Defense`s Feeds

As the European Union’s Council and Commission Presidents hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington DC, the European Defence Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense are deepening transatlantic cooperation through broad cooperation.

At the last EU-US Summit in June 2021, EU and US leaders committed to working towards an Administrative Arrangement between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the US Department of Defense (DoD).

Based on the mandate from the Member States, EDA and the U.S. DoD signed their Administrative Arrangement in April 2023 following successful negotiations.

As highlighted by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who is also Head of the Agency, the EDA-U.S. DoD Administrative Arrangement provides another pillar to strengthen transatlantic cooperation and the link between the EU and the U.S.

Following the signing of the AA, the cooperation has been initiated in various work strands, namely

• Supply chains
• Standardisation
• Military mobility
• Chemical regulations, such as REACH
• The impact of climate change on defence

In addition to expert consultations, the AA foresees opportunities for high level dialogues with Member States. The first occurrence took place in late September 2023, when Michael Vaccaro, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy at the U.S. DoD, held informal talks on supply chain issues with the National Armament Directors of EU Member States, in a meeting chaired by EDA.

Last week, Dr. William LaPlante, the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and EDA’s Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý met to take stock of the implementation of the AA and continue the substantial defence dialogue on selected topics within the Agency’s area of expertise.

Both meetings provided an opportunity to take forward concrete cooperation within the AA.

As like-minded partners that share a commitment to a rules-based international order, particularly in support of Ukraine following Russia’s war of aggression, EDA and the U.S. Department of Defense are working through all areas of the AA to share information and deepen transatlantic defence cooperation at expert level.

For more information, please see here.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are gaining further prominence in the European defence landscape, with the European Defence Agency (EDA) placing a strong emphasis on their development and integration into the armed forces of its Member States. Supported by EDA, the second edition of the European Military Additive Manufacturing Symposium, heard how growing recognition of the importance of AM technologies needs to be matched by greater collaborative efforts to harness its full potential, especially regarding legal aspects and standardisation.  

Organised by the German Association for Defence Technology (DWT), the two-day symposium gathered over 250 experts from the armed forces, industry, SMEs and academia in an expanded format. The wide-ranging event covered on site in military operations, quality assurance, use cases, training, and AMs integration into the military logistics system. The event also gave focus to overcoming some of the persistent barriers to AM’s wide adaption within European armed forces.

In his opening address to the event, EDA Deputy Chief Executive, Andre Denk said: “Additive Manufacturing is a key enabling technology that has significant potential to improve Europe’s industrial competitiveness due to its ability for rapid, decentralised and flexible manufacturing. As European actors, we must ensure timely technological research as well as the development of high-end military capabilities in the Additive Manufacturing domain.”

“At EDA we have transformed our work on Additive Manufacturing from research and technology to capability development. In support of our Member States, we have launched a set of initiatives and activities that will take our work on Additive Manufacturing even further”, he added.

The event also heard how the war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of agile logistics and the rapid repair of equipment, where Ukraine's Armed Forces use 3D printers to manufacture critical repair parts close to the point of need. This adaptability and integration of equipment is a model that EU member states could explore to enhance the resilience of their supply chains. One of the key messages from the event called for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to consider AM technology in the designing phase of military assets, to take full advantage of AM potential in future.

AM as a Key EU Capability

EDA has long recognised the importance of AM technologies in enhancing the sustainability and agility of defence logistics. Sustainable and agile logistics are essential for the projection, sustainment, and effectiveness of forces, requiring the development of future-generation logistic systems and the implementation of new technical solutions. AM capabilities are expected to reduce the EU's military logistic footprint, ultimately supporting combat maintenance.

To this end EDA representatives led several expert focused sessions on integration of AM into the logistic system of armed forces, evolving opportunities in R&T development and quailty assurance and qualification.

Background: EDA's work on AM: From research to capability

EDA has been actively working on AM technologies for several years. Initiating with a feasibility study in 2018, EDA explored the potential of AM to enhance logistic capabilities. Over the years, EDA has made significant strides in transferring research and technology work on AM to capability development.

One of the initiatives that EDA is undertaking is the Additive Manufacturing for Logistic Support (AMLS) project. AMLS focuses on determining common standards for the use of AM solutions within armed forces and facilitating mutual logistic support.

Additionally, EDA manages the Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED), which seeks to bring circular economy principles into European defence. The “Circular Additive Manufacturing” Project Circle has incubated three project ideas to further reduce the environmental impact of armed forces, by enhancing circularity in the use of AM.

EDA conducts various studies on legal aspects, IT-based frameworks, and common training and education related to AM. These studies aim to enhance the harmonization and effectiveness of AM deployment in military contexts. EDA also organizes events and workshops related to AM, such as the Additive Manufacturing Village – a five-day capability workshop - which brought together AM experts from military, industry, and academia.

Americas Argentina has officially signed an agreement to acquire four P-3 aircraft from Norway. The signing ceremony, held on October 17, marks a pivotal moment in Argentina’s efforts to enhance its maritime defense and resource protection. The signing event, attended by key officials from both Argentina and Norway, saw the presence of Argentina’s Minister of […]

Americas General Dynamics subsidiary NASSCO has been awarded a $15.6-million maintenance and modernization contract for two Arleigh Burke-Class destroyers, USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). The contract could reach $753.8 million for future development of the ships. Modernization efforts include installing the Raytheon AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite. Work for the two destroyers […]

Americas AAR Government Services won an $87.4 million modification, which exercises an option to provide P-8A Poseidon aircraft depot scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, depot in-service repair/planner and estimator requirements, technical directive incorporation, airframe modifications, aircraft on ground support, and removal and replacement of engines in support of the Navy, the government of Australia, and Foreign […]

Americas Mills Marine and Ship Repair LLC won a $48.5 million deal to support in-service Carriers Refueling Complex Overhaul fire watch support for the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Refueling and Complex Overhaul availabilities. This contract will include the identification of fire hazards and the safe response […]

Americas Stratolaunch, LLC, a leading aerospace company, has announced a significant partnership with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to support the upcoming maiden flight test of their second reusable cutting-edge Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle, TA-3. The Talon-A vehicles, when launched from “Roc,” the world’s largest flying aircraft, serve as rocket-powered, autonomous testbeds. They […]

Americas The US State Department has cleared the transfer of 24 F-16s from Denmark to Argentina. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security in the State Department, Mira Resnick, delivered the letter approving the transfer to Jorge Argüello, Argentina’s ambassador to United States on October 11. Also cleared was the transfer of four P-3 maritime patrol […]

Americas Fidelity Technologies won an $18.7 million deal for the design and procurement of a UH-60M flight simulator. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Slovakia, with an estimated completion date of September 13, 2027. UH-60 Black Hawk is a multi-mission helicopter developed by Sikorsky that has been […]

Americas The US decision to step up military support for Israel after the surprise assault by Hamas will not harm Washington’s ability to keep arming Ukraine, its NATO envoy said on Tuesday. “On the question of whether or not US support for Israel could possibly come at the expense of US support for Ukraine — […]

Americas The US Marine Corps finished the first flight of its XQ-58A Valkyrie military aerial drone at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The test is part of the Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer – Portfolio (PAACK-P) initiative, a program seeking an “agile, expeditionary, and lethal” drone to support the marines and the joint force in austere […]

Americas Raytheon has tested its Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radar for the US Army in New Mexico. The trial was part of a $384-million deal signed in 2019 for six LTAMDS to replace older radars of the service’s Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.In July 2022, Raytheon received a $354-million contract to provide the army with […]

Americas The US Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $39 million contract to develop a command and control software prototype for an air base air defense system. Raytheon will develop the Battle Management Command and Control (BC3) software tested on a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System in 2022. The prototype employs artificial intelligence and machine learning […]

The European Defence Agency (EDA)  hosted experts from the Ministries of Defence of participating Member States for in-depth discussion on the latest developments of REACH with representatives from the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency, the European Space Agency, the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), as well as national defence industry associations and individual EU defence companies.

The European Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), along with other relevant EU regulations on chemicals and waste regulations, holds significant implications for the defence sector. In line with the current regulatory agenda at EU level, and given the impacts foreseen on the operational capabilities of participating Member States’ Armed Forces and the competitiveness and innovation of the EU defence industry, the main topics of discussion at this year’s plenary meeting were the REACH revision, the use of Chromium VI substances under REACH after the annulment of the CTACSub authorisation decision, and the REACH restriction proposals for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

With the participation of more than 60 experts, this annual event proved again this year to be a great opportunity for the EU defence community to build a common understanding of recent REACH developments in order to ensure that the objectives of this EU regulation are met, and to identify coordinated actions and best practices for the future. At the same time, the insights gained from this open debate will enable EDA, in its role of interfacing with EU defence stakeholders on wider EU policies, to provide the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency with the relevant messages and proposals to mitigate the impacts for the defence sector.

Background

EDA has been addressing REACH and its defence implications since 2009. The Agency’s work in this field is currently guided by the EDA REACH Roadmap 2021-2023 which was adopted by Member States in 2021 and contains a comprehensive list of activities. In addition to REACH, this roadmap also covers activities related to other related EU chemicals and waste regulations on the basis of the outcome of 2021 EDA study.

EDA closely engages with and regularly invites key stakeholders to EDA REACH meetings, such as the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency, the European Space Agency and EU defence industry (under the overarching comprehensive EDA approach on industry engagement), in order to facilitate closer and more transparent interaction on defence-related REACH issues, which is seen as an important success factor for EDA’s work in this field.

More information

EDA REACH Activities

Americas General Dynamics won a $967.2 million modification for lead yard support and development studies and design efforts related to Virginia Class submarines. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut; McLeansville, North Carolina; Newport News, Virginia; and Newport and Quonset, Rhode Island, and is expected to be completed by October 2024. The US Navy has […]

Americas Design West won a $21 million modification to exercise options to procure launch sequencers and associated kitted material in support of the MK 41 Vertical Launching System. This modification combines purchases for the Navy; and the governments of Finland, Australia, Germany, Norway, Canada, and the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) […]

Americas The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory won a $2 billion deal for technical and engineering support necessary to maintain and sustain the Trident II Strategic Weapon System Mark 6 Guidance Subsystem and support the strategic guidance, navigation, and control research and development efforts required to enable follow-on, full-scale development of the Mark 7 Guidance Subsystem, […]

Seven EU Member States have placed orders with European industry through the European Defence Agency’s fast-track joint procurement scheme for 155mm ammunition. More orders, for instance for national replenishment purposes, could materialise in the coming weeks and months. 

High Representative Josep Borrell, who is also Head of the European Defence Agency, said: “We have put an ambitious framework in place to support joint procurement of ammunition – to replenish stocks and to support Ukraine. The European Defence Agency played a crucial role in this endeavour. Several Member States are buying 155-mm artillery ammunition together, thanks to the contracts negotiated by the EDA with the European defence industry. More are expected. We need this for Ukraine, but also for the EU. Joint procurement is the best way to spend better more efficiently and effectively together. This is a new step towards a more coordinated and capable EU defence.”  

EDA’s Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said: “This is proof of the confidence placed in EDA and in European defence collaboration. Joint procurement is the best option to support Member States in purchasing ammunition according to their national needs or for Ukraine. It also sends a strong signal to industry, showing the EU’s commitment to the European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB).” 

The EDA’s fast-track for 155mm ammunition covers all-up-rounds and elements thereof (fuses, projectiles, charges, primer) for four different, modern firing platforms designed and produced in Europe (France’s Caesar, Poland’s Krab, Germany’s Panzerhaubitze 2000 and Slovakia’s Zuzana) and most used by the Ukrainian armed forces.  

Nine framework contracts with industry are currently in place. The seven Member States’ orders, signed for both all-up-rounds and elements, are eligible for European Peace Facility reimbursement. EDA cannot divulge contractual details at this stage. 

The EDA fast-track procedure for joint procurement was set up in record time, allowing for the tendering process to be simplified, and contracts finalised at short notice. It has been designed to reach the whole EDTIB, including both major companies as well as subcontractors, to provide Member States with flexible options and to speed up deliveries.  

Three-track approach 

Joint procurement is the best option to achieve cost reduction through economies of scale and interoperability. The overarching EDA project arrangement has been signed by 26 Member States and Norway. Flexible and inclusive, it allows all EDA Member States to join the initiative.

EDA’s joint procurement efforts are part of a three-track approach to deliver more artillery ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, agreed by the Council of the EU in March 2023. 

Through these three tracks, the EU is supporting Member States to deliver artillery ammunition and missiles from national stockpiles, to aggregate demand and jointly procure 155mm ammunition, and to ramp up the production capacity of the European defence industry. 

EDA’s wider role

EDA supports all EU 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 spanning 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. 

The European Defence Agency has overseen the final demonstration of coordination between aerial and ground unmanned systems in the detection of explosives. 

During the demonstration, one aerial unmanned system and two ground unmanned systems, each equipped with different sensors, undertook a complete autonomous search to detect mock-ups of explosives and improvised explosive devices, including unexploded ordinance – both in rural and urban areas. The demonstration took place on 7 September 2023 in Belgium at the bomb detection centre DOVO/SEDEE.  

The €1.55 million project, Artificial Intelligence for Detection of Explosive Devices, or AIDED, was granted funding through the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) in the 2019 call. PADR is a precursor to the European Defence Fund (EDF), of which the European Commission has overall responsibility. Monitored by EDA, AIDED is managed by a consortium of four entities, including Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and headed by the Belgian SME Space Applications Services.  

September’s demonstration shows the maturity of the system so far, reaching a Technology Readiness Level of three-to-four. While that TRL was the goal, it also means the technology still needs to be taken further to ensure it is fool-proof. 

Powerful laser beam

Different sensors were used for the demonstration and there was a specific focus on each of them. The sensors used for detection were: 

• The EMI (EM metal detector); the Ground Penetrating Radar for  more accuracy – although it is sensitive to the movements of the carrier; the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, using a powerful laser beam to create a small plasma of the area to be analysed by a spectrometer; and a bigger sensor used for final identification.
• Neural networks were trained for each type of sensor signal processing, based on labelled data sets acquired during the project. Labelling the detections by the different sensors was an important part of the trials, and although time consuming, it was a major step in showing the improvements made by the AI algorithms. 
• Other sensors were used for localization and mapping algorithms for robot navigation and to cope with situations such as in an environment where the Global Positioning System was denied or degraded. 

The consortium faced issues such as the sensitivity of some sensors to soil humidity and to the movements of the carrier, the sensitivity of the systems to high temperatures and the precision of the navigation. The consortium showed their 'detect and avoid' system for avoiding collision between the UAV flying at very low altitude for good detection and the UGVs. 

Next steps - 'AIDEDex'

Overall the demonstration, as part of the project’s concluding phase, showed how artificial intelligence can be used effectively in several aspects in an unmanned systems operational environment such as mission planning, self navigation, team working and last but not least explosive devices detection, tasks that have been performed autonomously with minimal human intervention.  

A follow-up project, known as AIDEDex, has been selected from the European Defence Fund 2022 call and will take further the efforts on unmanned ground and aerial systems for hidden threat detection. The project will have a duration of 48 months with six partners from five EU Member states.

EDA’s wider role

EDA supports all EU 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 spanning 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. 

The only dedicated European exercise for the C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft launches today for two weeks of intensive joint training. Now in its seventh edition, the ‘European Spartan Exercise’ will take place at 90th airlift base - Otopeni, Romania with four participating nations: Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Lithuania. In this edition, the European Spartan Exercise will be tailored to the Tactical air transport including air Medevac.

The European Spartan Exercise brings together three C-27J’s and around 150 personnel and will run from 2-12 October and marking the second time Romania has hosted the exercise. The core planning team composed of personnel from participating nations and the EDA already began work on 27 September for final preparations of the exercise. All planning cells include a representative of the participating nations, while medical personnel will plan dedicated missions for medical evacuation.

Tactical training

The C-27J Spartan transport aircraft is designed to perform tactical missions in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, providing direct air transport to the theatre, day and night. The Spartan Exercise is also focused on peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, training C-27J crews to fly low level tactical navigation in different scenarios. The second week of the exercise will be dedicated to Tactical Medevac activities. Several airfields in Romania have been chosen for training with crews due to perform tactical approaches, material (CDS) and personnel airdrops, also using unprepared runway and short airfield for take-off and landing.

European C-27J community

This annual flying exercise, which is part of the EDA’s dedicated C-27J project that gathers five participating Member States that are C-27J users (the four afore-mentioned countries plus Slovakia), works to identify and develop common projects in the domains of operations, training, logistics, procurement, airworthiness and Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) to achieve a high level of interoperability and cost-efficient operating and maintenance models.

EDA’s wider role 

EDA supports all EU 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 spanning 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.