Defense`s Feeds

The European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference 2020 entitled 'Sustaining European Defence’ was opened this morning by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý. As exceptional circumstances (Covid pandemic) require exceptional measures, this year’s conference is held in online format with a very broad audience representing the whole European defence spectrum (governments, armed forces, industry, EU institutions, NATO, think tanks and media) connected remotely to listen to speeches and panel discussions and also actively take part in debates through interactive Q&A sessions. 

The conference is split in two parts: while the first one, held this morning, primarily dealt with operational and industrial aspects, the second part tomorrow (4 December) will focus on political and strategic questions. Among the speakers will be, inter alia, the Head of the Agency, High Representative Josep Borrell, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană and European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
 

"We need more cooperation in defence"

In his welcome, EDA Chief Jiří Šedivý said the conference, at the end of a particularly challenging year, was coming at the “right moment” as the Covid-19 crisis had not only revealed risks and vulnerabilities but also the clear necessity to further enhance security and defence cooperation to make Europe stronger in the future. Since the required cooperation tools are already all in place (CARD, PESCO and the precursor programmes of the European Defence Fund), they should now be used to the fullest extent, Mr Šedivý stressed. The message of the first CARD report presented by EDA to Defence Ministers two weeks ago could not have been clearer: “We need more cooperation in defence. And we need the political will and the urgency” to turn Europe into a more credible and more autonomous security provider, as pledged in the EU Global Strategy in 2016. So far, most Member States have not yet made full use of the common instruments which explains why the European capability landscape continues to suffer from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement. These findings, clearly confirmed by the CARD findings, “are not new. What is new is the method how we retrieved them. Today we have clear evidence. And we should use it to change our approach towards European defence”, Mr Šedivý urged.
 

German EU Presidency

In his Presidency speech, German Defence State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer recalled the main defence-related objective of the ongoing German EU Presidency: “Strengthening the EU in the area of security and defence”. In the current Coivid-19 crisis, “we need, more than ever, stand together in the EU, unified by a clear vision regarding our values, interests and ambitions. Our citizens expect a strong EU. An EU that protects and defends them in the face of any current and future crisis”, he said. Despite some progress in deepening the EU´s CSDP over the past years, “the ongoing crisis has revealed not only strengths but also weaknesses in our system”. Hence the need for Europe to focus on two core issues. “First, the EU needs the capacity to provide support and assist in the direct and immediate management of the crisis. Second, in the long run, we have to be able to act in order to position ourselves in a post-COVID-19 order, especially in the domain of security and defence”, in close cooperation with NATO “which remains the cornerstone of collective defence in Europe”, Mr Zimmer said. Member States need to be clear about their intentions and objectives; hence the importance of the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass which “will help us to plan better and to act more decisively in the future, if and when European action is required. This will also provide more transparency for our partners”. As regards the more urgent challenge to respond to the current Covid crisis, Mr Zimmer expressed the hope that the ongoing PESCO project European Medical Command (EMC) will lead to “higher resilience and closer cooperation among the Armed Forces of the EU Member States”. The EMC will also be closely linked with NATO’s Multinational Medical Coordination Centre (MMCC) and thus creates vivid and much-needed close cooperation between NATO and the EU, he insisted. “The current COVID-19 pandemic may only be one of several crises throughout the 21st century, but it emphasizes the necessity to develop a EU that is more resilient and able to act towards a variety of different challenges. This will require more cooperation and coordination between all EU Member States. Important is also close coordination between the EU and its partners, especially the cooperation with NATO”, Mr Zimmer concluded. 
 

Military viewpoint

Presenting the operational military viewpoint, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), General Claudio Graziano, stressed the importance of having the end-user’s view, the one of the Armed Forces operating on the ground, well integrated into the EU’s overall efforts to move towards a more homogeneous and interoperable defence landscape. “We all know that the end-user, by definition, is the ultimate consumer of a final product, which in case of the military domain, can be a weapon, a system, or even a policy. But the role of the end user goes further than this. Military inputs and expertise coming from the field represent an essential factor for the best definition of the product itself, optimizing the outcome of the whole manufacture chain. In other words, it should be the militaries to drive the changes, asking for the capabilities they need to accomplish their tasks, which, in the case of the EU, means to fulfil the Level of Ambition defined at political level, being able to defend Europe interests and citizens”, he said. All recently launched EU Defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF) go into the right direction, also because they have integrated the end-user perspective, General Graziano stressed: “All these efforts will have to monitor closely the geopolitical trends as well as the new threats, compelling us to continuously improve our military tools, if we are to succeed against our adversaries, in whatever nature they will challenge us: traditional, hybrid, cyber or - probably - a combination of all these dimensions”. 
 

Panel discussions

The first half day of the Conference was also marked by two lively and interesting panel discussions:

• The first one, moderated by Dr Daniela Schwarzer (Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations) focused on ‘Delivering on military effectiveness: from priorities to implementation’ and featured the following panelists: Jukka Juusti (Permanent Secretary, at the Finnish Ministry of Defence),  Admiral Michel Hofman (Chief of Defence of Belgium) and Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean (Director General of the EU Military Staff):
• The second one, moderated by EDA’s Pieter Taal (Head of Unit Industry Strategy and EU Policies) dealt with the  impact of COVID-19 on defence and the question: ‘How does the EU defence industry adapt to a new normal?’ This panel was composed by Dr Lucie Béraud-Sudreau (Director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, SIPRI), Lauri Almann (Co-Founder, Member of the Executive Board, CybExer Technologies) and Giovanni Soccodato, (Chief Strategic Equity Officer, Leonardo).
   

EDA Defence Innovation Prize

Today’s session also saw EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu hand over this year’s EDA Defence Innovation Prize to the owners of the two winning projects: the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) one the one hand, and Rantelon and Tampere University, on the other hand. More details on the Innovation Prize ceremony are available in this specific webnews.

 

The European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference 2020 entitled 'Sustaining European Defence’ was opened this morning by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý. As exceptional circumstances (Covid pandemic) require exceptional measures, this year’s conference is held in online format with a very broad audience representing the whole European defence spectrum (governments, armed forces, industry, EU institutions, NATO, think tanks and media) connected remotely to listen to speeches and panel discussions and also actively take part in debates through interactive Q&A sessions. 

The conference is split in two parts: while the first one, held this morning, primarily dealt with operational and industrial aspects, the second part tomorrow (4 December) will focus on political and strategic questions.
 

"We need more cooperation in defence"

In his welcome, EDA Chief Jiří Šedivý said the conference, at the end of a particularly challenging year, was coming at the “right moment” as the Covid-19 crisis had not only revealed risks and vulnerabilities but also the clear necessity to further enhance security and defence cooperation to make Europe stronger in the future. Since the required cooperation tools are already all in place (CARD, PESCO and the precursor programmes of the European Defence Fund), they should now be used to the fullest extent, Mr Šedivý stressed. The message of the first CARD report presented by EDA to Defence Ministers two weeks ago could not have been clearer: “We need more cooperation in defence. And we need the political will and the urgency” to turn Europe into a more credible and more autonomous security provider, as pledged in the EU Global Strategy in 2016. So far, most Member States have not yet made full use of the common instruments which explains why the European capability landscape continues to suffer from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement. These findings, clearly confirmed by the CARD findings, “are not new. What is new is the method how we retrieved them. Today we have clear evidence. And we should use it to change our approach towards European defence”, Mr Šedivý urged.
 

German EU Presidency

In his Presidency speech, German Defence State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer recalled the main defence-related objective of the ongoing German EU Presidency: “Strengthening the EU in the area of security and defence”. In the current Coivid-19 crisis, “we need, more than ever, stand together in the EU, unified by a clear vision regarding our values, interests and ambitions. Our citizens expect a strong EU. An EU that protects and defends them in the face of any current and future crisis”, he said. Despite some progress in deepening the EU´s CSDP over the past years, “the ongoing crisis has revealed not only strengths but also weaknesses in our system”. Hence the need for Europe to focus on two core issues. “First, the EU needs the capacity to provide support and assist in the direct and immediate management of the crisis. Second, in the long run, we have to be able to act in order to position ourselves in a post-COVID-19 order, especially in the domain of security and defence”, in close cooperation with NATO “which remains the cornerstone of collective defence in Europe”, Mr Zimmer said. Member States need to be clear about their intentions and objectives; hence the importance of the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass which “will help us to plan better and to act more decisively in the future, if and when European action is required. This will also provide more transparency for our partners”. As regards the more urgent challenge to respond to the current Covid crisis, Mr Zimmer expressed the hope that the ongoing PESCO project European Medical Command (EMC) will lead to “higher resilience and closer cooperation among the Armed Forces of the EU Member States”. The EMC will also be closely linked with NATO’s Multinational Medical Coordination Centre (MMCC) and thus creates vivid and much-needed close cooperation between NATO and the EU, he insisted. “The current COVID-19 pandemic may only be one of several crises throughout the 21st century, but it emphasizes the necessity to develop a EU that is more resilient and able to act towards a variety of different challenges. This will require more cooperation and coordination between all EU Member States. Important is also close coordination between the EU and its partners, especially the cooperation with NATO”, Mr Zimmer concluded. 
 

Military viewpoint

Presenting the operational military viewpoint, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), General Claudio Graziano, stressed the importance of having the end-user’s view, the one of the Armed Forces operating on the ground, well integrated into the EU’s overall efforts to move towards a more homogeneous and interoperable defence landscape. “We all know that the end-user, by definition, is the ultimate consumer of a final product, which in case of the military domain, can be a weapon, a system, or even a policy. But the role of the end user goes further than this. Military inputs and expertise coming from the field represent an essential factor for the best definition of the product itself, optimizing the outcome of the whole manufacture chain. In other words, it should be the militaries to drive the changes, asking for the capabilities they need to accomplish their tasks, which, in the case of the EU, means to fulfil the Level of Ambition defined at political level, being able to defend Europe interests and citizens”, he said. All recently launched EU Defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF) go into the right direction, also because they have integrated the end-user perspective, General Graziano stressed: “All these efforts will have to monitor closely the geopolitical trends as well as the new threats, compelling us to continuously improve our military tools, if we are to succeed against our adversaries, in whatever nature they will challenge us: traditional, hybrid, cyber or - probably - a combination of all these dimensions”. 
 

Panel discussions

The first half day of the Conference was also marked by two lively and interesting panel discussions:

• The first one, moderated by Dr Daniela Schwarzer (Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations) focused on ‘Delivering on military effectiveness: from priorities to implementation’ and featured the following panelists: Jukka Juusti (Permanent Secretary, at the Finnish Ministry of Defence),  Admiral Michel Hofman (Chief of Defence of Belgium) and Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean (Director General of the EU Military Staff):
• The second one, moderated by EDA’s Pieter Taal (Head of Unit Industry Strategy and EU Policies) dealt with the  impact of COVID-19 on defence and the question: ‘How does the EU defence industry adapt to a new normal?’ This panel was composed by Dr Lucie Béraud-Sudreau (Director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, SIPRI), Lauri Almann (Co-Founder, Member of the Executive Board, CybExer Technologies) and Giovanni Soccodato, (Chief Strategic Equity Officer, Leonardo).
   

EDA Defence Innovation Prize

Today’s session also saw EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu hand over this year’s EDA Defence Innovation Prize to the owners of the two winning projects: the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) one the one hand, and Rantelon and Tampere University, on the other hand. More details on the Innovation Prize ceremony are available in this specific webnews.

EDA today announced the two winners of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize. Launched in March, this year’s contest looked for the most innovative ideas, technologies and solutions for the countering of swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in particular to protect land facilities and platforms. After a thorough assessment of all applications received, the jury decided to announce two winners, each of whom is rewarded with €30,000. 
 

SWADAR  

The first of the two winning projects is called SWADAR (SWarm ADvanced Detection And TRacking) and was proposed by the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) based in Capua, Italy.  

SWADAR proposes a technological solution for drone-swarm tracking to provide the operational picture of swarm attacks. It uses a defensive team of drones, which tracks the hostile swarm from different perspectives. Defensive drones are equipped with proximal sensors to achieve the required resolution and sensitivity. A coordination mechanism and an ad-hoc network ensure the cooperation of the defensive team to maintain optimal performance for tracking. A fusion of the drones’ views is also performed to provide the operator with the common operational picture and to assess swarming metrics, which are key indicators to establish the most effective counter-actions and to possibly automate the decision-making of mitigations. Moreover, the tracking solution is extended with the automated recognition of the swarm-attack scenario and with the learning of new swarming behaviours. This guarantees the adaptability of the system in face of evolving attacks. 
 

Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms 

The second winning project is called ‘Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms’ and was presented by Rantelon, an Estonian small to medium-sized company, in cooperation with Tampere University, Finland. 

The core innovation of reaching full duplex capability should allow to simultaneously recon drones via their Radio Frequency (RF) signals and to neutralise them, e.g. via jamming, contributing to an enhanced situational awareness, improved neutralisation performance, multifunction capabilities, and minimised collateral damage.  The proposed solution would bring detection and countermeasures, such as jamming and spoofing, to a higher level because it will allow the execution of both tasks simultaneously, what is not possible currently. Considering that the technological concept is already verified and experimental proofs-of-concept have been reported, it is possible to assume that this very relevant technology can be translated in enhanced security and defence capabilities by 2030.  The technology has a high potential to create excellent dual-use synergies and to capture the attention of key players in the defence field to form valuable partnerships with non-traditional defence R&T communities and innovators for both defence and civil applications. The idea was considered by the jury as coherent and very likely to be feasible as proposed, given that the higher demand of power can be solved and expanded frequencies can be addressed.  
 

Strategic importance of counter-UAV capabilities 

“The fact that this year’s contest was focused on innovations related to countering UAVs reflects the strategic importance of drones and the threat they represent for modern air defence systems, especially when used in large swarms coordinated by Artificial Intelligence supported platforms”, said EDA Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu when symbolically handing over the prize to the two winners at EDA’s virtual Annual Conference 2020 which opened today (see other news). Counter-UAV capabilities are therefore not only part of the revised European Defence Capability Development Priorities adopted in 2018, but also of the six focus areas for potential future cooperation identified in the recent first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Mr Ruutu stressed. 
 

About the winners 

CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Centre) is a company mainly in public ownership created in 1984. The Centre was founded with the aim of performing and promoting research and technological development in the fields of space and aeronautics and enabling Italian enterprises to compete on the international markets. CIRA has the biggest research facilities in the field of aerospace in Italy, with cutting-edge testing facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Rantelon is an Estonian company specialised in developing and producing radio frequency (RF) electronics, including low level components and integrated systems, for a range of applications. The company provides solutions from civilian cellular and public safety networks to various signals intelligence and effector capabilities for the defence sector. 

Tampere University participated the winning project with assistant professor Taneli Riihonen’s team in the Unit of Electrical Engineering. They are currently pursuing research on full-duplex counter-drone and radio shield technologies with support from the Finnish Scientific Advisory Board for Defence and the Academy of Finland. 
 

About the EDA Defence Innovation Prize 

The award, organised by EDA since 2018, aims to stimulate defence technological innovation in Europe, in particular by reaching out to non-defence R&T communities and innovators set to play an ever-bigger role in developing and producing Europe’s future defence capabilities. It is also meant to provide non-traditional defence stakeholders (civil industries, SMEs, research organisations, universities, etc.) with an opportunity to showcase their know-how in domains relevant for defence, maximize dual-use synergies and engage in partnerships with the defence sector. 

EDA today announced the two winners of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize. Launched in March, this year’s contest looked for the most innovative ideas, technologies and solutions for the countering of swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in particular to protect land facilities and platforms. After a thorough assessment of all applications received, the jury decided to announce two winners, each of whom is rewarded with €30,000. 
 

SWADAR  

The first of the two winning projects is called SWADAR (SWarm ADvanced Detection And TRacking) and was proposed by the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) based in Capua, Italy.  

SWADAR proposes a technological solution for drone-swarm tracking to provide the operational picture of swarm attacks. It uses a defensive team of drones, which tracks the hostile swarm from different perspectives. Defensive drones are equipped with proximal sensors to achieve the required resolution and sensitivity. A coordination mechanism and an ad-hoc network ensure the cooperation of the defensive team to maintain optimal performance for tracking. A fusion of the drones’ views is also performed to provide the operator with the common operational picture and to assess swarming metrics, which are key indicators to establish the most effective counter-actions and to possibly automate the decision-making of mitigations. Moreover, the tracking solution is extended with the automated recognition of the swarm-attack scenario and with the learning of new swarming behaviours. This guarantees the adaptability of the system in face of evolving attacks. 
 

Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms 

The second winning project is called ‘Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms’ and was presented by Rantelon, an Estonian small to medium-sized company, in cooperation with Tampere University, Finland. 

The core innovation of reaching full duplex capability should allow to simultaneously recon drones via their Radio Frequency (RF) signals and to neutralise them, e.g. via jamming, contributing to an enhanced situational awareness, improved neutralisation performance, multifunction capabilities, and minimised collateral damage.  The proposed solution would bring detection and countermeasures, such as jamming and spoofing, to a higher level because it will allow the execution of both tasks simultaneously, what is not possible currently. Considering that the technological concept is already verified and experimental proofs-of-concept have been reported, it is possible to assume that this very relevant technology can be translated in enhanced security and defence capabilities by 2030.  The technology has a high potential to create excellent dual-use synergies and to capture the attention of key players in the defence field to form valuable partnerships with non-traditional defence R&T communities and innovators for both defence and civil applications. The idea was considered by the jury as coherent and very likely to be feasible as proposed, given that the higher demand of power can be solved and expanded frequencies can be addressed.  
 

Strategic importance of counter-UAV capabilities 

“The fact that this year’s contest was focused on innovations related to countering UAVs reflects the strategic importance of drones and the threat they represent for modern air defence systems, especially when used in large swarms coordinated by Artificial Intelligence supported platforms”, said EDA Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu when symbolically handing over the prize to the two winners at EDA’s virtual Annual Conference 2020 which opened today (see other news). Counter-UAV capabilities are therefore not only part of the revised European Defence Capability Development Priorities adopted in 2018, but also of the six focus areas for potential future cooperation identified in the recent first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Mr Ruutu stressed. 
 

About the winners 

CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Centre) is a company mainly in public ownership created in 1984. The Centre was founded with the aim of performing and promoting research and technological development in the fields of space and aeronautics and enabling Italian enterprises to compete on the international markets. CIRA has the biggest research facilities in the field of aerospace in Italy, with cutting-edge testing facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Rantelon is an Estonian company specialised in developing and producing radio frequency (RF) electronics, including low level components and integrated systems, for a range of applications. The company provides solutions from civilian cellular and public safety networks to various signals intelligence and effector capabilities for the defence sector. 

Tampere University participated the winning project with assistant professor Taneli Riihonen’s team in the Unit of Electrical Engineering. They are currently pursuing research on full-duplex counter-drone and radio shield technologies with support from the Finnish Scientific Advisory Board for Defence and the Academy of Finland. 
 

About the EDA Defence Innovation Prize 

The award, organised by EDA since 2018, aims to stimulate defence technological innovation in Europe, in particular by reaching out to non-defence R&T communities and innovators set to play an ever-bigger role in developing and producing Europe’s future defence capabilities. It is also meant to provide non-traditional defence stakeholders (civil industries, SMEs, research organisations, universities, etc.) with an opportunity to showcase their know-how in domains relevant for defence, maximize dual-use synergies and engage in partnerships with the defence sector. 
 

More information 

More details on both projects can be read in the latest issue of EDA’s biannual European Defence Matters magazine which is available here. 

Americas

Raytheon won a $235.6 million deal for the production and delivery of the Silent Knight Radar in support of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) requirements. The Silent Knight radar is designed to be outfitted on the MH-47G Chinook and MH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, MC-130 transports and CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The Silent Knight is built for safe navigation through low altitudes at night or in bad weather. In June 2019 Raytheon was awarded a $96.6 million contract for the initial production of the Silent Knight system for Special Operations Command. Work will take place in McKinney and Forest, Mississippi. Estimated completion will be by July 2025.

Canada will receive new equipment for its Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 transport planes, the US government announced. The DoS approved the upcoming sale that is estimated to cost $275 million and the US Congress has been notified of the proposed deal. The Canadian government “has requested to buy C-17 sustainment support to include aircraft hardware and software modification and support; software delivery and support; ground handling equipment; component, parts and accessories; GPS receivers; alternative mission equipment; publications and technical documentation; contractor logistics support and Globemaster III Sustainment Program participation”, according to the US announcement. The deal will also include US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services; and related elements of program and logistical support.

Middle East & Africa

Kellogg Brown and Root Services won a $28.3 million contract modification for the incorporation of additional services for Option Periods Three through Seven under the base operating service contract at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Kingdom of Bahrain. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, all management, supervision, tools, materials, supplies, labor and transportation services necessary to perform security operations, galley services, unaccompanied housing, facility management, emergency service requests, urgent service, routing service, facilities investment, custodial, pest control service, integrated solid waste, grounds maintenance, utility management, wastewater, operate reverse osmosis water treatment system, chiller and transportation, at NSA Kingdom of Bahrain. Work will take place in Bahrain. Performance period is December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2021.

Europe

US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt has confirmed Greece’s intention to buy F-35s. Pyatt says the US government welcomes the decision by Athens “at the highest levels” and will support the aquisition. “We have signaled our support for procurement and are working closely together on a future acquisition program, which would enhance Greece’s defense capabilities, ensure interoperability with US Armed Forces and improve regional stability.  All reports to the contrary are false and misrepresentations of US policy“, Pyatt said in a statement. Although some in Greek media claimed that the US was reversing its decision in procuring the F-35 fighter jet, the American ambassador ensured that these reports are false. “We take great pride in our defense and security partnership with Greece and work daily to advance that from strength to strength, including through Greece’s future acquisition of the F-35,” Pyatt said.

General Atomics has delivered the final two MQ-9A Block 5 UAVs ordered by the Spanish Air Force. The delivery took place on November 23 and includes a ground control station. The new MQ-9s will be operated by the 233rd Squadron at Talavera la Real Air Base near Badajoz, Spain. Besides being the first for the issuance of the Airworthiness Military Type Certificate, Spain’s program represents the first MQ-9A Block 5 acquisition by an international partner. Other milestones for the program have included the SpAF taking initial delivery of its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft at the end of 2019 and launching its first flight in January 2020. The 233rd Squadron has flown nearly 300 hours with its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft and is steadily building the expertise of its crewmembers and maintainers as the SpAF moves towards declaring the Initial Operational Capability for the system.

Asia-Pacific

Lockheed Martin won a $12.4 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering and obsolescence services in support of the Airborne Low Frequency Sonars integration into MH-60R production aircraft for the governments of India and Denmark. The MH-60 R integrates advanced mission systems and sensors developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST). The helicopter is intended to carry out a range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), surveillance, communications relay, search and rescue (SAR), naval gunfire support (NGFS), personnel transport, vertical replenishment (VERTREP) and logistics support. It can be launched from aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruise ships, frigates and amphibious ships.

Today’s Video

Watch: Just How Big is America’s C-17 Globemaster III

The Agency’s latest European Defence Matters magazine (N°20) is now online with the main spotlight put on the EU’s first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), steered by EDA as the CARD penholder, for which the final report was presented to Defence Ministers on 20 November. A crucial piece of work in the overall effort to move towards more synergies and increased coherence between Member States´ defence planning, spending and capability development through cooperation, the CARD certainly deserved the magazine’s cover story!

We analyse the key CARD findings and recommendations and take Member States’ pulse on the potential take-up of the collaborative opportunities identified by the CARD. We also look at the increasing number of PESCO projects whose implementation benefit from EDA support; also a reminder that the CARD is not an end in itself but a pathfinder towards new collaborative projects which must eventually lead to joint defence capabilities.

Readers of our magazine will also hear from the German EU Presidency’s defence & security priorities and get an insight into the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass. 

Furthermore, we shed light on the Commission’s new Incubation Forum on Circular Economy in European Defence as well as on EDA’s cooperation with the EU Satellite Center.

Finally, we present the winning projects of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize and assess at the prospects of EU defence beyond 2030. 

Have a look immediately and enjoy your reading!

The magazine is available here.

The Agency’s latest European Defence Matters magazine (N°20) is now online with the main spotlight put on the EU’s first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), steered by EDA as the CARD penholder, for which the final report was presented to Defence Ministers on 20 November. A crucial piece of work in the overall effort to move towards more synergies and increased coherence between Member States´ defence planning, spending and capability development through cooperation, the CARD certainly deserved the magazine’s cover story!

We analyse the key CARD findings and recommendations and take Member States’ pulse on the potential take-up of the collaborative opportunities identified by the CARD. We also look at the increasing number of PESCO projects whose implementation benefit from EDA support; also a reminder that the CARD is not an end in itself but a pathfinder towards new collaborative projects which must eventually lead to joint defence capabilities.

Readers of our magazine will also hear from the German EU Presidency’s defence & security priorities and get an insight into the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass. 

Furthermore, we shed light on the Commission’s new Incubation Forum on Circular Economy in European Defence as well as on EDA’s cooperation with the EU Satellite Center.

Finally, we present the winning projects of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize and assess at the prospects of EU defence beyond 2030. 

Have a look immediately and enjoy your reading!

The magazine is available here.

 

Americas

Raytheon and Pratt and Whitney Military Engines won a $642 million deal, which provides for the procurement of performance-based logistics activities including maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairables, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F135 unique maintenance services and short take-off and landing F135 unique services in support of the F-35 Lightning II F135 propulsion system for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system powers all the three variants of F-35, the combat-proven fighter jet developed by defense major Lockheed Martin LMT, with BAE Systems BAESY and Northrop Grumman NOC being the co-manufacturers. Notably, F135 delivers more than 40,000 lbs. of thrust and unmatched advances in safety, design, performance, and reliability. An initial contract obligation amounting to $215.5 million will come from the US military’s fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. Work will run at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida; Hill AFB in Utah; Edwards AFB in California; Luke AFB in Arizona; Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station in South Carolina; Oklahoma City; East Hartford, Connecticut; and Camari, Italy, through November 2021.

IAP Worldwide Services won a $11 million contract modification, which increases the contract value and provides additional funding for inventory replenishment, operational and depot spare parts in support of the E-6B Mercury airborne command post take charge and move out aircraft. The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces. Work will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Patuxent River, Maryland; Bellevue, Nebraska; and Fairfield, California. Expected completion will take place in January 2021.

Middle East & Africa

Leidos Inc. won a $38.4 million modification for contractor logistics support services supporting the Afghan Air Force. Leidos had also received a multi-million contract modification in support of the Afghan Air Force and the Special Mission Wing of the Afghan armed forces back in March. The Department of Defense awarded a $728 million contract to Leidos Inc. in support of the Afghan Air Force in late in late 2018. Work under the current modification will take place in Kabul, Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2021.

The US Army awarded AITC-Five Domains JV LLC a $36 million contract to provide train, advise, assist and mentor services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $36,000,547 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2024.

Europe

BAE Systems won a $3.2 billion munitions contract for Britain’s Next Generation Munitions Solution program, the defense ministry announced. The British-based company will manufacture 39 different munitions for the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Strategic Command for front-line use, including small arms ammunition, mortars, medium-caliber gun rounds and large-caliber artillery and tank shells. The 15-year contract calls for manufacturing improvements in five BAE facilities in Britain, and is part of a $22 billion, four-year increase in British defense spending announced on November 19. “This vital multi-billion-pound contract will provide our service men and women with fire power on the front line for years to come whilst investing in British industry, British jobs and British infrastructure,” Defense Minister Jeremy Quin said in a press release.

Asia-Pacific

The United States and Australia, in an agreement announced on November 30 by the US Defense Department, will soon start speeding the development and testing of hypersonic weapons, officials of both governments said. The process of certifying the missiles capable of flying five times the speed of sound, or up to 6,000 mph, has been accelerated by a regional arms race involving China and Russia, each working on hypersonic missile programs of their own. The interest in air-launched missiles comes after defense strategists warned that a planned 10-year schedule of development is inadequate against potential threats.

Today’s Video

Watch: It Could Nuke a Country: The E-6 Mercury is America’s Deadliest Plane Ever

Americas

According to the US Air Force, a B-1B Lancer bomber conducted a demonstration testing its ability to externally carry potential hypersonic weapons. The “external captive carry” test was conducted last week by the 412th Test Wing’s 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the Air Force said on Tuesday. The plane carried an inert Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile outside its fuselage. An earlier test demonstrated the capability of carrying large weapons within the plane. The tests indicate that the B-1B can deliver and launch large hypersonic weapons, which by definition fly at over five times the speed of sound. The United States, China and Russia are all developing hypersonic missiles.

According to media reports, the Brazilian Navy completed the modernization of amphibious assault ship Atlantico on 12th November. After the modernization, the ship will be able to operate with fixed-wing medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles as well as crewed tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. After the modernization, the Brazilian Navy decided to reclassify the helicopter carrier “Atlantico” as an aircraft carrier. The Atlantico was procured in 2018 for a value of £84 million from the United Kingdom, where it has operated since 1995. With 203 meters in length and 21,600 tons of displacement, the vessel was used as a platform for helicopters on amphibious assault missions. Despite the new name, the ship has no characteristics to be considered an aircraft carrier, such as catapult or ski-jump takeoff systems.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli media is reporting that Israel’s Ministry of Defense is in talks with Canada’s Top Aces for the purchase of 29 surplus F-16A/B fighters. Israel is asking for between $3 million and $4 million for each jet and the Ministry of Defense’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) is responsible for the talks. General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons were delivered to Israel in the early 1980s and over the past decade have been gradually phased out of service.

The United Arab Emirates approved the establishment of a new national cybersecurity council, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President and ruler of Dubai, said. The cabinet of the UAE government also appointed Industry and Advanced Technology Minister and head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan al-Jaber as a special envoy for climate change.

Europe

The first two of fifty new Apache AH-64E attack helicopters have been delivered to the British Army. The British Army expects to operate 50 AH-64E aircraft. Approval for the upgrade of fifty of the UK’s WAH-64 fleet to AH-64E Apache Guardian standard was given by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in August 2015 however in July 2016, the UK placed an order for 50 AH-64Es through the US Foreign Military Sales program instead of upgrading their Westland-built WAH-64s. To date, more than 500 AH-64E model Apaches have been delivered worldwide. “The arrival of the first Apache E model attack helicopter to be delivered to the British Army over the next two years marks the beginning of a significant uplift in capability to enhance the army’s contribution across the spectrum of military operations,” Major General Jez Bennett, Director Capability, was quoted as saying.

Asia-Pacific

The Philippine Navy formally received an Insitu Inc ScanEagle 2 unmanned aerial system from the United States during a “turnover, acceptance and blessing ceremony” held at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in the Philippine city of Cavite near Manila on November 25. The PN said in a statement that the $14.79 million system – which comprises eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), two launchers, the SkyHook recovery system and a ground control station – was handed over by US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Kelly and representatives from the US Embassy in the Philippines’ Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG).

Today’s Video

Watch: B-1 Lancer – The Bone – Supersonic Bomber

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $14.1 million contract modification for AN/SLQ-32(V)6 design agent engineering services. The AN/SLQ-32 is a shipboard electronic warfare suite built by Raytheon and the Hughes Aircraft Company. It is currently the primary electronic warfare system in use by US Navy ships. AN/SLQ-32(V)6, the latest fielded variant of the AN/SLQ-32, incorporates receiver, antenna and combat system interface upgrades developed under the SEWIP Block 2 ACAT II program and adds the High Gain High Sensitivity adjunct sensor developed under the SEWIP Block 1B3 ACAT II program. Work will take place in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by November 2021.

Three National Guard bases and a Navy Reserve base were selected to receive new C-130J Super Hercules cargo planes, the US Air Force announced. Louisville Air National Guard Base in Kentucky, McLaughlin ANGB in West Virginia and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Texas are set to start receiving eight new aircraft each in the coming year. Savannah ANGB in Georgia is also scheduled to receive C-130Js “if they become available in the future,” officials said in a press release. The Lockheed Martin-built planes are improvements over earlier C-130 variants they will replace, and offer reduced manpower requirements and operating and support costs, providing life-cycle cost savings, the Air Force said. The C-130J climbs faster and higher, flies farther at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance than its predecessors.

Middle East & Africa

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller made a surprise visit to Somalia Friday in the last of a four-country tour as President Donald Trump contemplates a draw down of counterterrorism troops there. Miller, who replaced Mark Esper on November 9, was making his first trip abroad in the position. The US military has about 700 troops in the country. Miller was visiting neighboring Djibouti as part of his scheduled trip when he took a flight to Somalia without traveling press. Officials said he is believed to be the first defense secretary to visit the country.

Europe

The final test firing trial of the Sea Venom/ANL missile was completed November 17 at the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) test site at Ile du Levant. The final qualification trial tested the missile’s advanced target discrimination within a complex and cluttered naval scenario, MBDA says. Soon to start equipping the Royal Navy’s AW159 Wildcat and Marine nationale’s H160M Guépard shipborne helicopters, the Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile is a co-operation project developed under the Lancaster House treaty between France and the United Kingdom.

Asia-Pacific

The governments of India and Sri Lanka are in talks for the donation of one Do 228 maritime patrol aircraft. Another aircraft will be sold to Sri Lanka as well. It has been discussed that the cost of one aircraft is said to be around $8 million. During the discussion, it has been decided to deploy an aircraft currently used by India with Indian pilots and coast guard officers immediately for surveillance operations and to provide the necessary training to the Sri Lankan counterparts. Thereafter, it is planned to deliver the first aircraft of this type manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to Sri Lanka free of charge.

Japan will attempt to launch a military communications satellite today that will relay data collected by its optical and radar-imaging reconnaissance satellites. This new satellite replaces the Data Relay Test Satellite (DRTS) that was decommissioned in 2017. It has a Laser Utilizing Communication System (LUCAS) that allows a network throughput of 1.8 gbps. The Optical Data Relay Satellite payload aboard this mission will be used to relay data collected by Japan’s fleet of Information Gathering Satellites (IGS) – including both optical and radar-imaging reconnaissance spacecraft – back to Earth for analysis.

Today’s Video

Watch: This Is Why the C-130 Is Such a Badass Plane

Americas

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $4.8 billion deal for Global Hawk development, modernization, retrofit and sustainment activities for all Air Force Global Hawk variants. The contract provides for management, including program, business and technical areas; engineering efforts, including configuration management, data management, reliability, availability and maintainability, and related areas of concern such as technical refresh, diminishing manufacturing sources, etc.; studies and analyses; design, development, integration, test and evaluation; contract/production line closeout/shutdown; training; sparing; overseas contingency operations support; fielding; cyber security/information assurance; interoperability support; facilities modifications/renovation; integrated logistics support; requirements management specification management; and quality assurance. The USAF has 31 Block 20, 30, and 40 Global Hawk HALE UAVs in its inventory. The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system with an integrated sensor suite that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, capability worldwide. Global Hawk’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of ISR collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations. Work will take place in San Diego, California. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2030.

Perspecta Engineering won a $9.7 million deal, which provides engineering services in support of test and evaluation and systems engineering activities related to Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense on behalf of the Missile Defense Agency. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system is a US Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program. It is developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It is part of the US national missile defense strategy. Work will take place in Hawaii, California and Virgina. Estimated completion is November 2025.

Middle East & Africa

According to Stars and Stripes, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller is serving Thanksgiving meals to troops in the Middle East this week during his first international trip as the Defense Department begins the transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. With the official switch to a new administration less than two months away and only being on his new job for a couple of weeks, Miller was already part of a major decision last week to reduce the US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Europe

Great Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the UK will routinely deploy a ‘permanently available, ready to fight’ Carrier Strike Group. Having two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, allows for one to be available at short notice year round. The additional funding announced by the Prime Minister will also support the purchase of three new Fleet Solid Support ships and the development of a new multi-role research vessel.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s government approved the production of more than 200 Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missiles (KTSSM). The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) says the missile is designed to destroy long-range artillery pieces hidden in underground tunnels. During the defense project promotion committee presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the government approved the plan to produce more than 200 units of the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM) by 2025, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The Russian Defense Ministry successfully carried out a check of its antiballistic missile (ABM) system. A recently-released video shows the interception in the skies above Kazakhstan’s Sary-Shagan testing ground. According to Lieutenant General Andrey Demin, commander of the 1st air and missile defense army of the Russian aerospace forces, the missile “reliably confirmed its characteristics” by successfully hitting the simulated target. The Defense Ministry described the interceptor as intended to defend against air and space attacks. Earlier this month, the US successfully tested the SMM 3 interceptor against a simulated ICBM. Following the test, Moscow accused Washington of providing “false information” about its capabilities.

Today’s Video

Watch: Most Advanced Of U.S Military Technology : RQ-4 Global Hawks.

Americas

The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has down selected L3Harris Technologies and Martin UAV for the phase two demonstration of the MI2 technology demonstration. The program’s objective is to identify unmanned air vehicles capable of operating in austere deployed environments without ancillary support systems. Such drones must not require dedicated launch or recovery equipment. Phase 2 demonstrations will take place at Yuma Proving Ground from November 30 to December 18.

BAE Systems won a $197.5 million deal for the execution of the USS Wasp (LHD 1) fiscal 2021 Chief of Naval Operations scheduled docking selected restricted availability. This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Wasp (LHD 1). Under the deal, BAE will drydock and perform maintenance and modernization work on the amphibious assault ship. The company’s last maintenance availability aboard the Wasp was from December 2016 to May 2017, when it added modifications to support Joint Strike Fighter operations. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the total value of the deal to $237.7 million. This is the second time in four years the contractor has been hired to perform significant work on the ship. Work will take place in Norfolk Virginia. Estimated completion will be by May 2022.

Middle East & Africa

A Israeli Air Force flight instructor and his student died on the spot in a field north of Beersheba on November 24 when their G-120 single-engine light aircraft crashed. The two had taken off from the IAF flight school at Hatzerim Airbase in their two-seat Grob G-120 ‘Snunit’ (‘Swallow’) aircraft. An IAF helicopter from the 669 Search and Rescue Unit and Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene of the crash, near the Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev shortly after the accident and found two men unresponsive. They were later pronounced dead at the scene.

Europe

The budget committee of the Bundestag, the German parliament, has approved funding for the German Navy’s new NH90 Sea Tiger frigate helicopter and tank ammunition, as well as for the upgrade of DM2A4 torpedoes and the Bundeswehr’s IT wide area network (WAN). The German Ministry of Defense announced on its website that it had approved $3.2 billion in funding for 31 Sea Tigers, accessories, spare parts, and training. Starting in 2025, the helicopters will replace the German Navy’s Sea Lynx Mk88A frigate helicopters dating from the 1980s. The German MoD said the Sea Tiger would be the Bundeswehr’s only multirole helicopter, providing close protection for frigates, armed with torpedoes and missiles for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare and conducting transport and search and rescue (SAR) missions.

Swiss voters decide on Sunday whether to ban the funding of arms makers, the latest anti-military referendum in the neutral country that hasn’t fought an external war for 200 years. Swiss banks have given loans and hold shares worth nearly $11 billion in companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, according to a study by independent researchers Profundo. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), UBS and Credit Suisse have the biggest exposure, the study said. “An enormous amount of money comes from Switzerland into an industry which profits from death and destruction,” said Julia Kueng, co-president of the Young Greens Party.

Asia-Pacific

Bell Boeing won a $12.8 million contract modification, which exercises options to modify the V-22 aircraft to the government of Japan’s unique configuration requirements. Additionally, the modification exercises options for the production and delivery of nine traffic collision avoidance systems, technical support representation and preservation of aircraft post completion of unique modifications. Last week, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces kicked off flight operations with the first V-22 aircraft at Kisarazu Air Field, in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan, becoming the first military outside of the US to operate the Osprey. Japan selected and procured the type through foreign military sales (FMS) in 2015. The first two aircraft, JG-1701 and JG-1705, were transported from the US to Iwakuni via ship in May 2020.

Today’s Video

Watch: Episode 17. Mi-28N. Natural-born hunter

EDA’s longstanding Maritime Surveillance (MARSUR) project entered a new phase on 19 November 2020 when the Agency launched its third phase, focused on the development of a next generation system. Whereas the precedent project phase (MARSUR II) dealt with network maintenance and addressed outstanding issues with the MARSUR Exchange System (MEXS, the software ensuring the automatic exchange of maritime surveillance data among the participants), MARSUR III will also enhance the system’s interoperability with other maritime security regimes, primarily with the EU’s Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE). The overall objective is to enhance MARSUR’s operational use in CSDP missions and operations.  

During phase III, MARSUR will therefore aim at: 

• transitioning to a new MEXS based on state-of-the-art technologies
• investigating options for exchange of classified information within the network and their following implementation
• facilitating its connectivity with other maritime security regimes with a focus on the EU CISE
• enhancing the operational use of the MARSUR Network and support to EU maritime engagements and maritime CSDP missions and operations.

The project, led by Germany, has the support of 15 additional contributing countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden). In addition, the participation of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) brings unique added value to the project, while at the same time providing SatCen with additional information that will nurture its own products/services for the benefit of its users. 

In view of the enhanced capability to be offered by MARSUR III, EDA is confident that more maritime EU Member States will join the project in the future, which would further improve the EU-wide maritime surveillance coverage. The operational added value of MARSUR was emphasised by the choice of EU Member States to rely on MARSUR for the pilot case, in the Gulf of Guinea, of the Coordinated Maritime Presence Concept (CMP). EDA is cooperating closely with the EEAS, including the EUMS, as the planning phase is ongoing. The further development of MEXS foreseen under the MARSUR III phase will position the MARSUR network as the tool of choice for current and future maritime engagements at EU level, including for CSDP missions and operations.
 

More information:

• MARSUR (EDA project page)

 

 

 

 

Americas

Northrop Grumman won a $185.7 million deal for the A-10 Structural Integrity Program Legacy VIII. The deal provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft. Services under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract are intended to support the military branch’s A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program Legacy VII effort. Built by Fairchild Republic Company prior to its acquisition by Northrop, the A-10 aircraft is designed to help USAF perform airborne forward air control and close air support operations. Work will take place in Clearfield, Utah and estimated completion date is November 22, 2030.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won a $9.3 million contract for the Long Range Systems Division seeking to integrate the Navy Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) into the F-35. The AARGM-ER is a Navy weapon that will provide the F-35A advanced suppression of enemy air defenses/destruction of enemy air defenses capability. The AARGM-ER (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range) is a further development of the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile, used to destroy enemy air defense network. An anti-radiation missile homes in on the electronic transmissions coming from a hostile surface-to-air radar and destroys it. The AARGM-ER was originally developed for the navy carrier-based fighters, equipping its F-35C fighter fleet with a credible long-range weapon, which would further boost their lethality in carrying out SEAD/DEAD (suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses) sorties. With Lockheed Martin bagging the contract, the weapon system would also find its way into the US Air Force’s F-35A CTOL (conventional take-off and landing) fleet. Lockheed Martin is the parent manufacturing company of the F-35 aircraft as well.

Middle East & Africa

Greece and the United Arab Emirates, countries opposing recent Turkish policy, agreed to a strategic partnership on November 23rd. “I am happy to announce the establishment of a strategic partnership to enhance political, economic and cultural cooperation between our countries,” Prince Muhammad bin Zayed announced on Twitter. The clause regarding mutual defense calling for aid if one country’s territorial integrity is threatened, is likely the most significant element of the pact. Although Greece and the UAE do not share a border or belong to a common alliance, each country regards Turkey as a threat. Greece disputed Turkey’s search for minerals and energy in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, claimed by Greece and Cyprus, during the summer.

Europe

Armasuisse, which is the Swiss Federal Office for Defense Procurement, announced that it has received the second set of proposals for the country’s Air2030 Neues Kampfflugzeug (New Fighter Aircraft, NKF) as well as ground-based air defense system. The offers to replace the Swiss Air Force’s F-5E/F Tiger II and F/A-18 Hornet fleets were made by Germany for Airbus Eurofighter, France for the Dassault Rafale, and the United States for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning Joint Strike Fighter. The DDPS said the proposals included the prices for 36 and 40 aircraft, including logistics and weapons, as a binding starting point for negotiations with the winning offer after type selection.

Asia-Pacific

The US government donated 100 TOW-2A guided anti-tank missiles to the Philippines on November 23. US National Security Advisor (NSA) Robert C. O’Brien participated in the ceremonial handover of the weapons. The missiles will support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ efforts to defeat ISIS-East Asia in the Southern Philippines. Following the recent typhoons that ravaged the Philippines and forced thousands of people from their homes, NSA O’Brien announced an additional $3.5 million in US humanitarian assistance to disaster-stricken communities.

Korea Aerospace Industries’ dedicated services company, Korea Aviation Engineering & Maintenance Service launched its new facility in Sacheon, in the south of the country, aiming to position the region as a hub for aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. KAEMS, which specializes in both military and commercial aerospace MRO, said the facility will initially be positioned to win regional commercial aerospace contracts as well as those to support military transport aircraft. KAI, manufacturer of military platforms including the T-50 advanced jet trainer aircraft, announced the launch of KAEMS in 2018 and started building the Sacheon plant in 2019. KAI, which is also headquartered in Sacheon, owns a 66.4% stake in the firm.

Today’s Video

Watch: How Powerful is TOW Missile & How BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles Work?

The first meeting of the newly created European Defence Standardisation Committee (EDSC) was held recently at EDA (via videoconference). The new body, which replaces the former Materiel Standardisation Group, will support and coordinate participating Member States’ efforts to move towards enhanced European defence standardisation with the aim of facilitating CSDP missions & operations and strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).  

The EDSC’s goal is to coordinate and – over time – define practical and tangible deliverables that will support collaborative defence capability development, enhancing standardisation processes towards ensuring an up-to-date Defence Standardisation policy. One of the novel approaches of the new committee is to interact with a wider range of standardisation stakeholders, bringing together participating Member States with high-level representatives from various EU institutions, international organisations, industry associations and even relevant non-EU stakeholders of the defence standardisation community.  

The first EDSC meeting, which took place on 27 October, gathered representatives from 17 countries (participating EDA Member States as well as Ukraine, which has signed an Administrative Agreement with EDA and is a regular EDSC member), the European Commission (DG DEFIS), the EU Military Staff (EUMS),  NATO Standardisation Office (NSO), the European Committee for Standardization and Electrotechnical Standardization (CEN-CENELEC), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as well as the standardisation body for the European aerospace industry (ASD-STAN). They agreed on some key future actions to support the European Defence Standardisation Strategy and its implementation plan, namely by creating expert forums for the restructuring of the European Defence Standardisation governance, such as the European Defence Standardisation Management Group (EDSMG), a body that will serve to bridge the strategic decisions with the practical implementing of the European Defence Standardisation Strategy at expert level.  
 

EDSTAR review 

Participants of the first EDSC meeting also discussed the upcoming launch of an EDA study, which will analyse the European Defence Standards Reference System (EDSTAR), a web platform set up by EDA in 2011, which offers guidance to governmental organisations and defence industry on the use of roughly 2,500 standards and “standard-like” specifications to optimise effectiveness, efficiency, and interoperability of their application. The EDSTAR review is one of the actions foreseen under the standardisation implementation plan. The aim of the study is to assess whether EDSTAR is still the most appropriate and efficient online standardisation tool for supporting the full spectrum of EU defence cooperation, interoperability, and capabilities development. EDSTAR study’s results will serve as a basis for deciding on the way ahead in European defence standardisation. 

Overall, EDSC decision outcomes will draw comprehensive roadmaps for European defence standardisation in the years to come. The next EDSC meeting in 2021 will have important standardisation actors on board, such as the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) – following the recent contribution agreements signed between the European Commission and OCCAR for management of defence ESSOR projects – and other key international civilian and military standardisation bodies. 

 

Americas

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $10.7 million modification to procure two additional Surface-to-Surface Missile Modules (SSMM) for integration into the Littoral Combat Ship framework. The SSMM fires a Longbow Hellfire missile that will be added to the surface warfare mission module aboard the Littoral Combat Ship. In July 2019 the US Navy successfully completed structural testing of the Longbow Hellfire missile for the Littoral Combat Ship Surface-to-Surface Missile Module. LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, with three types of mission packages including surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. The Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is responsible for delivering and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the fleet. Work will take place in Huntsville, Alabama; Bethpage, New York and Hollywood, Maryland. Estimated completion will be by November 2022.

The four-nation Malabar 2020 naval exercise, involving the US Navy’s Nimitz Strike Group, concluded successfully Friday, the Navy’s 7th Fleet announced. The exercise began on November 3rd in India’s Bay of Bengal and involved Japanese, Indian, Australian and US maritime forces. It included night operations, air defense exercises, helicopter cross-deck evolutions, carrier landing approaches, underway replenishment approaches, gunnery exercises and antisubmarine warfare exercises to improve interoperability between allies. The strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz joined the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy on Nov.6 for the second phase of the event.

Middle East & Africa

PAE Applied Technologies LLC won a $98 million deal for US Air forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) electronic warfare operations training and infrastructure maintenance services. The contract provides electronic warfare aircrew tactics evaluation, electronic warfare combat training, operation and maintenance of equipment and electronic warfare range infrastructure maintenance for USAFE-AFAFRICA. The deal’s five-year basic ordering period will wrap up by November 19, 2025, and the Air Force will obligate $8.1 million from fiscal year 2021 operation and maintenance funds following the basic contract. Work in Germany, the U.K. and Italy is scheduled to run through January 31, 2026.

Europe

France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom are embarking on a project to develop a new medium multi-role helicopter. The new helicopter will replace existing rotorcraft that are expected to reach the end of their lifespan between 2035 – 2040 period and beyond. A letter of intent for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability, involving the construction of medium multi-role helicopters, was signed by representatives of France, Britain, Italy, Germany and Greece on Thursday. Details, timetables and costs were not revealed, and other NATO countries are welcome to join the consortium. The new capability would be involved in missions including insertion and extraction of special operations forces, transport of cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and anti-submarine warfare. As medium-sized helicopters, they would fit between what NATO describes as light and heavy helicopters.

The US Army formally activated a forward headquarters in Poznan, Poland, on Friday, to command its missions in Eastern Europe. About 200 troops will initially be assigned to the forward position of the recently reactivated and storied Fifth Corps, or V Corps, whose headquarters was established in October at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Unit at Poznan will be responsible for command and control of assigned and rotational units of US Army Europe and U.S. European Command as troops, it said in a statement. Full rotations are expected to start in 2021, likely around the time of the DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercise planned for the Balkan and Black Sea regions.

Asia-Pacific

An audit into the costs of building two new warships as the alternative for Aegis Ashore has found that it will cost Japan $4.8 billion. The new Maya Class destroyer already costs $1.6 billion each. The new warship will need to be lengthened, raising the tonnage. The figure, shown in an interim report of a private sector study commissioned by the Defense Ministry, is not significantly different from the cost of another offshore replacement proposal also under consideration. The government plans to coordinate around the Aegis ship option as it is viewed as allowing more operational flexibility.

Today’s Video

Watch: How powerful is Japan’s new Super-Destroyers that fitted with New Super Weapon?

Americas

The US Air Force decided to relocate the AC-130J Ghostrider Formal Training Unit from Hurlburt Field, Florida to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. This is done so that the Air Force Special Operations Command to realign its training mission under Air Education and Training Command and consolidate AC-130 initial and mission qualification training at Kirtland AFB. According to the service, the AC-130J is a highly modified C-130J capable of extremely accurate navigation due to the fully integrated navigation systems with dual inertial navigation systems and global positioning system.

The US Air Force announced on November 20 that it has selected Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama as the preferred location to host the MH-139A Grey Wolf Formal Training Unit. The MH-139 mission will replace the mission of the Air Force Reserve’s 908th Airlift Wing’s aging C-130Hs currently at Maxwell AFB. The MH-139A Grey Wolf is a multi-mission helicopter. It is based on the commercial AW139 helicopter and designed to protect intercontinental ballistic missiles and transport US government officials and security forces.

Middle East & Africa

Marine Group Boat Works won a $48.7 million contract modification in support of the government of Jordan for two 37-meter patrol boats, communications equipment and other technical assistance. The company is a full-service boat construction and superyacht refit facility. This contract is for two 37-meter Patrol Boats, communications equipment and other technical assistance for the Royal Jordanian Navy. Foreign Military Sales in the full amount will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will take place in Chula Vista, California, and is expected to be completed by September 2023.

Insitu won a $9.8 million contract modification, which definitizes pricing and exercises options for the procurement of 15 ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles, nine ScanEagle payloads, and three spares lots needed to provide the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and support current ANA ScanEagle efforts. The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a commercial UAV that was intended for fish-spotting. The ScanEagle continues to receive improvements through upgrades and changes. ScanEagle carries a stabilized electro-optical and/or infrared camera on a lightweight inertial stabilized turret system, and an integrated communications system having a range of over 62 miles (100 km); it has a flight endurance of over 20 hours. Work will take place in Washington. Estimated completion will be in July 2021.

Europe

A HIMARS Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) took place in Romania on November 19. It saw two M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) with 2 launcher crews being deployed from Germany with help from 352nd Special Operations Wing. The 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Field Artillery Brigade (41st FAB) was only reactivated recently and that was the unit’s second live fire event. It was also the first time that US forces have fired HIMARS from land into the Black Sea in Romania. All six personnel left from Ramstein Air Base, Germany early in the morning and were back in Germany on the same day.

Asia-Pacific

The president of Taurus Systems Korea Co. says his parent company hopes to develop a smaller, longer-range Taurus K-2 cruise missile jointly with South Korea. Christoffer Drevstad said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency that the smaller weapon is suitable for aircraft such as the F-16 and FA-50. “We are developing Taurus K-2, which is smaller but has the same or even more performance of the current missile,” Christoffer Drevstad said. The current version of the air-to-ground precision-guided missile is Taurus KEPD 350K with a flight range of 500 kilometers. South Korea bought around 260 units, most of which are fitted on F-15K fighter jets. The weapon, known as a bunker-buster missile, can be used to destroy radar stations and other key facilities in North Korea, according to experts.

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Defence Ministers met today at EDA’s Ministerial Steering Board (in virtual format) under the chairmanship of the Head of the Agency, High Representative Josep Borrell.

Ministers were presented with the final report of the first cycle of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) developed by the European Defence Agency in close coordination with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU Military Staff (EUMS)  over the past 12 months. The report, approved today by Ministers, draws for the first time a comprehensive picture of the European defence landscape based on information gathered by Member States on their national defence spending and capability development plans, and identifies more than 100 collaborative opportunities to be taken up by Member States in six main focus areas. 

The CARD is designed to serve as a pathfinder for new collaborative programmes and to lead over time to more synergies and increased coherence between Member States´ defence planning, spending and capability development, through cooperation. The findings and recommendations of the first CARD report can be found here. 
 

2021 Budget

Ministers adopted the proposal made by the Head of the Agency, Josep Borrell, setting the Agency’s 2021 general budget at €37.5 million. The budget reflects the continuous high demands on the Agency to support Member States in the development of defence capabilities as well as the implementation of EU defence initiatives such as CARD, the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF).
 

Three-Year Planning Framework 

Ministers also approved EDA’s Three-Year Planning Framework (2021-2023) which provides a coherent and comprehensive overview of the Agency’s activities structured around the three chapters reflecting its core taskings: - prioritising and planning defence cooperation; - supporting technology and capability development; - facilitating the interface with wider EU policies. Each chapter of the Planning Framework elaborates on key activities which EDA is undertaking, providing an overview of the nature, scope and expected impact of the Agency’s activities in support of overarching policy objectives and the added value for Member States.
 

More information

• CARD Press Release (in different languages)
• CARD factsheet
• CARD summary report
• CARD video

 

The first ever overview of the European defence landscape, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report, identifies significant avenues for European defence cooperation with 55 new opportunities for countries to develop defence capabilities together. It recommends six next generation high impact capabilities as focus areas for joint European development efforts. The review also finds that the European defence landscape is characterised by high levels of fragmentation and low investment in cooperation.

Americas

Bell Boeing won a maximum $36.5 million contract modification to extend the period of performance for delivery of V-22 spare consumable and depot-level repairable parts. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. The aircraft operates as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically. The nacelles rotate 90° forward once airborne, converting the aircraft into a turboprop aircraft. Work will take place in Maryland, Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion date is May 10, 2023.

The US Army will seek solicitations to build the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, a replacement for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. A competitive request for proposals is expected to be released on or about Dec. 18, Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross-Functional Team, said this week. The vehicle’s name derives from one of the features demanded by the Army, which is its capability to engage in close combat and then be piloted remotely after troops disembark. The request for proposals will ask for concept designs, and up to five companies will be awarded contracts in June 2021, with a detailed design expected by early 2023, Coffman said.

Middle East & Africa

The final class of Afghan A-29 students pilots at Moody Air Force Base has graduated on November 13. Kelli Seybolt, deputy under secretary of the Air Force for international affairs said this group was one of the strongest classes in the program, which has saw more than 30 student pilots and 70 maintenance technicians graduating over the past five years.

A three-day exercise between Cyprus and Israel from November 17-19 saw Israeli F-35s flying over Limassol and Paphos to test the local air defense system. Exercise ONSHILOS-GEDEON takes place in the Nicosia FIR. The Cyprus-Israel joint three-day military exercise was completed with absolute success, the Defense Ministry said. The exercise falls under the Bilateral Defense Cooperation Program between the Republic of Cyprus and Israel. The purpose of the exercise was to bring personnel up to speed with tactics and developments in the air defence sector, to increase their combat capability, as well as to gain experience from cooperation with the IAF.

Europe

Germany’s defense minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, reinforced her position this week that Europe still depends on United States security guarantees. The United States will remain “the most important ally in security and defense policy,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a speech. “Without the nuclear and conventional capabilities of the US, Germany and Europe cannot protect themselves. These are the sobering facts.” Kramp-Karrenbauer reiterated the view that Europe needs US help “for the foreseeable future.” This followed French President Emmanuel Macron “profoundly” disagreeing in an interview on Monday, suggesting that European nations must increase their own defense abilities to earn US respect.

Asia-Pacific

India’s navy received its ninth P-8i surveillance aircraft on Wednesday, manufacturer Boeing Co. reported. The plane is the first delivered under an option contract, signed in 2016, for four additional aircraft, the remaining three of which are expected to arrive in 2021. The Indian navy was the first international customer to receive the plane, in 2013. The P-8i is modified from the Boeing 737-800ERX passenger plane and built originally for the US Navy. It is used in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and shipping interdiction roles. Armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons, it can drop and monitor sonobuoys, and can operate in combination with Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance drone.

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