Defence`s Feeds

On Tuesday, MEPs will discuss the Kyiv Security Compact with Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the Committee on Foreign Affairs will exchange views with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the former Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the Kyiv Security Compact on 31 January. The discussion will also focus on Ukraine military capability needs to stop Russia's war of aggression including support from allies and partners in the short and medium term.
Meeting agenda and documents
Live streaming
EU Fact Sheets: Security and Defence
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Earlier this month, the US Department of Defence (DoD) teams working on a draft Arctic Strategy since September were joined in person by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Christopher Grady. The direct involvement of this

Zahid Industries' grand inauguration of its defence production facility on 16 January is a first step in the ambitious goal

Norway/France/Russia: Russian defector's story challenged Cannes-based campaigner and businessman Vladimir Osechkin has been acting as spokesman for Andrei Medvedev -

Stepping down as grand chancellor of France's Légion d'Honneur on 31 January, General Benoit Puga, ex-presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande's former

Impro, the young company distributing Turkish defence ministry satellite images, signed a partnership agreement on 20 January with its preferred

With the restructuring of the UAE publicly owned renewables company Masdar completed in December, Sultan Al Jaber, its multi-role director, is looking to raise

United Russia majority party MP Alexander Khinshtein temporarily put his journalist's hat back on during Russian Press Day on 19

The European Defence Agency (EDA) will support two Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects focused on shaping future European airlift capabilities, for both mid-sized and out-sized cargo, following a request from their project coordinators. EDA is tasked to assist with harmonisation of the requirements for two platforms; the Future Medium-Size Tactical Cargo (FMTC) and the Strategic Air Transport For Outsized Cargo (SATOC). Both projects were launched in the fourth wave of PESCO projects and are coordinated by France and Germany, respectively; with the FMTC also gathering Germany, Spain and Sweden as project members and Czechia, France and Netherlands in the four-nation SATOC project.

Medium & Outsized Cargo: Requirements for 2035+

Tactical cargo aircraft are the workhorses of the air forces in terms of logistics, medical evacuations, and special missions. Currently, EU Member States operate a wide range of tactical cargo aircraft (e.g. C130, C-295, C-27J). Apart from the A400M, a modern strategic-tactical cross-over platform,  many of them will be approaching the end of their life cycle in the upcoming decade. The main objective of the FMTC project is to develop next generation tactical air mobility capability of the armed forces of EU Member States. It aims at providing the participating Member States and industry with robust elements to decide what the 2035+ future of EU military tactical medium size transport fleets will be by defining common requirements for a new Future Mid-size Tactical Cargo.

SATOC aims to fill the critical shortfall for strategic transport for outsized and heavy cargo, a crucial enabler for military missions and operations. SATOC involves a 3-step approach, firstly by identifying a sufficient number of project members, harmonising requirements and finally identifying and agreeing on a common European solution for the transport of outsized cargo. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has also underscored the importance of outsized and heavy cargo transport. The destruction of several Antonov aircrafts, including AN-225 Mriya (the world’s largest cargo aircraft) has further reduced European Armed Forces access to strategic airlift.

EDA’s support to FMTC and SATOC, which will run for an initial 24 months, will be dedicated to harmonising the requirements of the project members and drafting a joint document of precise common guidance for research and development for the envisioned platform.

Common requirements for a common vision

Defining common requirements is an essential step in order to allow project members to align towards a joint vision for the future medium-sized and outsized cargo aircraft. In other words, common requirement articulation can be seen as the basis that all subsequent decisions in the ensuing programme will reference. They prescribe the fundamental performance criteria and innovation level of the platform that is destined to be a crucial element in future military campaigns of Member States. Furthermore, it will serve as basis for the work of European defence industry, starting with a feasibility study and proceeding with the design and prototyping of the new generation aircraft.

Harmonised requirements lower the life-cycle cost by avoiding late design changes and excessive versioning, and  prevent a fragmentation of future air mobility fleets at large by allowing for a platform development that serves an array of Member States. EDA will provide its expertise and input for the elaboration of the requirements, building on its experience in harmonisation of project partners.

EDA engages in the document drafting process by highlighting areas that connect to ongoing efforts in related fields, such as defence aviation R&T, providing its experience in interoperability matters of tactical airlift, and supports the discussion with best practices in achieving a programme that maximises Member States participation.

EDA supporting 10 PESCO projects

FMTC and SATOC are the ninth and tenth PESCO project to be supported by the Agency. PESCO, which recently marked five years since its launch, has also be able to benefit from the expertise of the EDA. EDA’s support has grown from initial modest administrative support to a couple of PESCO’s smaller-scale projects, but has since grown to include major weapons platforms, such as the FMTC and European Patrol Corvette.

EDA offers three forms of support to PESCO projects, first is administrative support by helping a PESCO project to organise meetings and providing facilities for project-related work. The second form of PESCO support is consultancy and expertise as in the case of the FMTC. Here the Agency and the PESCO project agree on the specific tasks EDA will carry out for a project. This could entail support in capturing the detailed operational and technical requirements, as well as developing its ConOps (concept of operations) by a certain deadline or defining specifications for its technical study.

The final form of EDA support is when participating members of a PESCO project choose to establish their project at the Agency, which means other Member States can choose to opt into, or join, the endeavour at a later stage, with EDA serving as project manager. To date, three PESCO projects are being taken forward within the Agency; CBRN Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS); Deployable Modular Underwater Intervention Capability Package (DIVEPACK); and European Patrol Corvette.

EDA's role 

The European Defence Agency (EDA) supports its 26 Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation. Acting as an enabler and facilitator for Ministries of Defence willing to engage in collaborative capability projects, the Agency has become the ‘hub’ for European defence cooperation with expertise and networks allowing it to the whole spectrum of defence capabilities. 

Member States use EDA as an intergovernmental expert platform where their collaborative projects are supported, facilitated, and implemented. For more details, please see here.

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Mozart Group, an organisation of American volunteers who are training the Ukrainian army (IO, 12/01/23), is hanging its dirty laundry out

Nabil Barakat, the US agent of Jordanian-Palestinian origin who heads Wamar International and Oriole Capital Group (OCG), recently proposed working with Saudi Arabian

Anyone hoping to meet private investigators in London would be wise to head down to the Fitzroy Tavern for a

It's been all go at Russia's Federal Customs Service, the FTS, ever since its officers were ordered to rethink Russia's

In early January, the US cyber-intelligence company Two Six Technologies opened a recruitment programme to bring in a team of

Mohammed Al Numani, the head of Oman's Royal Office, sent a delegation of intelligence officers to Sana'a to meet Houthi

Americas According to news reports in Israel, the United States had approached Israel to release its stockpile of MIM-23 HAWK air defense missiles and transfer them to Ukraine. But the head of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s political-Military Bureau, Dror Shalom, reportedly told the Pentagon that Israel has not changed its policy of not sending weapons […]

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Ministers outlined the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Fisheries
Committee on Regional Development
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP