Defence`s Feeds

A major boost in the size of the US military flagged by the incoming administration of Donald Trump could bring with it "remarkable" opportunities for Australia's defence industry, Australian minister for defence industry Christopher Pyne said on 16 November. He was referring to comments

EIGHT people were killed and 25 others were wounded in a double suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack in the city of Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar province on 14 November, Reuters reported. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

EU defence policy chief Federica Mogherini and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presented their package of 40 proposals to EU defence ministers in Brussels on 15 November. The proposals focus on boosting EU-NATO defence co-operation, as called for by the two organisations' joint declaration

Aligning national defence planning among European Union countries and extending multinational command arrangements beyond air transport to medical, land, and naval logistics will be explored in early 2017, EU foreign and defence ministers announced after a joint meeting on 14 November. Calling on

European defence ministers agreed on 15 November to raise the European Defence Agency's (EDA's) budget after a six-year freeze. The breakthrough came after London, for the first time, declined to veto the rise. All European Union countries except Denmark belong to the EDA. The decision raises the

The French Parliament has approved an EUR600 million increase to the country's defence budget above current-year levels. In total the 2017 budget will sit at EUR32.44 billion, a 1.8% increase over 2016. This is the latest in upward revisions of the French defence budget, with the new 2017 figures

Auditors have recommended US Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) more closely analyse the costs and benefits of its 'Pacific Pathways' exercise construct, better synchronise planning, and integrate objectives for support units. 'Pacific Pathways', launched in 2014, deploys a battalion-sized task force

EVENT On 14 November, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (Christlich Demokratische Union: CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (Christlich-Soziale Union: CSU), announced their support for foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier for presidential candidate in the

South Korean naval shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has announced a major restructure of its businesses as part of efforts to boost its financial standing. The company said on 15 November that it will reorganise its businesses into several separate companies, with the restructure

THREE soldiers were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack that targeted their patrol in the village of Sabong in the Lamitan area of the Philippines' Basilan province on 14 November, GMA News reported. Although no immediate claim of responsibility was made, Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)

Deliveries of the four additional Boeing P-8I Neptune long-range maritime multi-mission aircraft ordered for the Indian Navy (IN) in July for USD1 billion are expected to begin in 2020. "We are looking forward to delivering the options by July 2020," Boeing's P-8I chief engineer Mark

German Heckler and Koch HK417 Automatic Rifle

OceanServer Technology recently participated in the first ever Unmanned Warrior (UW) in Loch Alsh, Scotland.

At the EDA ministerial Steering Board which met this Tuesday morning (15 November) under the chairmanship of HR/VP Federica Mogherini in her capacity as Head of the Agency, Defence Ministers tasked EDA to review the Capability Development Plan (CDP), approved the 2017 general budget and agreed to set up a working group to study the potential creation of a Cooperative Financial Mechanism.

Ministers agreed to the review of the Capability Development Plan (CDP), to improve the capability development process by taking into account R&T and industrial aspects, and tasked the EDA to present a new set of EU priorities for military capability development for Steering Board adoption by spring 2018.

The CDP review is a key element of the new EU Global Strategy (EUGS) which states that, in order to match the level of ambition set out in the strategy, Member States will need high-end military capabilities, i.e. full-spectrum land, air, space and maritime capabilities, including strategic enablers. The CDP serves as a reference for national capability planning by informing Member States about capability requirements over time, identifying areas for capability improvements and translating capability priorities into concrete collaborative programmes.

 

EDA 2017 budget: first increase since 2010

Ministers approved EDA’s general budget for 2017: €31 million compared to €30.5 million in 2016.

 

Cooperative Financial Mechanism (CFM)

Ministers were presented with EDA proposals for the potential establishment of a ‘Cooperative Financial Mechanism’ (CFM) the objective of which would be to overcome the lack of budgetary synchronisation between Member States and the problems that this causes for the launch of cooperative defence cooperation projects.

They agreed to set up a working group within EDA in view of submitting a legal and financial package and associated recommendations in spring 2017.

Experience has shown that one of the key factors that block or hinder cooperation is budget asymmetry or lack of synchronisation of budget availability. A potential Cooperative Financial Mechanism could alleviate this challenge by supporting the launch of projects (R&T, capability development). It would potentially incentivise cooperation by tackling the problem of absence of budgetary synchronisation, but also increasing the availability of common resources/ring-fencing budgets allocated to cooperation.

The CFM will have to respect the budgetary specialty principle as expressed in the national budgetary laws and ensure that Member States keep full control of their resources and on the use of the mechanism. These aspects will be dealt with in the EDA working group.

 

Implementation of EDA key taskings

Ministers welcomed the progress made on the implementation of the Agency’s ‘key taskings’ in the various capability programmes and the work carried out in relation to the Preparatory Action, and were briefed on the planned next steps, notably in the context of the taskings that emerge from the Council conclusions adopted yesterday (14 November) on implementing the EUGS in the area of Security and Defence.

The EDA was invited to develop a structured dialogue with industry, including not only prime companies but also national defence industry associations (NDIAs) and SMEs from Member States, in support of Key Strategic Activities (KSA) the first five test cases for which have also been welcomed.

More information:

• Council conclusions on implementing the EU global strategy in the area of security and defence (adopted on 14 November 2016)