Defence`s Feeds

Key Points A CMS software upgrade is among several new fits for the UK Type 45 destroyers, with HMS Defender first to receive these modifications Defender is also the first Type 45 to go through the latest full upkeep maintenance and modification process The UK Royal Navy (RN) Type 45 air-defence

Key Points This position marks a significant shift in US sanctions enforcement policy; during the 2012–15 sanctions period under former US president Barack Obama’s administration, the importers of Iranian crude oil qualified for waivers from US sanctions if they demonstrated

The Swiss Federal Council approved a measure on 27 June that will see domestic defence supplier RUAG split into two separate entities. The company, which is owned by the Swiss state, is to be divided according to its customer focus, with the portion that provides the Swiss armed forces with

Singapore and the United Kingdom have renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on co-operative defence research (CDR) that will last for the next 10 years, according to a 28 June statement by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). Under the renewed MOU – which was signed the

Turkey’s Defence Technologies Engineering and Trade Co (Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret (STM)) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Brazil’s BrasFELS shipyard to bid on the Brazilian Navy's Tamandaré-class corvette (CCT) programme, STM tweeted on

The Australian government has praised the commitment of defence company Lockheed Martin to its domestic industry following the release on 28 June of a report on the company’s economic contribution authored by accountants KPMG. The report, commissioned to assess the extent and impact of

The Azerbaijani military displayed a Roketsan SOM cruise missile for the first time during its annual parade in Baku on 26 June. This is the first known export of the SOM, which Roketsan says has a range of more than 250 km with a high explosive/blast fragmentation warhead weighing approximately

BAE Systems has won an AUD35 billion (USD25.9 billion) competition to provide Australia with nine next-generation, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates for the country’s largest peace-time warship building programme. Formally announcing the selection of the company’s 6,900-tonne Type

The Brazilian Navy commissioned the multi-purpose helicopter carrier PHM Atlantico (A140) on 29 June in the United Kingdom. The ship, formerly the UK Royal Navy's HMS Ocean (L12), was purchased by the Brazilian Navy through a BRL381.081 million (USD98.76 million) deal on 19 February. HMS Ocean was

Indian naval shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has unveiled its design concept for the Brazilian Navy’s Tamandaré-class corvette programme. The Kolkata-based shipyard has teamed with Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd for the supply of combat systems and local firm

The US State Department has approved a possible USD860.4 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Spain of five Aegis Weapons Systems (AWS), the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 26 June. Spain has requested equipment including five AWS Mk 7s, five Mk 99 MOD 14 fire control

A UK Royal Air Force (RAF) C-130J-30 has been written off in Iraq after being seriously damaged in a heavy landing during an apparent special forces mission. The previously undisclosed incident took place last August during the height of coalition operations against the so-called Islamic State (IS)

The US Navy (USN) awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding unit a USD200.4 million undefinitised fixed-price, incentive firm target modification on 28 June for the purchase of additional long-lead time material for Ford-class aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80). Work

Hollywood Has Been Rife with Top Gun Rumors. Here Are the Most Recent Ones. Three actors have been tipped by Hollywood insiders as top choices to play the son of LTJG Nick “Goose” Bradshaw in the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick” slated for release in July, 2019. Entertainment industry news outlet CinemaBlend.com writer Nick Evans, reported […]

U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C “Triton” belonging to the Unmanned Patrol Squadron One Nine (VUP-19) DET Point Mugu conducted first flight from Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu. On Jun. 27, VUP-19 DET Point Mugu launched its first MQ-4C “Triton” UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) from Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu. Based on the photographs […]

The EDA Steering Board in Capability Directors formation today endorsed the 2018 Capability Development Plan and approved the associated EU Capability Development Priorities as a key reference for Member States’ and EU’s capability development initiatives. The Plan and its Priorities will be instrumental in identifying future cooperative activities irrespective of the chosen cooperation framework, including under PESCO and the European Defence Fund (EDF).

“Since 2016, the European defence project has picked up speed. Based on the 2016 EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, several initiatives have been launched to reinforce defence cooperation: the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and the European Defence Fund (EDF). Today’s adopted EU Capability Development Priorities serve as their benchmark to ensure that their combined outcome will be a more coherent set of deployable, interoperable, sustainable capabilities and forces”, says Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA).

The Capability Development Plan (CDP) provides a full capability picture that supports decision-making processes at EU and national level regarding military capability development, thus contributing to increased coherence between Member States’ defence planning. It addresses security and defence challenges from the perspective of European capability development, looks at the future operational environment and defines EU Capability Development Priorities agreed by Member States.

The revised 2018 CDP has been developed in the framework of the European Defence Agency (EDA) in close cooperation with Member States and reflects key contributions from the EU Military Committee and the EU Military Staff.

The CDP is a shared EU reference informing national capability planners on capability requirements over time. Member States’ defence planners are encouraged to use it to identify priorities for capability improvement and opportunities for cooperation.

 

A more output oriented CDP

One of the novelties of the 2018 CDP is that it considers evolutions in the wider European security and defence environment taking into account the necessity to counter hybrid threats and the adaptation to the new EU Level of Ambition agreed by Member States. The 2018 Plan also looks at the entire spectrum of capability development and underpins the identification of cooperative activities that can be implemented by Member States in the cooperation framework of their choice.

The 2018 CDP is output oriented and this will be further reinforced by the development of Strategic Context Cases as of the second half of 2018, with a view to support Member States in the implementation of the 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities.

Subsequently the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) will help operationalising the CDP by reviewing Member States’ implementation of the 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities and by identifying additional opportunities for cooperation.

Finally, the coherence between capability, R&T and industrial domains will be reinforced by the interaction between the CDP, the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda, Key Strategic Activities and the engagement with industry.

 

The CDP Process

The CDP includes a capability shortfalls analysis from the CSDP perspective, as well as lessons learned from recent operations provided by the EU Military Committee. The mid-term dimension assesses the potential for cooperation for each capability. The CDP finally offers an assessment of future trends (2035 and beyond) and needs for each capability by linking long-term technology trends to future capability requirements and related R&T needs as well as industrial perspectives.

 

EU Capability Development Priorities

Based on the identified trends, information gathered from Member States, the EU Military Committee and the EU Military Staff, a set of EU Capability Development Priorities were proposed by EDA and agreed by Member States. On the one hand, they address main capability shortfalls for deployed operations (land, maritime and air capabilities as well as logistic and medical support) with a reinforced focus on high-end warfare. On the other hand, they also cover other national focus areas, such as the adaptation of military capabilities required for territorial defence and security or cyber defence.

The 2018 EU Capability Development Priorities cover the following lines of action:

• Enabling capabilities for cyber responsive operations
• Space-based information and communication services
• Information superiority
• 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
• Cross-domain capabilities contributing to achieve EU’s level of ambition

After today’s approval, EDA will start the preparatory work for the implementation of the 2018 Priorities, including through the elaboration of Strategic Context Cases. The Agency will also conduct bilateral training sessions with Member States in support of national defence planners as well as with the EU Military Staff, the European External Action Service and other stakeholders upon their request.

 

More information:

• Capability Development Plan Factsheet
• CDP capability trends 2035+

Today, six Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany and Latvia) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the pooling and sharing of their respective cyber ranges capabilities.  The signing, which took place at the EDA premises, is a first important outcome of EDA’s Cyber Ranges Federation Project launched in May 2017 in which a total of 11 EDA Member States participate. 

Cyber Ranges are key national facilities to develop and evaluate cyber defence capabilities and this MoU opens the way for the six MoU signatories to make their cyber ranges available for shared development activities and joint exercises by using the pooling and sharing arrangements developed through the EDA project. By doing so, the six countries not only bring into the Cyber Ranges Federation Project their cyber ranges assets but also their expertise and best practices in terms of cyber defence exercises and training. The MoU is therefore an important stepping stone on the path to enabling an effective sharing of cyber defence capabilities across the EU, and in line with the objectives of the EU’s Cyber Defence Policy Framework.

The MoU was signed by the Capability Directors of the six countries concerned:  Lt Gen Johann Luif (Austria), Maj Gen Philippe Boucke (Belgium), Ms. Tiina Uudeberg (Estonia), Lt. General Kim Jäämeri (Finland), Maj. Gen. Gerald Funke (Germany) and   Mr. Airis Rikveilis (Latvia). The ceremony was also attended by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq.
 

More information: 

• Cyber Ranges: EDA’s First Ever Cyber Defence Pooling & Sharing Project Launched By 11 Member States (EDA News, May 2017)
• Cyber Defence (EDA project page)
• Cyber Defence Factsheet

 

On 12 September 2018, the European Defence Agency (EDA) will organise the first ever Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) Conference in Europe. 

The conference will bring 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. The global dimension of the solutions at hand to resolve remaining shortfalls and the role of industry will also be debated.

Scheduled speakers include, among many others, the Defence Minister of Belgium, Steven Vandeput, the Chairman of the Aerial Refuelling Systems Advisory Group (ARSAG), General John Sams, a representative from NATO's Defence Investment Divison and the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Jorge Domecq.  

The conference is an INVITE ONLY event. Invitees are being contacted by EDA and asked to register on a specific conference portal. 

 
More information

• EDA to organize 1st AAR Conference in Europe (EDA events page)
• AAR EDA project page
• AAR EDA factsheet

Key Points The USAF is considering ending the LAE after a fatal crash This could draw out a potential procurement of light attack aircraft The US Air Force (USAF) is considering ending its Light Attack Experiment (LAE) in New Mexico after a fatal crash on 22 June, according to a key officer.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) and its 27 national defence ministries agreed on a revised set of Capability Development Plan (CDP) priorities for the EU on 28 June, with new emphasis on counter-hybrid, ground combat and underwater “resilience at sea” capabilities. In contrast to