Defence`s Feeds

The Italian company Cy4Gate announced in early November that it had obtained a NATO Commercial and Governmental Entity Code (NCAGE),

The German-British Gamma Group will host a conference on disinformation entitled ""Propaganda 4.0: is fake news really so new? A

The German company Secunet has recently obtained a €37m contract to supply secure computers and software to handle data classified

How to Get a College Degree While Serving Active Duty in the Army

Preliminary inquiry documents in the Leonardo hack suggest hackers were targeting nEUROn drone, C-27J and ATR-72 documents. For almost two years, between May 2015 and January 2017, the IT infrastructure of Leonardo, the Italian multinational [...]

The post Leonardo Hack Allegedly Targeted Details Of nEUROn UCAV Program appeared first on The Aviationist.

This video from a U.S. Navy pilot really gives an idea of the amount of mental focus required to perform a trap landing on an aircraft carrier. Rob Roy is an active duty U.S. Navy [...]

The post Watch This: U.S. Navy Pilot Doesn’t Even Blink While Flying The Ball All The Way To Touchdown On Aircraft Carrier appeared first on The Aviationist.

Two T-345 trainers in the colors of the 61° Stormo (Wing) have been delivered to the Italian Air Force. The first two new Leonardo T-345 trainer aircraft (local designation of the M-345), were delivered to [...]

The post First Two T-345 Trainers Delivered To The Italian Air Force appeared first on The Aviationist.

In an unusually public incident, last month a bailiff marched into Mayfair's Windmill pub, popular with commodities traders, and served

Alban Giraud-Morel, a pillar of Erys Group's international operations for many years and former member of the French foreign ministry's

Crux Strategies, which was registered in the French Alpine resort of Chamonix at the end of November, is a new

Among the many highlights of EDA’s recent Annual Conference (see other news) was certainly the high-level panel discussion on ‘Increasing European defence cooperation in times of crisis’, featuring the Greek Minister of Defence, Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, and Nathalie Loiseau, the Chair the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE). The interesting and animated debate, which can be reviewed here, was moderated by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý.

Welcoming the timely focus on 'Sustaining European Defence' (the topic of this year's Annual Conference), Nikólaos Panayotópoulos recalled Member States’ commitment, reflected in the Council conclusions of November 2016, to strengthening the Union’s ability to act as a security provider and to enhance the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as an essential part of the Union’s external action. “This means, in particular, that we need a more integrated and coherent approach across our different policies, internal and external, to better pursue our strategic interests, through international cooperation”, the Greek Defence Minister said, adding: “Member States should make full use of the EU defence initiatives and deepen their embedding in the national defence planning in order to achieve a better consistency between one another and reach strategic autonomy”.

The fact that nine PESCO projects have already received financial support under the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) is a positive development showing that the initiatives work, he said. Greece received funding approval from EDIDP for two PESCO projects it leads (‘Cyber Threats & Incident Response Information Sharing Platform’ and ‘Upgrade of Maritime Surveillance’). “This is a clear evidence of the coherence between the initiatives”. In the Minister’s view, enhanced cooperation and joint capability development among EU countries will not only improve Europe’s defence capabilities, but also help reinforce its industrial base and technological capacity “which is a fundamental aspect of EU strategic autonomy”. “I believe that spending more on defence will also strengthen the economic recovery. As the European Defence Agency has already indicated, EU countries should spend more on defence research and technology”, Mr Panayotópoulos stated: “We should sustain the trend of increasing national defence expenditures towards 2% of the GDP. I am proud that Greece not only fulfills but is about to exceed its commitment on annual defence spending”. 

The Minister also defended the EU’s operation IRINI in the Mediterranean (enforcement of the UN arms embargo on Libya) as a “question of political will and political courage”. People throughout Europe must understand that it is not a threat against one or two Member States, but against the entire Union. “Greece, precisely for this reason, and despite the challenges and provocations at our eastern sea and land borders and the Covid-19 outbreak, is substantially contributing to the Operation in terms of personnel and assets”, he explained. The Minister called for “unity and solidarity” among all EU countries. “We cannot discuss on strengthening our operational engagement and reinforcing our resilience without ensuring solidarity between us. Through the recent threat analysis we made a first step within the process of Strategic Compass to better understand and share a perception of threats, thus moving to the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy. We have common threats and need common responses”. EU-NATO cooperation is a “key partnership” which we should reinforce, while our commitment to work with the UN in the field of security and defence should be enhanced, he said.

Nathalie Loiseau, the Chair of the SEDE committee, shared Mr Panayotópoulos’ positive assessment on the progress made on EU defence cooperation. There is indeed a “clear, common and shared ambition in the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament to enhance the efforts towards a European defence”, Ms Loiseau said, adding: “We have done more for EU defence in the last four years than we did in the previous four decades”. In a world that is becoming less predictable and more dangerous, “soft power is not enough”, she stressed (Greek Minister Panayotópoulos strongly agreed with her on this point: “In terms of soft power, the Europe is a superpower. In terms of hard power, it is lagging behind”, he said). Therefore, European countries need to enhance their defence capabilities, and cooperation is the best and most efficient way to do this. The EU’s new defence toolbox (CARD, PESCO, EDF) is in place and this is “very encouraging”, but everyone must admit that this is only the first step and that there is still some room for improvements, Ms Loiseau said. In particular, PESCO projects must become “more focused”. Improvements are also needed when it comes to EU CSDP missions and operation which often face problems during the force generation phase and whose mandates are “not always as strong as they should be”. Here, Member States need to show more commitment and “combine words with deeds”, Ms Loiseau urged. 

Regarding the debate about EU strategic autonomy, Ms Loiseau felt it was somewhat “overstated” because “no one is denying the importance of NATO” for Europe’s defence. What Europe wants is to become a more credible transatlantic and strategic partner, which is meant to be complementary with NATO.  “I strongly believe we need to revive NATO because NATO has to adapt (…) and we need to strengthen European strategic autonomy because NATO is not enough and will never be”, Ms Loiseau said.
 

More information

• Opening speech Head of Agency HR/VP Josep Borrell
• Keynote Speech Commissioner Thierry Breton (via video message)
• Full recording of EDA Annual Conference 2020 – Day 1 / Day 2 (not edited)

The Boeing’s Loyal Wingman completed high-speed taxi test at RAAF Woomera Airfield. Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have completed the first high-speed taxi test of the Airpower Teaming System (ATS) unmanned [...]

The post Boeing’s Loyal Wingman In New High-Visibility Paint Job Completes First High-Speed Taxi Test appeared first on The Aviationist.

A virtual conference on future Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects organised on 6 December by the Chinese TV network

According to our sources, the Turkish authorities have put forward the International Investment Bank (IIB) several times recently for public-private

According to our sources, Synutra France, the French subsidiary of China's Synutra International, signed a cooperation agreement on 17 November

Americas

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works won a $23.9 million contract modification to exercise options for the accomplishment of planning yard efforts such as engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for DDG-1000 class destroyers post-delivery and in-service life-cycle support. The Zumwalt Class is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea. Work will take place in Maine and California. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.

The US Army and Clemson University announced a partnership to study conversion of Bradley tanks and armored personnel carriers to autonomous use. The study for the conversion of existing Army equipment to self-driving vehicles is enabled by an $18 million Defense Department grant in the school’s Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems, and a partnership between the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, Clemson University announced. The multi-year project will involve 60 faculty members in seven engineering disciplines, and will focus on autonomy-enabled ground vehicles, including digital engineering, next-generation propulsion and energy systems, and manned and unmanned teaming in unknown off-road environments.

Middle East & Africa

A community that connects the innovation, technology, and business ecosystems of Israel and the UAE was launched last week. The establishment of the UAE-IL Tech Zone, the first community of its kind, follows the signing of the Abraham Accords by the two counties. The tech zone is said to already include more than 1,000 people in the business, innovation and technology sectors, investors, developers, and government entities from both countries. The community connects investors and entrepreneurs from both countries and helps Israeli entrepreneurs deepen their understanding of the business and innovation culture in the UAE, said Start-Up Nation Central, an independent nonprofit organization that builds bridges to Israeli innovation.

Europe

The Hungarian Air Force has taken delivery of 16 H145M helicopters that it ordered. A total of twenty helicopters were ordered. Four Zlin light training aircraft were also delivered recently. The H145Ms of the Hungarian fleet are equipped with a fast roping system, high-performance camera, dual cargo hook, hoist, disaster management kit, ballistic protection as well as an electronic countermeasures system to support the most demanding operational requirements.

An old Swedish submarine was relaunched after a 12-month mid-life upgrade, defense contractor Saab announced. The HMS Uppland, the second in the Gotland class of three submarines, had 50 new systems installed or modified, including installation of an Optronic Mast to replace a periscope. Some of the new systems will be used on the planned Blekinge class of vessels, next-generation submarines to replace the Gotland class. The HMS Uppland was returned to the Swedish Navy’s Defense Materiel Administration in a ceremony this week in Karlskrona, Sweden. At 198 feet in length, it is powered by two diesel and two Stirling electrical engines, and carries torpedoes and external mines.

Asia-Pacific

CFM International won a $28.5 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure two P-8A Poseidon CFM56-7B27AE engines for the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The P-8A Poseidon has advanced sensors and mission systems, including a state-of-the-art multi-role radar, high definition cameras, and an acoustic system with four times the processing capacity of the AP-3C Orions. In July, the Australian Government had signed a new deal with Boeing Defense to deliver support services and provide advanced surveillance and response capabilities to the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

Today’s Video

Watch: 4K??? Airbus H145M Light Attack & Battlefield Support Helicopter Flight Demonstration

For the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the legendary F-14 Tomcat, we get a look at how its legacy is still carried on by aviation enthusiasts using today’s technology. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat [...]

The post DCS World Players Recreated The First Two Air-to-Air Engagements Of The F-14 Tomcat appeared first on The Aviationist.

We celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary F-14 Tomcat with an intense story from the cockpit of a 2 vs UNKNOWN engagement during Week Two at “Topgun”, the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School. On [...]

The post “Fox One, lead A-4, 18,000 feet”: Join An F-14 Tomcat RIO During An Air Combat Training Mission At Topgun appeared first on The Aviationist.

Igor Morozov, the senator for the region of Riazan, chaired a new meeting before a group of experts on Russian

Recent clashes in northern Iraqi Kurdistan between Peshmergas and fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which led to the