EDA News

A new report from the European Economic and Social Committee has called for closer European defence cooperation, calling the arguments in its favour "overwhelming", and asking for a “radical” change of mindset.

The consortium in charge of D-FUSE (Data Fusion in Urban Sensor Networks) organised a dissemination workshop on 6-7 March 2012, at Delft, in the Netherlands. This event was be based on demonstrations to illustrate the innovations achieved during the first two years of the project.

The details of the programme may be found here. Posters are available here:

• Poster 1 - Data fusion for low level air-space
• Poster 2 - Anomaly Detection in Urban Sensor Networks
• Poster 3 - Association of Sparse Sensor Data
• Poster 4 - Context data added value for situation awareness
• Poster 5 - Sensor Network Configuration Optimization
• Poster 6 - Quantity or Quality?

D-FUSE is an R&T Project contracted by the EDA on behalf of Member States contributing to the Joint Investment Program on Force Protection.

The Swedish Armed Forces invited EDA participating Member States as well as other countries to the first European Personnel Recovery Operations and Plans Course in Karlsborg, 7-18 March 2011. Course participants came from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. In addition to the Swedish instructors, Canada, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States additionally sent observers and instructors to Karlsborg.

The intensive two-week course aimed at enabling participants to prepare, plan and execute Personnel Recovery Operations. “This course is indeed very helpful for our operational planning. The instructors are very experienced and motivated”, said course participant First Lieutenant Jos Tijs from the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Major Tor Cavalli-Björkman, a Swedish Instructor, is convinced: “We all benefit tremendously from this international information exchange. I would like to stress that this initiative will increase the number of trained personnel available to support on-going operations as well as EU Battle Group.”

The initiative to standardise Personnel Recovery training emerged from the Project Team Personnel Recovery in the European Defence Agency (EDA) at the end of November 2010. Jon Mullin, Capabilities Director at EDA, stated: “I am most grateful that Sweden agreed to offer the first EU opportunity of this kind and hosted it so successfully at its Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School. This initiative will significantly boost Personnel Recovery capabilities in Europe.”

A Belgian officer said “The course could not come at a better time, given the obvious requirements we have witnessed in the press regarding the events in North Africa during the past few weeks.”

Personnel Recovery is aimed at mitigating and reacting to the risk of isolation, capture and exploitation of military or civilian personnel during a Crisis Management Operation (CMO). The Personnel Recovery Course, envisaged to be held regularly by various host nations, is one of several results of the respective Project Team at EDA. Other initiatives include a Personnel Recovery Concept, a personnel registration tool and the preparation of joint procurement of Personnel Recovery Equipment in the future.

The European Defence Agency was established in 2004 to support the participating Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as well as pooling efforts and resources in the development of transformed, interoperable and cost-effective armed forces.

Mr. William J. Lynn, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, with Ms. Claude-France Arnould, EDA's Chief Executive, upon arrival, at the Agency.

 

Mr. Lynn (below, on the right), and Mr. William E. Kennard, the U.S. Ambassador to the EU (at his side), meeting the European Defence Agency Management Board.

 

Visit of the EU Military Committee to EDA

On 29 October, Carlo Magrassi, EDA's Deputy Chief Executive Strategies, delivered a speech at Defensys'10.

Keynote Address by Adam Sowa, Deputy Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, at the ACT Industry Day, 5-6 October, Prague.

EDA held a Biological Equipment Development and Enhancement Programme symposium, hosted by the French Ministry of Defence, from 10 – 11 May 2010 in the Military School, Paris, France.

Wise Pen Team report on Maritime Surveillance (MARSUR)

EDA will be present at the Festival of Europe, on Saturday 8 May 2010.

EDA’s Chief Executive, Alexander Weis, delivered a speech at the “Défense et Stratégie” Conference on “L’Europe puissance navale”. During the third roundtable, dedicated to a powerful industry as a condition for a European naval power, Alexander Weis has expressed EDA’s views on the naval European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, underlining the efforts needed in this domain.

EDA announces the conclusion of Project STAMP

On 9 October 2009, the EDA Steering Board in National Armaments Directors formation approved “Guidelines for facilitating SMEs’ access to the defence market”.

The European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Member States France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden (as lead nation) have signed a Project Arrangement on the MID-air Collision Avoidance System (MIDCAS) at the Paris Air Show on 17 June 2009

The European Defence Agency (EDA) signed the contract on the Studies for Integrated Multifunction Compact Lightweight Airborne Radars and Systems (SIMCLAIRS) on 31 March 2009, an ad-hoc category B project, with a consortium consisting of national industrial companies from three EDA participating Member States: France, Sweden and United Kingdom. The consortium consists of four European companies, all of which have already been successfully involved in past and present airborne radar and equipment development in Europe

European Union governments today endorsed a Capability Development Plan (CDP) defining the future military needs and priorities of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and agreed to use it to guide future national defence investment decisions and to seek opportunities to collaborate so as to address their short-to-longer-term military requirements coherently

In the simplest terms, EDA is the “back office” for the European Security and Defence Policy – ESDP. Its task is to improve the military capabilities needed to carry out ESDP operations

The European Defence Agency welcomes the efforts of the European Commission to further support the development of a true European Defence Equipment Market (EDEM). The Defence Package published today is complementary to the Agency’s own agenda for creating a more effective EDEM and a stronger European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).

European Union Defence Ministers today welcomed a Long-Term Vision report from the European Defence Agency, designed to serve as a compass for defence planners as they develop the military capabilities the European Security and Defence Policy will require over the next twenty years in an increasingly challenging environment

Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, in his capacity as Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA), today announced the appointment of Mr. Lo Casteleijn as Chair for meetings of the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency when it meets at the level of National Defence Planners and Policy Directors responsible for Capabilities.