EDA News

Exercise FIRE BLADE 2017 will be hosted by Hungary at Pápa Airbase and takes place from the 1st to the 12th of May. 17 air assets and 450 personnel are expected to take part in this live fire focused training exercise.  

FIRE BLADE 2017 (FB17) marks the 11th helicopter exercise under the umbrella of the Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP). The HEP is one of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) helicopter training projects and programmes. It is the first time that Hungary will host a HEP event, thus becoming the 7th member state to do so. 

In excess of 450 personnel are due to take part in this exercise programme. A total of 17 air assets from 5 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia) are expected to take part. In addition, observers from Italy and Czech Republic are foreseen. FB17 will deliver tactical training, over a 12 day intensive programme, offering participants an unique opportunity to plan and execute missions within a joint combined framework. FB17 will be designed to allow European helicopter crews to train, adopting joint procedures while operating in a challenging scenario.

Today at the EDA in Brussels the Final Coordination Conference for FB17 took place. Following on from the Main Planning Conference which was held last October in Hungary, today’s conference put the final preparations in place ahead of the beginning of FB17 on May 1st. Tom Bennington, Head of Education, Training & Exercise Unit at EDA commented, “the exercise gives a good opportunity to train in a realistic operational setting. Specifically we will be working with Special Forces, and will be focusing on live weapons firing using the Composite Air Operations Concept, effectively operating the helicopters with fast jets and ground assets [e.g. surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems]”.

At the event, on behalf of the host nation Hungary, Lieutenant colonel Péter Simon of the Hungarian Air Force and Commander of the Air Task Force for exercise FB17 said, “as per previous Blade exercises, FB17 will have its own training subjects, in this case live firing. Hungary is an excellent location for live fire exercises due to diversity and quality of ranges available to visiting European crews”.    

The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability at a tactical level between helicopter units by using the COMAO concept in a combined, joint, realistic and challenging environment and to teach and learn helicopter Techniques, Tactics and Procedures (TTPs). During FB17 the units will fly a diverse set of day and night training missions, with a focus on live firing operations. FB17 is a real-world example of what can be achieved through European defence cooperation.  

Further updates on FB17 can also be found on Twitter using  #FIREBLADE2017.  
 

• Helicopter Initiatives (EDA project page)
• Pictures from Exercise BLACK BLADE 2016
• Fact Sheet Exercise BLACK BLADE 2016

On 28 February, Spain joined the EU SatCom Market becoming the 22nd member of this EDA initiative launched in 2009 to provide flexible commercial satellite communication solutions for contributing members. Spain is already the second new member in 2017 given that Estonia also joined on 24 January.

The EU SatCom Market project has been benefitting from an increased interest over the past twelve months with no less than ten new members having joined.

Commercial satellite communications are used by all nations to provide extra capacity on top of their own military and governmental satellite communications. The EU SatCom Market project provides a flexible and cost-effective way of doing this, offering its members’ a pay-per-use solution without imposing any binding financial commitments beyond services ordered.

Within the EU SatCom Market project, the EDA acts as the central purchasing body on behalf of the contributing members and the current Framework Contract was signed in January 2016 with Airbus Defence and Space as the services provider.

The current 22 contributing members are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Portugal, Romania, the United Kingdom, Spain, Serbia, the Athena Mechanism and the civilian missions EUCAP SAHEL Niger, EUCAP SAHEL Mali, EUAM Ukraine, EUCAP NESTOR and EUMM Georgia.

• EU SatCom Market project page
• EU SatCom Market factsheet
• EDA and CSDP civilian missions develop cooperation (EDA news June 2016)

The approach of the world’s largest air traffic management event (World ATM Congress, 7-9 March, Madrid) has placed one of the largest air traffic users, the military, in focus. With more than 11,000 military aircraft stationed in Europe, state air forces represent the biggest fleet operators and airport owners in Europe. Ahead of EDA’s participation at WAC 2017 (SESAR stand 889), EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq writes that the military represents a key and credible partner in SES/SESAR.

In the context of increased regional and global instability and given the evolving security challenges facing Europe, it is crucial for security and defence that any development in air traffic modernisation takes military requirements fully into account, in order to avoid any adverse impact on national and collective defence capabilities.

The implementation of the European Global Strategy (EUGS), the European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) and the EU/NATO Joint Declaration, offer a window of opportunity to address and contribute to strengthening European Security and Defence. Military aviation is a key part of this. The EDA facilitates the coordination of military views related to the challenges of SES facing Military Aviation and acts as an interface between the military community and the European Commission. In doing so, EDA ensures coherence and complementarity across the military community through staff-to-staff coordination with NATO and EUROCONTROL, while actively developing its cooperation with key civil stakeholders. 

The Aviation Strategy for Europe defined by the European Commission and the revision of the EASA Basic Regulation provide opportunities for early involvement of the military.

Military aviation significantly contributes to ensuring the required secure environment in Europe. It is crucial for security and defence that any development in air traffic modernization takes military requirements fully into account, in order to avoid any adverse impact on national and collective defence capabilities. The changes brought about by technological solutions in terms of procedures, regulations, equipment and organisation need to be considered at the earliest possible stage and on the basis of a systemic approach, by relevant military organisations.

The Military Aviation Strategy in the context of Single European Sky reflects the shared view on military aviation as an integral part of the air traffic in Europe for the coming decades.

It establishes the strategic vision that European aviation will incorporate the security and defence dimension at a level that will ensure that Military Aviation continues to provide and further improve, effective security and defence in Europe in the changing context of the civil aviation sector, without prejudice to the safety of civil air traffic.

It includes fundamental principles related to safety, civil-military coordination and cooperation across the military community, as well as strategic objectives on security and defence, access to airspace and use of air navigation services, confidentiality, cyber security, and interoperability.

In supporting its implementation, the European Defence Agency contributes to ensuring that the military are recognised as credible and reliable partners for excellence in global aviation.

Jorge Domecq (EDA Chief Executive)
 

The World ATM Congress, the world’s largest air traffic management event, will take place 7-9 in Madrid. The Congress, now in its fifth year, gathers representatives from every segment within aviation to exchange knowledge about the latest air traffic management trends. This year EDA will be there as part of the SESAR stand (889) to represent the military aspects of SES/SESAR.   

“Partnering for excellence in global aviation” is the theme of the activities taking place at the SESAR stand. EDA is collaborating with the project hosts SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) and the SESAR Deployment Manager (SESAR DM). Other European representatives from the European Commission, European Aviation Safety Agency Network Manager,and EUROCAE, make up the joint SESAR representation at the World ATM Congress. 

Our experts will be on the stand throughout the congress, so pass by and find out more about the EDA and its work on SES/SESAR.
 

• EDA SESAR Project Page
• The Military in SES/SESAR (Brochure)
• EDA and SESAR JU sign Memorandum of Cooperation (EDA news 19 December 2016)
• EUROCONTROL and the European Defence Agency consolidate their cooperation (EDA news 17 November 2016)
• Partners step up efforts to address the integration of drones into European airspace (EDA news 8 November 2016)

Pictured (from left to right): Rudolf Maus (NSPA Director of Logistics Operartions), Tim Rowntree (departing OCCAR Director); Arturo Meiriño (new OCCAR Director), Rini Goos (EDA Deputy Chief Executive)

Rini Goos, the EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive, today attended the farewell event organised in Bonn by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for its departing Director, Tim Rowntree.

In his speech, Mr Goos thanked Mr Rowntree for the good cooperation with the European Defence Agency and praised him as a person “who served defence cooperation in Europe with excessive commitment”. EDA’s close cooperation with OCCAR started immediately after the creation of the Agency in 2004, leading to the Administrative Arrangement (AA) signed in 2012 and then to the Interface Document concluded in 2013.

Thanks to Mr Rowntree’s efforts and his close and pragmatic cooperation with EDA at different levels, those agreements have been implemented with success and already led to concrete outcomes such as the MMF programme, MALE RPAS, the smooth interaction in other projects of common interest (such as MMCM and MUSIS), cooperation in areas where EDA and OCCAR can benefit from each other’s expertise (for instance Security of Supply or REACH) as well as the revision of the Interface Document of 2015 which led to a more detailed and descriptive guide to ensure mutual cooperation benefits for the EDA and OCCAR, Mr Goos stated. “The key success factor for this remarkable progress was Mr Rowntree’s results oriented approach which fully fits to the Agency’s way of work”, he stressed.

The EDA Chief Executive said he was fully confident that Mr Rowntree’s successor, Arturo Alfonso-Meiriño, will pursue the good cooperation with the EDA and work successfully on the challenges to come. He wished Mr Alfonso-Meiriño good luck and great success. “The EDA looks forward to working with you to achieve our common objectives”, Mr Goos concluded.

• EDA and OCCAR strengthen cooperation (webnews, December 2015)
• OCCAR website

EDA Deputy Chief Executive, Rini Goos, addressed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly during is meeting in Brussels on February 19th. Mr. Goos spoke on the importance of strengthening Europe and North America's defence industrial base and what role the EDA plays. 

Addressing over 100  parliamentarians from NATO member countries, Mr. Goos underscored the importance of a strong industrial base as “key for innovation, key for developing and maintaining our defence equipment, it is in short an indispensable enabler to having the right capabilities we need in response to current and future security and defence needs”.

The joint meetings of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Defence and Security Committee, Political Committee, and Economics and Security Committee offered an opportunity for NATO and EU officials to discuss key security issues. Addressing the assembly, Mr. Goos pointed to the current role of the EDA in strengthening capabilities by underpinning the industrial base, “EDA is not only working with its Member States on an Overarching Research Agenda that should provide coherence between capability pull and technology push and identify priority technology building blocks. It also works on the identification of so called Key Strategic Activities which would support European strategic autonomy”.

• NATO and EU: Complementarity and collaboration in capability development

Andreja Katič, the Defence Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, today paid her first visit to the European Defence Agency where she was welcomed by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.

A wide range of topics related to European defence cooperation were discussed, including the implementation of the EU Global Strategy, the Commission’s recently adopted European Defence Action Plan and the implementation of the EU-NATO Joint Declaration.

Slovenia’s role and participation in EDA projects were also discussed at length during the Minister’s visit. Mrs Katič was presented with detailed updates on a range of ongoing projects in which Slovenia is actively involved such as the Multinational Modular Medical Unit (M3U) or the Collaborative Database (CODABA). The Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), which Slovenia is expected to join soon, the project on Diplomatic Clearances as well as other ongoing EDA programmes and projects were also raised.

EDA Chief Jorge Domecq thanked Minister Katič for her visit and Slovenia’s involvement in the Agency’s activities, and he encouraged the country to get involved even more in the future. “The Agency serves Member States of all sizes equally”, he stressed. “EDA services and activities may even primarily benefit Member States of smaller size by providing them with defence capabilities they need and by generating savings as well as cost-efficiency in defence spending”.

Minister Katič also signed the project agreement on Slovenia’s participation in the EDA transport hub project. The project, which was launched in December 2014, is designed to enhance and ease the military deployment, movement and transportation capabilities of the contributing Member States. The ultimate objective is to develop a European Multimodal Transport Hub Network which can serve both CSDP missions and other Member States’ purposes (day to day business and exercises) through harmonised regulations, procedures and processes as well as pooling and sharing of movement and transport assets and infrastructure in Europe.

EDA has launched a new Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE), Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) Training Technology Demonstrator (TTD) project to provide up to nine networked procedural  trainers to the European MALE RPAS Community.1

The MALE RPAS Community came into being on 19 November 2014 under a Letter of Intent and looks to facilitate  information sharing and cooperation in this important domain.   The Community looks to share operational experience and, where possible, to pool and share maintenance of similar assets, logistics, training, doctrine, concepts and procedures.  Early work looked to harmonize training syllabi between the European RPAS Schools and to complete joint studies on vulnerability and countering UAS swarms.

In early 2016, it was decided to further enhance training cooperation and EDA was tasked to develop a proposal to improve communication and to facilitate joint exercises.  In close cooperation with the European Air Group (EAG) and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) who were also active in this area. Consequently, a joint programmer was formed to deliver hardware simulators (EDA), improved harmonization and interoperability (EAG) and realistic operational scenarios (EUMS) for MALE RPAS to underpin the Community’s work.

The Agency signed a contract with DCI and DIGINEXT of France to design and build the systems over 2017/18, which will enable collaborative tactical development and harmonization of training across the Community.  The project represents a step change in improved interoperability in this increasingly important air domain and the work will be carried out in close cooperation with the EAG and EUMS with view to launching the first RPAS specific exercise in late 2018.

_____________

The World ATM Congress, the world’s largest air traffic management event, will take place 7-9 in Madrid. The Congress, now in its fifth year, gathers representatives from every segment within aviation to exchange knowledge about the latest air traffic management trends. This year EDA will be there as part of the SESAR stand (889) to represent the military aspects of SES/SESAR.   

The implications for the military of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative and its technological pillar, the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) programme, are considerable. One of the principle tasks that Member States have given to the EDA in this field is to connect the military with each other and the European Institutions, and to develop ways to engage Europe’s military in the SES initiative. 

“Partnering for excellence in global aviation” is the theme of the activities taking place at the SESAR stand. EDA is collaborating with the project hosts SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) and the SESAR Deployment Manager (SESAR DM). Other European representatives from the European Commission, European Aviation Safety Agency Network Manager,and EUROCAE, make up the joint SESAR representation at the World ATM Congress. 

In the lead up to this event, EDA has launched an updated brochure on its activities in this domain; “The Military in SES/SESAR”, which outlines EDA’s activities, priorities and partnerships in SES/SESAR. 

Our experts will be on the stand throughout the congress, so pass by and find out more about the EDA and its work on SES/SESAR.  

• EDA SESAR Project Page
• The Military in SES/SESAR (Brochure)
• EDA and SESAR JU sign Memorandum of Cooperation (EDA news 19 December 2016)
• EUROCONTROL and the European Defence Agency consolidate their cooperation (EDA news 17 November 2016)
• Partners step up efforts to address the integration of drones into European airspace (EDA news 8 November 2016)

Chief Executive Jorge Domecq today welcomed at the EDA premises the EU Military Committee (EUMC) led by its chairman, General Mikhail Kostarakos.

The meeting mainly focused on two substantive topics: the overall EU Capability Development Process and the Capability Development Plan (CDP) review foreseen for 2018.

Last November, Defence Ministers agreed to review the CDP in order to improve the capability development process by taking into account R&T and industrial aspects, and tasked the EDA to present a new set of EU priorities for military capability development for Steering Board adoption by spring 2018.

The CDP serves as a reference for national capability planning by informing Member States about capability requirements over time, identifying areas for capability improvements and translating capability priorities into concrete collaborative programmes.

• EUMC website
• General Kostarakos (CV)

The CCNS (Corrosion Control for Navy Ships) project, which ran from 2013-2016 in the EDA framework, involved major European industrial stakeholders, top-rated European research institutes, specialised entreprises and also academic organisations. It successfully tested and identified solutions with high potential, which also triggered numerous scientific publications. 

Increasing military requirements combined with environmental regulations, such as REACH, lead to critical situations in the sense that they put at risk the operational availability and running costs of Navy ships in terms of corrosion and surface protection. In addition, there is a requirement to extend repair intervals to 6-10 years in order to reduce maintenance levels and related costs, to maintain  ship security and to comply with environmental regulations. The consequences of these requirements and regulations are various and have types a serious impact on potential risks, unsuitability and/or suppression of existing technical solutions.

In this context, the aim of the project was to consider new approaches and solutions for defining in particular the adapted conditions based maintenance. In order to achieve this, the vast Corrosion Control of Navy Ships (CCNS) study was undertaken between 2013 and 2016 to establish the critical areas within Corrosion Control Technology.

Through its extensive tests, the project produced very positive results in the field of sensors and fouling treatment. One sensor, which is now commercialised, offers a promising solution for on-board applications. Interesting results for new faster accelerated aging tests have also been obtained, showing the relevance to real in-service degradation of coatings and corrosion.

The study revelead that the process of data collection is especially challenging in terms of measuring on-board currents. A database including relevant and usable data for modeling of cathodic protection was created. Collection and integration of such data into an improved numerical model will help optimise the systems used by navies of all participating countries.

The project was managed and funded by France (DGA), Germany (WiWEB), Italy (Marina Difensa) and UK (DSTL) in the frame of the European Defence Agency, and carried out by Institut de la Corrosion (Project leader, France) DCNS research (France), Centro Sviluppo Materiali (Italy), CNR-ISMAR (Italy), BAE Systems (UK), University of Southampton (UK) and AISH technologies (UK) with contribution from DGA (France), BWA WIWeB and BWB WTD 71 (Germany).
 

• CCNS - Article EDA 
• About Capability Technology Areas and R&T in EDA 
• R&T Brochure – EDA Role in Research and Technology
• For further information, please contact: CapTech.Materials@eda.europa.eu

A collaborative research project on ‘Hybrid Manned Unmanned Platooning (Hy-MUP)’ has just been successfully completed at the European Defence Agency (EDA). The main aim was to prove that it is feasible to coordinate and operate unmanned ground systems together with regular manned vehicles in future mounted combat missions. It also helped the military community to become familiar with heavy unmanned ground vehicles.

The Hy-MUP project was funded by the two contributing Member States - France and Germany - and carried out by a consortium consisting of ECA Robotics and Thales Optronique SAS for France as well as Diehl BGT Defence and Rheinmetall Landsysteme for Germany. The Hy-MUP project was in fact a continuation of a previous project on ‘Semi-Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SAM-UGV)’ conducted by the same consortium. Both projects were hosted in the EDA CapTech Ground Systems (Land).

The project’s objectives were to: (i) prove the feasibility of the operation of unmanned ground systems in coordination with regular manned vehicles in future mounted combat missions by analysing and defining use-cases for platooning, (ii) identify the high safety requirements and (iii) develop a demonstrator of a hybrid fleet (manned and unmanned vehicles) to be deployed in convoy reconnaissance and/or surveillance (platooning) missions with a mobile Control and Command Vehicle (CCV) manned driven and an mobile robotized vehicle which can either be tele-operated by an operator from the Control Station installed in the CCV or configured to follow a Leader Vehicle autonomously.

In addition to that, from the military perspective, another project goal was to help the military community to become familiar with heavy unmanned ground vehicles by progressively introducing heavy robotics in the Armed Forces.

For the practical part of the project, various case scenarios for using mixed platoons of manned and unmanned vehicles were defined and demonstrated. The Control Station and the communication unit were installed in a Control and Command Vehicle lent by the French MoD. A 4x4 wheels drive civilian vehicle (ISUZU D-MAX) was then equipped with a Drive by Wire capability (including a Drive By Wire (DBW) kit from Paravan and a Robotic kit updated from the SAM-UGV project), several sensors enabling autonomous motion by using ‘Leader Following’ facilities. An additional communication unit enables tele-operation via control station.

Two different ‘Leader Following’ functionalities were implemented and evaluated during trials with various Leader Vehicles, various weather conditions and various environments:

• The first Leader Following functionality runs two algorithms in parallel: (i) one uses the centre vision camera and (ii) the other uses the information coming from a Velodyne - 3D LiDAR sensor. In case one of the algorithms loses the leader, the other can reinitialize the connection of the first one.
• The second Leader Following functionality combines the data coming from an algorithm using vision camera mounted on Hy-MUP robotized platform and a sign panel installed at the rear of the Leader Vehicle, on one hand, and an algorithm using information from a Velodyne - 3D LiDAR sensor, on the other hand.

An ‘Obstacle Avoidance’ function which, in real operations, is required to avoid intruders or collisions (with pedestrian or vehicles) was also tested but could not be fully evaluated during the trials due to project constraints.

The Hy-MUP project developed the so-called ‘Hy-MUP system’: it consists of an integrated demonstrator with a Control Station (installed in a manned vehicle of the convoy) and a robotized platform. Teleoperation and autonomous Vehicle Following are available from a moving Control Station. Obstacle Avoidance will have to be further integrated and evaluated.

Even though the Hy-MUP system is not yet fully completed and validated, it nevertheless already demonstrated the benefits and importance of manned/unmanned vehicle convoy capabilities in military operations.

EDA’s continued outreach to industry,  which aims to enhance defence industry interaction and cooperation on defence related REACH issues, took another productive step forward on January 25th. The EDA, the EDA REACH Task Force (comprised of Member States REACH experts) and defence industry representatives gathered to exchange views on the topic of Ammunition Classification under REACH. Discussions focused on specific complex ammunition categories, such as smoke ammunition, and benefited from industry’s substantial experience and past work in this field.

 The meeting was hosted by Nexter Munitions at their industrial facilities in Bourges, France. The agenda for the day included live demonstrations and controlled use of selected types of ammunitions at Nexter Munitions’ testing facilities, providing an in-depth insight into the design of ammunitions as well as the functioning and operating principles of explosives and propellants. 

The discussions helped in establishing a common understanding between governmental and industrial experts on the complexities of specific categories of ammunition and in identifying important factors for their classification under REACH, providing a solid basis for further EDA work in this area.  Representatives from  Nexter Munitions, Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), Etienne Lacroix Group, Rheinmetall Waffe Munition and BAE Systems Land also participated in the meeting.

The following day (26 January 2017), the EDA REACH Task Force discussions continued in a Member States only format, at the French Ministry of Defence Training Centre in Bourges, where various types of munitions mock-ups were made available, in view of further elaboration on the design and function of specific categories of ammunition. 

EDA’s work on Ammunition Classification under REACH, aims to build a common understanding of the regulatory provisions and to exchange best practices. An overall list of ammunition types used by Member States (MoDs) together with an assessment of the classification of each type under REACH, using prior related guidance by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) as reference, is currently under examination. 

The targeted outcome of this project is to establish a potential Member States’ common position, which could also serve as a supportive reference for the defence industry (ammunition manufacturers), as well as the Commission and ECHA, when classifying specific ammunition categories under REACH, in the future.
 

• EDA REACH Project page
• EDA Study on Impact of REACH and CLP Regulations on the Defence Sector

A new EDA project aimed at understanding the different forces influencing innovation has just been launched. This initiative represents a first try to identify ways and means by which innovation activities could be more systematically managed in order to create additional value for the Agency and its stakeholders.

Fostering innovation is key in strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities as it has been clearly stated in the new EU Global Strategy (EUGS) and its implementation plan as well as in the European Commission’s European Defence Action Plan which emphasises the multidimensional role of innovation in defence.

In this context, innovation can be perceived as the creation and application of new products, services and processes. This includes the creation of a new technology, product, process or service, as well as the application of existing technology to a different problem or domain.

By introducing innovative technologies developed in other domains, both the initial investment risk and the time from ideation to military capability are minimized. Nevertheless, innovation is not only focused on the creation of new concepts. It also focuses on the value that the new concept will create for end-users. In this regard, innovation in the defence sector should aim at enhancing military capability.

The new project takes the form of two studies to be carried out by RAND Europe and Indra Systemas S.A respectively and dealing with different aspects of innovation. The project’s objectives are the following:

• Analysis of the current defence research innovation strategies and identification of best practice in terms of organisational structures, supporting policies and incentives for research innovation management
• Analysis of stakeholders, environment, specific defence requirements related to innovation and identification of appropriate organizational structures applicable to defence
• Identification of candidate technologies for innovation injection and preparation of scenarios for a follow on proof of concept
• Identification of innovation management methods and state-of-the-art practices, such as design thinking and transfer of knowledge to be used within the EDA’s research and innovation communities.

The kick-off meetings of both studies, which took place on 16th and 20th of January respectively, set the ground for a very promising project. The working teams have already discussed in depth the transformation of the objectives into tangible outcomes for the Member States in support to the European efforts of fostering innovation in defence.

The envisaged outputs will help EDA to provide better support to the innovation activities of Member States as well as those innovation actions foreseen under the Preparatory Action for Defence Research and the future European Defence Research Programme.

The kick-off meeting was attended by EDA and staff from the aforementioned contractors. The project is led by Dr. Panagiotis Kikiras Head of Unit Innovative Research.

Speaking before the Security and Defence (SEDE) subcommittee of the European Parliament on 25 January, Denis Roger, the EDA’s Director for European Synergies and Innovation (ESI), hailed the good and effective cooperation between the European Commission and the European Defence Agency on preparing the upcoming Preparatory Action (PA) on defence research which is close to its official launch. “The EDA now stands ready to sign a new Delegation Agreement with the Commission relating to the PA and building on the positive experience of the Pilot Project”, he said. Philippe Brunet, the Commission’s Director for Space Policy and Defence within DG GROW, who also participated in the SEDE debate, indicated that the delegation agreement should be signed quickly, if possible in March 2017.

Mr Roger recalled the importance of the Pilot Project (PP) on defence research which is currently being implemented through a delegation agreement signed in November 2015 between the Commission and the EDA, has proved a great opportunity to test the interface between the Commission and the EDA in the implementation of a centrally-funded defence research scheme at EU level.

Several ‘lessons learned’ from the PP are being applied in the preparation for the PA, for instance the need to have some more innovative and adapted to defence specificities Intellectual Property Rules (IPR) or to have a wider pool of evaluation experts available. “For the Preparatory Action, the basic rule should be to draw the lessons already learnt from the Pilot Project, to keep the way of working when it demonstrated to be satisfactory and to improve what needs to be improved, while adapting to the increased scale”, Mr Roger said. In particular, he referred to the key ‘upstream role’ the EDA has in consulting all stakeholders (government, industry and RTOs) about key research priorities and consolidating them with Member States. He also mentioned the execution and exploitation (‘downstream’) roles the Agency played in the PP and which it would also have to play in the PA implementation.

Mr Roger stressed the need to make sure that collaborative defence research undertaken under the Preparatory Action will be linked to priority military capability needs of Member States: “I must insist on this point, which is a key specificity of Defence Research. Since the market is a monopsony, the only buyer being the Ministries of Defence, it is absolutely essential to make sure that the technical requirements of the projects match the future Capability needs defined by Member States and reflected in the Capability Development Plan endorsed at the level of the Ministers of Defence”. “In accordance with article 45 of the Treaty on the European Union, EDA has a key role to play in guaranteeing this consistency between Capability and Research priorities”, he stated.

Implementing the PA means that the EDA will also have to adapt its own structures because compared to managing a relatively small Pilot Project (three projects with a total budget of €1.4 million), the task of managing a substantially bigger Preparatory Action (€90 million budget over three years with probably more than a dozen projects in total) will be much more of a challenge.

That’s why the EDA has already set up a dedicated PA Unit in order to manage EDA’s ‘upstream role’ and its forthcoming implementation role. It already includes four people and additional growth is anticipated once the delegation agreement is signed. The first short term task of that new unit will be the practical implementation of the Preparatory Action Work Programme: launch of the calls, organisation of the evaluation and signing of the grant agreements. “But we also need to have a longer term vision: a key success indicator of the preparatory Action will be the usefulness of the results for Member States’ future Capability Development Programmes”, Mr Roger said.

EDA’s existing structures (CapTechs, Project Teams, Working Groups) will contribute to make sure that the PA results are fully taken into account and to promote follow-on projects and programmes.
The PA unit could also have a key role, in permanent coordination with the European Commission, to draw, in real time, the lessons learnt from the Preparatory Action that can benefit to the setting up of a potential wider future European Defence Research Programme (EDRP) after 2020.

• Full speech of Roger Denis at SEDE committee (25 January 2017)
• Preparatory Action on defence research (EDA factsheet)
• First EU Pilot Project in the field of defence research sees grant agreements signed for €1.4 million

A study by EDA has concluded that considering the complexity of defence supply chains and long lifecycles of military equipment, REACH (and associated CLP) regulation, as they stand now, may impact the actual operability of Member States’ Armed Forces.

 EDA outsourced a dedicated study to examine what impact the EU’s regulations on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances and mixtures (CLP) have had on the European defence sector (governments and industry) since they entered into force in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Further to assessing the impact of REACH (and associated CLP) regulation on defence, the study aimed to develop recommendations for further improvement of REACH regulation and its current implementation regime.

The basis for the study, which was finalised in December 2016, aimed for a win-win solution achieving two principle goals: a high level of health and environmental protection, as well as ensuring the operational effectiveness of Member States’ Armed Forces and enhancing the competitiveness and innovation of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.

The study’s consultation facilitated input from a wide range of European defence stakeholders including, in particular, the EDA Member States’ Ministries of Defence (MoD), European Commission, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Member States’ Competent Authorities on REACH and CLP and  the defence industry.

The main conclusions propose several improvements and related actions for stakeholders, broadly grouped into the three main areas:

• More time and resources (for innovative substitution of Substances of Very High Concern);
• Consistency of REACH, other EU laws and policies; 
• EU-level solutions for defence under REACH. 

EDA has informed the competent stakeholders (Member States’ MoDs, European Commission, ECHA and the defence industry) on the outcome of the study and is now in the process to further liaise with them, and to support further examination and implementation of the study proposals. 

The study recommendations addressed to the Commission also serve as EDA input to the upcoming Commission review of the REACH regulation in 2017. 
 

• EDA REACH and CLP Study Final Report
• REACH - EDA project page

Rini Goos, EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive, today addressed Austrian security and defence stakeholders at a seminar in Vienna on EU funding opportunities for defence research (R&T) projects. The event was jointly organised by the EDA, the Austrian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) with the support of the Austrian Defence & Security Industry (ASW).

Around 80 representatives from the Austrian MoD, the Federal Economic Chamber, the security and defence industry, business associations, defence-related research and technology organisations as well as universities participated in the seminar which included awareness raising and in-depth know-how building sessions.

The seminar showed in concrete terms how to access funding and other instruments available within three European Union funding programmes, i.e. COSME (EU Programme for COmpetitiveness of SMEs), the Structural Funds and the Preparatory Action for Defence Research (PADR).

In his opening speech, Rini Goos said: "We take further legitimation and momentum from a ‘window of opportunities’ opened by the 2016 EU Global Strategy of the High Representative of the Union Ms Mogherini (who is also Vice-President of the European Commission and Head of the EDA), and strengthened by the European Defence Action Plan [EDAP] released by the European Commission. The Global Strategy clearly stated that Union funds - to support defence research and technologies and multinational cooperation - are essential prerequisites for European security and defence efforts, underpinned by a strong European defence industry”.

This seminar was the first delivered by EDA since the EDAP proposed that Structural Funds may fund the defence sector. It was also the first EDA’s seminar in a Member State addressing the forthcoming funding opportunities under the Preparatory Action for Defence Research.

The EDA, the European Commission, the Ministry of Defence and Sports, the Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and the Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning (ÖROK - as national authority in charge of Structural Funds deployment in Austria) delivered effective presentations about EU funding available for the defence sector currently and in the future.

Under the COSME section of the seminar, a particular focus was put on the Enterprise Europe Network’s local free services. Additionally, more than 40 Austrian project managers have been trained to apply for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, the main among the European Investment and Structural Funds) during a dedicated practical coaching session simulating the application process.

The seminar raised interest across all attending stakeholders who were able to establish promising contacts in view of an effective follow-up aimed at accessing EU funding opportunities.

Taking into account the increasing opportunities arising from the recent statement in the European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) that Structural Funds may be used to fund the defence sector, different stakeholders have been very keen to exchange views with Mr Goos and EDA’s experts on how to take advantage of EDA’s related work in close cooperation with the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sport.

• Access to EU funding (EDA project page)
• Dual-use research (EDA project page)
• Successful seminar on EU funding opportunities in Spain (EDA news)
• 3 out of 3: another EDA supported dual-use R&T project is awarded ESIF funding (EDA News)
• Polish dual-use R&T project co-funded by ESIF (EDA news)
• New funding opportunity for dual-use research

Last week (15-20 January), an EDA workshop aimed at training operators and technicians in the daily use of Maritime Surveillance (MARSUR) capabilities was held at the HQ of operation SOPHIA in Rome.

The humanitarian crisis resulting from migration via the Mediterranean has led to EU Member States launching a response. So far there are five Naval Operations led by military and civilian entities as well as numerous operations run by Non-Governmental Organisations. While the focus and the aim of military operations such as the NATO-led Ocean Shield and the EU NAVFORMED Operation SOPHIA may differ, one element is vital to all naval operations: Maritime Situational Awareness.
Naval Forces the world over are striving to establish what is called a recognized maritime picture. In basic terms that means finding out exactly what is happening in any given operational area at sea, including whether ships (‘contacts’ in naval terms) are transiting the area or working within it.

Maritime Situational Awareness also includes knowledge about events taking place in and around a maritime area. Current operations in the Mediterranean have underlined the need to include both military and civilian information to get a full picture. There are many different military and civilians systems around – all of which need to be compiled, verified and analysed – so a significant challenge lies in bringing the relevant information together.

To this end, the European Defence Agency (EDA) helped to design an interface acting as a system of systems to support CSDP operations such as the EU NAVFORMED Operation SOPHIA. It does this by enabling maritime headquarters to exchange data and information with other networks through various services such as chat, email, tactical drawing, video recordings and track streaming. The SOPHIA Operational Headquarters was connected to the MARSUR Networking Community which encompasses 17 EU Member States plus Norway.

To enhance the input of information, EDA has sponsored and designed a complex workshop which trains operators and technicians in the daily use of the MARSUR capability. This training took place from 15-20 Jan 2017 in Rome, Italy. As a lead nation of Operation SOPHIA and a host nation for the training, Italy offered ideal training conditions. 36 participants from 12 Member States and Norway spent a week at the Italian Tor di Quinto Naval Club. The participants were joined by MARSUR contractors’ representatives, trainers and representatives from the MARSUR community and representatives from the Italian Navy and Operational Headquarters.

The week provided a unique opportunity to exchange experience, skills and knowledge about the MARSUR capability and the requirements of Operation SOPHIA. Most of all, meeting counterparts from other Member States helped to personalise the otherwise faceless messages on the screen. The resulting network serves to build up the most important asset of information exchange and cooperation: trust.

To provide even more support to Operation SOPHIA, representatives from EDA met with staff from the SOPHIA Operational Headquarters, the Italian Navy and the MARSUR community to ensure that information is sent not only from those ships engaged in Operation SOPHIA, but also all Member States’ ships transiting the Mediterranean.

This type of cooperation is a good example of the implementation of the EU Maritime Security Strategy which envisions cross-sectoral information exchange among European actors.

• Maritime Surveillance (EDA project page)
• European Defence Agency supports CSDP operations
• European maritime surveillance network reaches operational status

The European Defence Agency has launched a new, specialised Defence Energy Managers’ Course (DEMC), which aims to enhance MoD capabilities through the integration of Energy Management Systems within their organisations.  The participants of the DEMC will reinforce their understanding of the complexities of managing energy within a defence organisation or sub-organisation and will acquire the capacity to structure, implement and improve effective Energy Management Systems (EnMS).

Through the attendance of the course, MoD/Armed Forces personnel will be trained to the required technical standard to deliver practical, cost-effective solutions and, uniquely, will benefit from case-specific mentoring support to their first project delivered within the context of their normal work activities. After the course, the trainees will have sufficient knowledge to continue to develop their skills in a continuous cycle of self-improvement through on-going mentoring, alumni relations and as members of the European Defence Energy Network (EDEN) with permanent access to its established on-line resources. 

Following relevant support from EDA’s EnE WG  participating Member States as well as the pertinent requirements of EU legal framework on Energy Efficiency regarding Energy Management Systems (EnMS), the Agency has  proceeded to contract a developmental educational service from a consortium of professional education service providers. 

Based on the ISO 50001 International Energy Standard, the course is tailored to the specificities of the Defence sector and it is divided into the following phases:

• One DEMC – Pilot Course, which will provide the initial EnMS approach in the Defence sector and synchronise the various relevant national requirements. The Pilot Course is scheduled to last 14 months, comprising of classroom sessions and alternating with relevant mentoring and in situ on–the-job training (OJT) for developing and implementing an EnMS at home for MoD organisations. 

• A maximum of 6 DEMC – Steady State are scheduled for the 3 years to follow a successful completion of the Pilot Course. These courses will comprise the DEMC - Pilot structure, in addition to incorporating the previously gained experience as well as any recommendations and feedback from participating Member States. 

The consortium consists of:

• ENMS Ltd (Ireland);
• Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) (Greece) and 
• GEN Europe Soluciones Energéticas SL (Spain).

The EDA project team of DEMC is composed of Tom BENNINGTON and Nektarios ALEXANDRIS.

The latest European Defence Matters magazine is now available with a special focus on the European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) presented by the European Commission in November 2016.

NEW: the magazine is from now on available ONLINE in a user-friendly, state of the art responsive lay-out and accessible via all your devices: smartphone, tablet or desktop! Check it out HERE

An eventful and turbulent 2016 has triggered a new ‘momentum’ for European defence cooperation which crystalized into three major defence initiatives: the EU Global Strategy and its security and defence implementation plan, the EU/NATO Joint Declaration and its follow-up as well as the European Defence Action Plan which was adopted by the Commission on 30 November.

The latter topic, the Commission’s European Defence Action Plan (EDAP), is the headline story in this 12th issue of European Defence Matters. Over several pages, we summarise and analyse the main content of the Action Plan and speak to one of its authors, Commission Director General Lowri Evans (DG GROW). The defence industry’s reaction to EDAP is also reflected as are the views of the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the Defence Union, Urmas Paet, who we met for an interview.

Saab CEO Håkan Buskhe, who is our guest for the ‘Industry Talk’, gives insight into his company’s strategy and how he sees the defence industry developing in the coming years.

In another interview, we talk to Lt. General Erhard Bühler who is not only the Head of Directorate General for Planning in the German MoD, but also the chairman of the EDA Steering Board in capability directors composition.

European Defence Matters N°12 also offers you extended articles on two colorful EDA highlights of 2016. First, the European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference which has established itself as ‘must be event’ for the whole EU defence community. Secondly, the 10th EDA Helicopter Training Exercise (‘BLACK BLADE’) which took place in the second half of November in Belgium and mobilized 14 helicopters and 400 staff from 4 Member States.

A final word on the new ONLINE format of European Defence Matters which will make your reading experience even more comfortable:

• in addition to the print version, the online version occasionally offers expanded articles and supplementary pictures

•  articles and pictures can be shared instantly via Twitter, LinkedIn and Email

• the magazine’s ‘Explore’ section allows you to easily access the European Defence Matters archive and revisit articles of previous editions

• by joining us via www.eda.europa.eu/webzine, you will have access to the latest issue and the possibility to navigate through the previous editions by using the ‘Explore’ function.

Enjoy navigating, enjoy reading!

• European Defence Matters 12 (webzine)

A new EDA project aimed at setting a roadmap for future activities designed to transpose the ‘Circular Economy’ concept into the defence sector has been launched this Friday 13 January. During a kick-off meeting held at the EDA premises, the first steps of this ambitious project were discussed with experts from the ‘Circular Economy Research Initiative’ of the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) which is the contractor for this project. The project will result in a study scheduled to be finalized by end of October 2017.

The CJBS researchers will be working closely with the EDA project team in order to perform the initial assessment of possible constraints and opportunities that could derive from applying the Circular Economy concept and principles to the defence sector. Both teams will then establish a roadmap for follow-on actions and propose suitable alternatives in areas where problems may arise.

Circular Economy is a new policy domain that was launched by the European Commission in late 2015 with a communication entitled “Closing the loop: Commission adopts ambitious new Circular Economy Package to boost competitiveness, create jobs and generate sustainable growth”. Then, on 30 November 2016, the European Commission adopted the European Defence Action plan which paved the road for the Circular Economy principles to be applied to the defence sector. As Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen wrote in EDA’s European Defence Matters magazine recently, “the transposition of the circular economy principles in the defence sector can benefit the European industry and economy in many ways.”

Indeed, the Circular Economy’s underlying principles are not unfamiliar to the defence sector which has managed to follow a similar path over the years, for instance by applying a through-life management approach. Therefore, it was deemed important that a proactive step be taken in view of assessing the possible alignment or gaps between the flagship initiative of the European Commission and the defence framework. In this respect, the EDA thinks that an assessment of the feasibility of a transposition of the Circular Economy concept into the defence sector could be beneficial. In particular, introducing the Circular Economy principles at an early stage of the research and technology (R&T) phase could produce more systematic and structural benefits. A positive outcome from project study could be highly beneficial for the Member States. The benefits for the defence industry (of which a large part are small and medium enterprises) will be also be explored.

The EDA expects that this initial assessment will shed some light on the potential benefits and challenges of applying the Circular Economy package to the defence sector. Moreover, it should allow to identify topics, opportunities and areas that require further assessment and analysis. These topics will be dealt with in the follow-on actions that EDA will take for establishing the work strand in the area of Circular Economy in defence and enable a smooth and beneficial transition.

The project team of the Circular Economy Research Initiative of the University of Cambridge Judge Business school consists of Dr Khaled Soufani, Dr Mark Esposito and Dr Tse Terence. The EDA project team is composed by Dr Panagiotis Kikiras, Mr Giorgos Dimitriou and Ms Patricia López Vicente.