progress made so far in the implementation of the MoU. The Memorandum, signed in May 2018, provides a framework for cooperation through which the four organisations can leverage synergies  in order to achieve a safe and open cyberspace and to promote civil & military synergies. 

Significant progress has been achieved since the MoU entered into effect in June 2018, notably a continuous exchange of views on top cybersecurity aspects (including policy, technical, operational items), reciprocal participation to events and a better understanding by respective staff of how the four organisations can work together..

The collaboration roadmap prepared by the MoU working group, which contains concrete activities and deliverables scheduled throughout 2019, has been reflected in the signatories' respective work programmes, ensuring improved coherence. The main focus of the roadmap is on training and cyber exercises, building on the cooperation capacity and the improved exchange of information on respective projects and events. The aim is to complement the respective work of the four partners and avoid duplication of efforts, also taking into account broader EU initiatives in the cyber domain. 
 
As part of the cooperation, the four partners are planning to organise another major event in the second part of 2020. They also want to pay additional attention to improving incident response mechanisms and processes as well as increased joint participations at high visibility events in the Cybersecurity and Cyber Defence area.
 

More information:

• Four EU cybersecurity organisations enhance cooperation

 

Picture: vibration test on a munitions lot

Last June, EDA’s 2019 ‘Round Robin Test’ was launched with the participation of nine laboratories from seven EDA Member States (Poland, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Cyprus) as well as from Norway (which has signed an Administrative Agreement with the Agency). The initiative is designed to compare test results obtained in different Member States laboratories working on ammunition safety.

These multinational tests, organised on a yearly basis under the auspices of EDA, are a central tool established by the European Network of National Safety authorities on Ammunition (ENNSA) whose objective is to enhance cooperation and interoperability between national authorities in charge of ammunition safety. 

In a Round Robin Test (RTT), the results of different laboratories are all considered to be at the same level of quality: the intent is thus not to verify the accuracy of the results obtained from each and every laboratory by comparing them with the reference exact result, but rather to verify the dispersion of the data and the possibility of using a certain standard to obtain reliable results (within a certain range of errors considered tolerable), under different conditions. Therefore, what is evaluated in an RRT is the standard itself, not the performance of the laboratories. A successful RRT provides the assurance that the standard used is suitable to generate ‘reproducible’ results. A failed test, on the other hand, can help to highlight the need to amend and/or supplement the standard.
Focus on Energetic Materials

This year’s RRT is focused on the characterization of Energetic Materials, which are key components of any kind of ammunition, and more specifically on propellants (single-base nitrocellulose) and high explosives (HMX). All nine participating laboratories will soon receive samples from the same explosive batch and will be required to perform identical tests, all referring to explosive sensitivity and thermal stability, in particular: impact sensitivity, friction sensitivity, Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA),

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Heat Flow Calorimetry (HFC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The test is led by one of the most experienced European laboratories in this field, the Polish Laboratory of Combat Assets Testing of the Military Institute of Armament Technology (MIAT), located in Zielonka, near Warsaw. Coordinator of this test is Agata Kamieńska-Duda, Head of MIAT’S Ammunition Test Laboratory.
 

Room for improvement

Bogdan Krysiński, the current chairman of ENNSA, is responsible in MIAT for testing ammunition after long-term storage. He insists on the substantial added value provided by the annual Round Robin Tests initiative but also believes it could be further improved.  “The RRT initiative is very valuable in many aspects. First of all, it allows everybody to compare research capabilities among the institutes and exchange experience among the researchers. However, it would be wrong to claim this is enough. Science never stops. Better methods of ammunition performance should be continuously sought for in order to provide a more precise assessment of its safety and operational reliability”, he commented. 

“For many types of ammunition and their components it will be probably necessary to introduce a broader scope of testing than that used within the current RRT. Another issue is the need to develop unambiguous templates of documents for the preparation of the tests, as well as for the recording and reporting of the test results. Recent experiences confirm the importance of this. Continuous improvement of the Round Robin Test programme is thus something we should keep in mind for the benefit of all”, he stated.
 

Background

In 2010 the EDA Steering Board approved the establishment of the European Network of National Safety authorities on Ammunition (ENNSA) with the primary task to facilitate communication among the national bodies which are in charge of ammunition safety. The focus of ENNSA, as agreed by its members, was to explore the harmonisation of ammunition qualification to improve interoperability and increase cooperation among Member States, in parallel with achieving savings across the ammunition production/procurement cycle. One of the basic tools designed for this purpose is the Round Robin Test (RRT) programme.  It serves to compare and validate test results obtained in different laboratories of the Member States working within the area of ammunition safety.
 

 

The EDA SES Military Aviation Board (ESMAB) today held its 7th meeting at policy level. The meeting, which took place at the EUROCONTROL premises, was chaired by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

The meeting was attended by the European Commission’s Director General for Mobility and Transport, Henrik Hololei, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), General Claudio Graziano, the Director General of Eurocontrol, Eamonn Brennon, the Commission Director for Aviation, Filip Cornelis, as well as representatives from a wide range of key aviation stakeholders, notably the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU), the SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM), NATO, the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE), the Performance Review Body (PRB) and the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD). Also present were representatives from the four countries EDA has concluded Administrative Agreements with (Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Ukraine). The ESMAB policy level is comprising Member States’ military aviation authorities or equivalent.

The meeting allowed participants to have an informal high-level exchange of views between the main civil and military actors involved in this domain, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities for civil and military collaboration in on Single European Sky. 

One of the operational conclusions of the meeting was that the ESMAB agreed to support the document “U-Space, Drones and Military Low-Level Flights” including its annex “Operations for traffic below 500ft AGL: a Military view” and to use this document at national and EU level, as a basis to increase awareness of and support for the interests of military aviation in the framework of U-Space developments. This document will be updated as a living document on a regular basis considering other aspects enlarging the scope of the analysis. The Board also welcomed the EDA-EASA guidelines for the accommodation of military instruments flight rules (IFR) for MALE RPAS under GAT (airspace classes A-C) outside segregated airspace and agreed to use the guidelines as a reference for the accommodation of MALE-type RPAS within the European airspace..

Regarding Higher Airspace Operations, the ESMAB agreed to Support the European Defence Agency activities to monitor the work led by EASA as regard the regulatory framework and the work led by SESAR Joint Undertaking and EUROCONTROL as regards the concept of operations for Higher Airspace.

The ESMAB management was also tasked, with the support of EDA, to further investigate the need to establish of a working group involving Member States representatives, as well as representatives of relevant civil and military organisations (NATO, ECTL, EASA, ICAO, etc.) with the objective to together address the cyber security challenges for the air domain, and to revert to the ESMAB (policy level) with a proposal.

The next policy level meeting of the ESMAB is scheduled for end of January 2020.
 

Background

An EDA SES Military Aviation Board (ESMAB) was created by the European Defence Agency Steering Board on 30 September 2015. Ever since, ESMAB meets at two level : - management/expert level and executive/policy level.

Rules and regulations of the civilian world can have an important impact on the military. Consequently, EDA is now recognised as the interface between Member States, EU institutions and agencies. A prominent example is the impact the Single European Sky and its related regulations have on the military. EDA, in its role of interface and facilitator of the coordination of military views is making the military voices heard in this important modernisation process through its successful cooperation with the European Commission, Eurocontrol, and other key EU bodies and agencies involved in SES. This is also achieved thanks to EDA participating Member States’ commitment to the ESMAB which held its first meeting in May 2016.
 

More information: 

• EDA in Single European Sky (project page)
• The Military In SES / SESAR

 

 

EDA’s Steering Board in Capability Directors composition today endorsed the first edition of the Strategic Context Cases (SCC) which will guide the practical implementation of the 11 EU Capability Development Priorities approved by EDA Member States in June 2018. The SCC should ensure the priorities are implemented in a way that improves the coherence of the European capability landscape and leads to cooperative projects which contribute to close identified capability shortfalls.

The 11 SCC – one for every priority agreed last year (*) – describe in concrete terms what the current capability situation is, including the activities planned or already ongoing at national and/or multinational level in order to address the shortfalls. The outcomes of the NATO Defence Planning Process and the activities undertaken in the context of the Framework Nations Concept (FNC) are also taken into account in order to ensure coherence of output and avoid unnecessary duplication.

The SCC highlight in particular the major challenges to the coherence of the European capability landscape in each of these areas in the short, medium and long term. “We all know that there are pressing capability challenges across the whole spectrum. For example, there is a growing threat from the use of mini-drones to our military forces”, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq commented. “The SCC will provide concrete and tangible gains across the Member States in addressing this issue in the short, medium and long term”. They also provide guidance to address these challenges by offering ‘avenues of approach’ for potential cooperation between participating Member States that could help achieve the priorities and improve the coherence of the European capability landscape.

The SCC are integrating documents: each of them also reflects the R&T priorities identified in the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA) and related R&T activities linked to each capability priority. Cross references of the SCC to the Key Strategic Activities (KSA) which are considered important for the implementation of the priority such as technologies, skills and industrial manufacturing capacities will be added once the KSA reports are approved by the Steering Board.

To prepare the SCC, EDA worked closely with Member States, the EU Military Committee (EUMC), the EU Military Staff (EUMS) and European industry which was consulted to collect their views on technological solutions to close identified capability gaps and face the new security challenges. The Agency also ran staff to staff meetings with NATO to ensure activities developed by participating Member States within NATO are correctly reflected.

The next step in the elaboration of the first edition of the SCC will happen in February 2020 when EDA will present to the Steering Board part two of the SCC containing roadmaps of ongoing capability development activities and possible new ones which, subject to the necessary ad-hoc decisions by Member States, could be taken forward in the Agency framework. The SCC are living documents and will be updated by EDA over time, also on the basis of Member States’ feedback, to make sure they always reflect the latest developments in the implementation of each and every priority.
 

Background

In June 2018, the EDA Steering Board in Capability Directors formation endorsed the 2018 Capability Development Plan (CDP) and approved the 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities. In their Council conclusions adopted on 25 June 2018, Member States agreed that “these priorities, as a key reference for Member States' and EU's capability development, will inform CARD, PESCO and the European Defence Fund, which bring a step-change in defence cooperation, thus contributing to coherence among these three distinct but mutually reinforcing initiatives”. The June 2018 Steering Board also tasked the Agency to start the preparatory work for the implementation of the 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities, including with a view to the elaboration of SCC. In November 2018, the Steering Board tasked the Agency to proceed with the development of the SCC and to come up with a first edition by June 2019. Endorsed by the Steering Board, the SCC will now be forwarded to the Council as agreed by the Member States in the Council conclusions of 17 June 2019.
 

More information: 

• 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities (EDA brochure)
• CDP factsheet

 

(*) The 11 EU Capability Development Priorities approved by Member States in 2018 relate to the following domains:

• Ground Combat Capabilities
• Enhanced Logistic and Medical Supporting Capabilities
• Naval Manoeuvrability
• Underwater Control contributing to resilience at Sea
• Air Superiority
• Air Mobility
• Integration of Military Air Capabilities in a changing Aviation Sector
• Enabling capabilities for cyber responsive operation
• Space-based information and communication services
• Information Superiority
• Cross-Domain Capabilities contributing to achieve EU’s Level of Ambition. 

 

 

EDA today celebrated its 15th Anniversary with a ceremony in its premises attended by the Head of the Agency, Federica Mogherini, high representatives (Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Secretaries, Chiefs of Defence, Ambassadors) from its 27 Member States and the four associated countries, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee, Deputy Secretary-Generals of the EEAS, the Director General of the EU Military Staff, several European Commissioners and Commission Director-Generals, Executive Directors and senior officials of all EU institutions and agencies, NATO senior representatives as well representatives from the European defence industry and the media.  

In her commemoration speech, Federica Mogherini, the Head of the Agency, recalled the tremendous progress made in European defence cooperation over recent years - especially since the publication of the EU Global Strategy in 2016 - and stressed the role played by EDA in this endeavour. “Five years ago, no-one imagined how far we would come. European defence cooperation has expanded like never before. We have created the instruments to make European defence cooperation become the norm. And the Agency has been at the core of all our work and of all the progress that we have achieved together”, she stated. “All this work wasn't just long overdue. It was urgent and necessary. All of our Member States, today, need European cooperation to guarantee the security of our citizens. European defence is first and foremost about the security of European citizens”.

With CARD, PESCO and the European Defence Fund (EDF), the EU has put in place the tools it needs to enhance defence cooperation and make it work for the benefit of a stronger and more efficient, coherent and interoperable European defence. “The European Defence Agency has made essential contributions to crafting these initiatives all along the way, and it is now central in their implementation. The Agency is the secretariat for both the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence and on PESCO, together with the European External Action Service and the EU Military Staff. And you are working with Member States so that their defence budgets incorporate our common Capability Development Plan", Ms Mogherini said. "In these years, I have seen this Agency grow and adapt to new tasks and challenges – and let me thank everyone who works here for your professionalism and flexibility. Your role is now more important than ever, and it will be essential to ensure that EDA always has the means to fulfil its new tasks", she added. 

The Head of the Agency concluded by saying: "It was a privilege for me to be Head of the Defence Agency in this extraordinary moment for European defence. It has been an honour to lead the Agency in these five years, and up until its fifteenth birthday. And whatever will happen next, I know that there are some great professionals here, working every day to make our cooperation more effective, our industry stronger, and our continent more secure.So let me thank you for these years together, and happy birthday to everyone at EDA".  
 

“EDA is and will remain a central institution of European defence”

Previously, in his opening address as the representative of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel-Beniamin Leș commended the Agency “for its substantial contribution and support to European Defence efforts” throughout the past 15 years. EDA is nowadays recognised as a “key player” in advancing the EU’s role in security and defence, he said. The Agency’s Long-Term Review was “natural” and necessary to keep it fit for purpose. The enhancement of the Agency proved relevant, especially when looking at the crucial role EDA plays nowadays as part of the CARD and PESCO secretariats and in the implementation of the EU defence initiatives in general, the Minister stated.  “We encourage the Agency to continue to support the development of a common understanding regarding the new EU defence initiatives, including the possibilities of simplifying the processes and rules, to continue pursuing coherence of these initiatives and to further contribute to the coherence of output and timelines between relevant EU and NATO processes”, Mr Leș stated. Member States, too, have to change and adapt the way they do defence planning, he said. “PESCO, CARD, EDF are not just political initiative, but they need to become national defence planning instruments. We count on EDA support in this regard”. The Minister, who thanked for the “excellent cooperation” during the Romanian EU Presidency, concluded by saying: “EDA is and will remain a central institution of European defence. As an intergovernmental organisation, it will continue to be closely attached to the needs of the Member States, and this is the main feature that we need to preserve. Romania will remain a strong supporter of EDA as it has always been. You can count on us”. 
 

Working for more coherent European capability landscape

In his welcome words to the 200 external guests and EDA staff, Chief Executive Jorge Domecq stressed that since its creation in July 2004, the Agency and the 700 colleagues who worked for it over the past 15 years were always (and still are) driven by one central commitment: to help Member States improve their defence capabilities through cooperation, by working together. “Our mission is very clear: to support Member States in the development of their defence capabilities. All our work is geared towards making this mission a reality”, he said. The Agency can be proud of what it has achieved so far in circumstances that were difficult at times, he said. Not only has it established itself as the “main architect of EU defence capability priorities” thanks to the roles it plays in steering the Capability Development Plan process, the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda and the identification of Europe’s Key Strategic Activities, but it is also recognised as Europe’s central hub for multinational capability development and manager of collaborative defence research, as Europe’s common training ground for common enhanced interoperability as well as the military’s voice and interface in other EU policies. Most importantly, EDA is increasingly seen as the guardian of coherence among the new EU defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF). “I am proud of the impact this house makes, in the interest of a more coherent European capability landscape owned and used by our Member States”, Mr Domecq said, calling Member States to make “full use of EDA’s potential”.
 

More information

• Special 15th anniversary edition of ‘European Defence Matters’ magazine
• Speech by Federica Mogherini, Head of EDA (video)
• Speech by Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive
• 15th anniversary photo gallery 

The latest European Defence Matters magazine (N°17) is now available. This special edition is entirely focused on the European Defence Agency’s 15th Anniversary which is being celebrated this summer. Together with previous and current stakeholders, decision-makers and partners, we look back at how the Agency has evolved over the past 15 years, what it has achieved so far and what its future prospects are.  This special 15th Anniversary edition is already available in PDF and will soon also be accessible via online version.

After a foreword by Federica Mogherini, the Head of the Agency, the magazine reviews the events and developments in 2002/2003 (European Convention, Thessaloniki European Council, etc.) which led to the creation of the Agency in 2004. Javier Solana, the first EU High Representative for the Common and Security Policy (1999-2009) and first Head of EDA (2004-2009), also shares his recollections and analyses in an interesting and exclusive article for European Defence Matters.

We also sat down with those who, as Chief Executives, have steered the Agency through 15 exciting yet challenging years: Nick Witney (2004-2007), Claude-France Arnould (2011-2015) and Jorge Domecq who is currently (since 2015) in charge. Alexander Weis, who served as Chief Executive from 2007-2011, could unfortunately not attend this joint interview.

Member States’ views on EDA’s role and achievements in EU Defence are represented in this magazine by Finnish Defence Minister Antii Kaikkonen who explains in his contribution why the Agency is “the right intergovernmental platform for joint capability prioritisation, planning and development”.

In a series of six articles, we then describe and assess what can probably be considered as EDA’s main achievements over the past 15 years during which the Agency has established itself as: - the main architect of EU defence capability priorities; - the manager of European defence research; - the European hub for multinational capability development; - the military voice and interface for EU policies; - Europe’s training pitch for enhanced interoperability; - the guardian of coherence among the newly set-up EU defence cooperation tools.

In the ‘Industry Talk’ section, MBDA’s new CEO Eric Béranger shares his views on how European defence cooperation in Europe (and EDA’s role in it) have evolved over the past 15 years and what the industrial prospects and challenges are for the future. He also touches upon the implementation of the recent EU defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF).

The NATO view on European defence, EDA and EU/NATO cooperation is provided for this magazine by former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy & Planning, Heinrich Brauss, who is now a Senior Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

Thoughts and reflections by representatives of some of EDA’s main partner organisations as well as a very interesting and inspiring outlook analysis (‘Quo Vadis EDA?’) by Dick Zandee, Head of the Security Unit of the research department of the Clingendael Institute in The Hague) round off this very special European Defence Matters magazine.     

Have a look immediately – and enjoy!
 

More information:

• Special 15th Anniversary edition - European Defence Matters N°17 (PDF)

 

Two EDA projects - one related to the sharing of spare parts and the other to additive manufacturing (3D-printing) - were involved in the CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2019 (CL19) exercise, Europe’s largest international logistics exercise, which took place at the Drawsko Pomorskie training area in the Northwest of Poland from 3-14 June. The event was organised by the Multinational Logistic Coordination Center (MLCC), a multinational sponsored centre for all issues related to multinational logistic cooperation.

Some 3,400 troops from 31 countries (including 21 EU Member States) as well as representatives from 11 international organisations participated in this event. The exercise provided participants with a rare opportunity to test and train logistic procedures within a realistic multinational operational context under real life conditions. EDA was present at the exercise with two projects:

• the Sharing of Spare Parts project (SoSP) launched in 2015 by 12 EDA Member States. In a nutshell, it provides a simplified request-and-response mechanism for the exchange of military services and spare parts between the participating MoDs, based on agreed standards. It offers different ways to compensate for the loan of equipment, including through a barter mechanism. Using the SoSP process is cost-free for contributing Member States. A dedicated SoSP handbook has been developed, setting common standards and processes. The reason why SoSP was brought to the CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2019 exercise in Poland was to test and validate its accuracy and applicability, which was done with success.  Now that it has been validated, the SoSP process handbook is considered ‘mission proven’ and ready to be used by the contributing Member States’ MoDs.
• the Additive Manufacturing (AM) project. AM is widely considered as a potential game-changer as it could, inter alia, help reduce the logistic footprint of military missions. In 2018, EDA commissioned a feasibility study on AM with regard to EDA R&T activities. As a follow-up step to move onward from R&T to capability development, EDA proposed to Member States to test AM during a military exercise under real-life conditions. Together with France and Spain, EDA prepared the AM test which took place during the CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2019 exercise. Concretely, EDA deployed an AM Demonstrator in the form of a 20 ft standard container equipped with PolyJet and Fused Deposition Modelling technologies, 3-D scanner and appropriate software. Prior to the exercise, specific spare parts for military assets used at the exercise were identified by France and Spain. All of them could be printed during the exercise. Furthermore, the exercise showed that using a 20 ft container for the printing ensures logistical flexibility in the operational support and reduces the logistic footprint of a military operation. AM is thus a useful alternative to classical warehousing in military logistic supply chains, ensuring increased availability of spare parts, considerable time and cost savings as well as operational flexibility.

During the CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2019 Visitors Days, EDA had the opportunity to present AM as a potential technology for military purposes and has received a lot of positive feedback. The discussions during the Visitors Days underlined the necessity of establishing a forum within EDA for subject matter experts to exchange experiences and discuss logistic processes, technology developments and legislative issues to further promote AM and support Member States in their efforts to better use the AM potential to develop a military capability, as also highlighted in the 2018 Capability Development Plan (CDP) and the subsequent Strategic Context Cases (SCCs).
 

More information:

• EDA factsheet - Additive Manufacturing (3D-Printing) Feasibility Study & Technology Demonstration
• 3D-printing community explores applications for defence
• EDA’s 3D-Printing project for Energetic Materials launched
  
  

Jorge Domecq, EDA Chief Executive and Dominique Ristori, European Commission Director-General for Energy announced today in the presence of Mr Gabriel-Beniamin Leș, Minister of National Defence of Romania the initiation of the Third Phase of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS III).

The announcement was made in the margins of the 4th CF SEDSS II Conference which is held under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and hosted by the Romanian Ministry of National Defence. 

The EDA Chief Executive emphasised that “the Agency’s interest in energy has been increasing in the last years, primarily because the Ministries of Defence have identified the importance of this topic, and because of how energy affects and will change our life in the future”. As he pointed out, “disruptive technologies and new business models are reshaping the energy ecosystem and the defence sector needs to be part of this”. New trends such as digitalisation, electrification, innovative energy technologies in battery storage, smart buildings, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, integrated energy management systems as well as unknown malicious and hybrid threats require the defence sector not only to adapt to the fast-paced changing security environment but also to be able to recover when compromised.

Mr Ristori remarked that “all strands of the EU’s energy policy -energy efficiency, renewables, security of supply, interconnections- have an impact on our common European defence. That is why I believe the start of Phase III is an important step forward which reaffirms the Commission’s strong commitment to address our common energy challenges in close cooperation with the European Defence Agency”. He also said that “by improving the way the defence and security sector uses energy, new real economic opportunities can arise, creating jobs and growth for all Europeans”.

Phase III will continue pursuing the implementation of the EU legal framework on energy and will reaffirm the Consultation Forum as the appropriate vehicle to share best practice, information and experiences among the EU Ministries of Defence. With the support of the European Commission the Forum will bring closer the defence and energy communities with a view to improving energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, and the protection of defence energy-related critical infrastructures.

Building on the know-how of the previous Phases and with the aim of adapting to future energy dynamics, Phase III will foresee the creation of a new ad-hoc transversal working group, which will cover the thematic activities on energy management and finance as well as a novel category on state-of-the-art technologies affecting the energy-defence dimension.

Phase III is expected to enable economic, operational and strategic results within the context of project ideas, guidelines, and action plans that can assist Ministries of Defence to apply more affordable, resilient, and sustainable energy models at the national level. To address such objectives, the Agency will implement several multi-dimensional activities ranging from high-level conferences and thematic workshops to table-top exercises.

Phase III will also be underpinned by the organisation of Energy Technology Solutions events engaging the civil sector, the industry and academia to ensure that the Forum keeps pace with the leading-edge developments in energy.

With the support of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and the collaboration of the members of the Forum, the Agency will focus its work on how to better support Ministries of Defence to enhance strategic autonomy and resilience through a diversity of options within the nexus of the European Energy eco-system including the European defence dimension.
 

More information:

• About CF SEDSS II 
• Defence Energy Data 2016 & 2017 (EDA factsheet)