Defence`s Feeds

Americas

• A fix has been found for a recently discovered issue on a number of F-35 fighters involving tubing insulation crumbling between the wing tank and fuselage tank. The USAF revealed last week that an unnamed supplier used the wrong coating for the insulation which deteriorated when it met fuel. A total of 15 USAF and Norwegian warplanes along with 42 models on the production line were affected by the issue with manufacturer Lockheed Martin fixed to cover engineering and modifications for all affected aircraft.

• Bell Helicopter has unveiled its V-247 Vigilant, an unmanned tilt-rotor aircraft aimed at filling a USMC need for larger armed systems, as outlined in their 2016 Marine Aviation flight plan. Dubbed the Marine Air Ground Task Force – Unmanned Expeditionary Capabilities, also known as MUX, the service’s UAV concept envisions a multi-sensor, electronic warfare, C4 and strike platform that would complement the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor and Lockheed Martin F-35B. While final details of exact requirements for MUX remain to be published, Bell believes that Vigilant will satisfy the USMC’s needs as outlined in the plan, and could make the aircraft ready for production as early as 2023.

Middle East & North Africa

• A bill that would have blocked the sale of Abram tanks and other armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia has failed a US Senate vote, 71-27. The $1.1 billion sale has received much negative publicity amid growing concern of the Saudi’s use of Western-supplied weaponry to commit human rights abuses throughout its ongoing campaign in Yemen. Supporters of the deal claim that the Gulf kingdom is still an important US ally in a volatile region and deserving of backing.

• Engineers working on Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)’s Ofek-11 reconnaissance satellite have managed to fix some of the operational issues found shortly after its launch. As a result, Ofek was able to transmit back its first set of pictures to the ground control station. While officials have called the developments encouraging, engineers are currently trying to solve the remaining problems that the satellite is experiencing.

Europe

• Saab has stated that an anonymous client has submitted a purchase order for RBS 70 NG short-range air defense systems. Delivery of the man-portable systems is expected to take place between 2018 and 2020 at a cost of $44 million. The company’s latest variant has garnered much interest from several international clients, with Lithuania and Latvia to integrate and test the weapon for their short-range air defense needs.

• Self-propelled howitzers (SPH) intended for Norway will instead go to Sweden. 24 Archer (6×6) SPHs will instead be delivered to the Swedish armed forces next year, bringing Stockholm’s total inventory to 48. Both Norway and Sweden agreed to co-develop the Archer back in 2007, but Oslo backed out of the agreement in 2013. Plans for the extra howitzers will see half of the former Norwegian allocation placed in reserve while foreign buyers are sought for the remaining 12.

Asia Pacific

• The US State Department has cleared the sale of four KC-46A aerial refueling tankers to Japan in what is estimated to be a $1.9 billion deal. All aircraft will come equipped with Northrop Grumman’s AN/AAQ-24(V) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system. Tokyo first announced its intention to purchase the new tankers last October, with the recent approval from the Pentagon moving it closer to becoming the aircraft’s first foreign customer for manufacturer Boeing.

• It may have taken a long while to get to this stage, but the Indian government is expected to sign a deal for 36 Dassault Rafale fighters today after the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with France. New Delhi had initially intended to buy 126 Rafale before several years worth of talks with Dassault broke down and Modi and Hollande stepped in last year to agree on the smaller purchase. Friday’s signing will see French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian finalize the deal with his Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, believed to be worth between $8.5 and $9 billion.

Today’s Video

Sweden’s Archer (6×6) Howitzer:

Canadian Leopard 2A4M CAN Main Battle Tank

The US Marine Corps' (USMC) Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 has become the first operational F-35 unit to fire a live air-to-air missile.

Since 1974, Rodman Polyships has designed and constructed Glass-Reinforced Plastic (GRP) and composite-material fast patrol boats and fast patrol vessels for naval, maritime surveillance and maritime law enforcement applications.

The US Naval Sea System Command has awarded a five-year submarine repair contract worth $400m to General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB).

The US Navy has placed an order with Saab for the procurement of an AN/SPN-50 (V)1 shipboard air traffic radar.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Key Points A JSTARS RfP is 'on hold' while the USAF works with Congress on contract terms The USAF has been using a so-called hybrid contracting approach during the programme's EMD stage The Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) request for proposals (RfP) is "on hold"

Key Points The USAF is preparing to conduct experiments with light-attack aircraft that could augment its CAS capabilities Unlike the heavily armoured A-10, such an aircraft would be used only in permissive environments The US Air Force (USAF) is preparing to conduct experiments with light-attack

The US State Department has approved the sale of four KC-46A aerial refuelling aircraft, with related equipment and support, to Japan for an estimated cost of USD1.9 billion. The sale was approved under the US Foreign Military Sales programme, and includes one additional spare Pratt &Whitney

Americas

• Gen. Carlton Everhart, head of the mobility command of the USAF has said that the number of KC-46 tankers the service is set to procure by 2028 are not enough. 179 units of Boeing’s latest tanker will be delivered; however between 2028 and 2035, no KC-46s are scheduled for delivery, leaving a capability gap. To remedy the issue, Everhart suggested that the flying branch embark on a study this year for a new KC-Z aerial refueling tanker that will enter service in 2035, as well as looking into the possibility of developing a “KC-Y” tanker to fill the procurement gap.

• Development is underway at the Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, for a new multi-purpose grenade for the US Army. The Enhanced Tactical Multi-Purpose (ET-MP) hand grenade is being developed by the Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and will provide US Army and USMC with a grenade that offers both fragmentation and blast overpressure through a flip of a switch. Fuze timing of the new grenade will be completely electronic and detonation time can be narrowed down to milliseconds. Until armed, the weapon is completely safe.

• Lockheed Martin has installed and tested its Legion Pod on a US F-15C aircraft. The disclosure revealed that a fighter from the Jacksonville Air National Guard Base in Florida has been equipped with the new pod for testing. According to Paul Lemmo, vice president of Fire Control at LM, one flight successfully saw the IRST21 infrared sensor installed at the tip of the pod “successfully track multiple airborne targets in representative scenarios.”

Middle East & North Africa

• Saudi Arabia’s Al Raha Group has successfully been awarded a USAF contract to provide support to the Saudi Arabian F-15 fleet. Valued at $355.9 million, Al Raha will provide comprehensive material management of unclassified spares, support equipment, and support services required to support base stand-ups and continued F-15 and F-15SA Royal Saudi Air Force flying operations. Work will be carried out both in Georgia, USA and in Saudi Arabia.

• US officials have blamed Russia for air strikes on aid convoys outside the Syrian city of Aleppo earlier this week, a claim Moscow denies. The incident happened just hours after a tentative week long ceasefire had ended, and resulted in the destruction of 18 of 31 aid trucks, with about 20 civilians killed including a senior official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

Europe

• A deal has been signed between Latvia and Lithuania to synchronize military procurements for the two countries’ armed forces. Under the agreement, the envisioned joint procurements include deals to acquire fire-distribution centers for Lithuania’s and Latvia’s air defense, anti-tank missiles, and short-range anti-aircraft missiles. The agreement marks the latest development in the ongoing drama on NATO’s eastern region, as former-Soviet Baltic nations rush to enhance their military cooperation and boost merge defense capacities against Russia.

Asia Pacific

• Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has dismissed claims that it has abandoned its Yun Feng ballistic missile program. Media reports had said Taipei had dropped the missile’s development in order to offer a goodwill gesture to China. The project, which was initiated in the mid-1990s, had been suspended in 2008 with media now reporting that the new administration of President Tsai Ing-wen had dropped it for good. Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi said the report was “mere speculation.”

• Iran’s establishment marked the 36th anniversary of its 1980 invasion of Iraq with a huge military parade and a warning to the US to not meddle in the affairs of the Gulf. A televised parade in Tehran yesterday saw the military display long-range missiles, tanks, and the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system, while at the port of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf, the navy showed off 500 vessels, as well as submarines and helicopters. The muscle-flexing comes in a year when US officials claim that there have been more than 30 close encounters between US and Iranian vessels in the Gulf so far, over twice as many as in the same period of 2015.

Today’s Video

South Korea’s new AH-64Es:

The US Navy has received Northrop Grumman's first AQS-24B mine hunting sonar upgrade kits, which will be used by HM-12, -14 and -15 Mine Countermeasures Squadrons.

US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has announced that the navy's new John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler, T-AO 208, will be named Robert F. Kennedy.

China has been flight testing a new variant of its J-15 navalised fighter modified for catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) operations, according to images posted on Chinese online forums. Released on 15 September, the images show a Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-15 in

CNIM will be exhibiting at Asian Defence and Security (ADAS) 2016 from 28-30 September at the World Trade Centre, Metro Manila Philippines (WTCMM).

Sweden has resigned itself to buying the 24 Archer (6x6) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) originally meant to be bought by Norway, budget documents released on 20 September reveal. In total the budget proposal assigns SEK450 million (USD53 million) to the purchase, of which the bulk is new money and

In December 2015, Nexter and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) announced the completion of their association and the creation of a new joint holding company - KNDS - which, many say, could trigger a wider consolidation in the sector of land defence systems in Europe. To find out more about the strategy behind the transaction and its wider impact on the defence industry landscape, we spoke to Stéphane Mayer, CEO of Nexter and co-CEO of the newly created KNDS.

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This interview appeared in the EDA's latest European Defence Matters magazine (Nr. 11) which you can read here.

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Q.: Which were the main drivers behind the Nexter-KMW merger and the creation of KNDS (KMW + Nexter Defense Systems): synergy and cost-saving considerations or more long-term, strategic ambitions?

Stéphane Mayer: The strategic aim of the joint venture between Nexter and KMW is to create a European leader in land defence offering joint products that meet the operational needs of the French and German armies, and obviously those of other European and international forces. This will result in genuine convergence for users that often operate together in the same theatres. The success of our alliance will be boosted by two kinds of convergence between our Governments, which must not only define common requirements, but also adopt the same approach to export controls.
Over the last few months, we have been developing synergies by gradually combining our efforts in several areas: sales, communication, purchasing, finance, products, engineering and production. We are aiming to both boost revenue and limit costs. The process does not involve any restructuring, because both Nexter and KMW are profitable companies with order books representing more than three years of business.

Would you say that KNDS is the starting shot for a major consolidation process in the European land defence systems market to ensure Europeans remain competitive?

When we announced our joint venture, we were the first, and the move came as a surprise to some. In Europe, our Governments need efficient and competitive products and are aiming for more inter-operability. On the worldwide market, the competition is extremely strong. A European consolidation process is an efficient way to achieve those objectives. Besides France and Germany, we are aiming to progressively expand our industrial footprint in other European countries to continue this strategic move.

Some say KNDS could become the “Airbus of the land systems sector”. Is this your ambition and are you already looking for additional European partners to join the group?

The joint venture between Nexter and KMW is the first step towards a strong, durable and independent European industry. Since we started the project, we have consistently stated our desire to drive European consolidation, partly through new industrial alliances. Today, we are laying the foundations of a new group, based on the excellent fit between Nexter and KMW's businesses and the expertise of two companies leading their national markets. In the future, we want to strengthen the group further by welcoming new partners that are an equally good fit and equally effective. I am very confident about this new phase of consolidation, although at the moment the priority remains setting up KNDS with Nexter and KMW.
I would also like to take this opportunity to talk about European consolidation in another area, that of ammunitions. In 2014, Nexter acquired Mecar in Belgium and Simmel Difesa in Italy who joined our Nexter Munitions division, which is now Europe's third-largest munitions player. Combining these three companies has allowed us to generate multiple synergies in ammunitions, but more importantly to maintain a high level of quality in terms of precision, effectiveness and security. As a result, the KNDS group can rely on a solid munitions business.

R&T is a domain where huge synergy effects can be expected from this merger. What do you hope to achieve in R&T together what was not possible alone and how do you see the future of R&T at EU level?

KNDS will indeed lead to R&T synergies. Financing innovation is crucial for the success of our plans, since innovation will allow us to maintain a technological edge over our rivals by developing distinctive systems. Naturally, we will work to eliminate potential duplication of R&T within the new group. Moreover, we welcome the willingness of the Governments to support advanced technologies and R&T studies for the current and future systems. The single most important subject for us in terms of R&T and innovation is linked to the Franco-German initiative to jointly develop the technologies for the MGCS (Main Ground Combat System) and CIFS (Common Indirect Fire System).

It seems that in a first phase, both companies involved in KNDS will keep their organisation, staff and even their own range of products. When do you foresee the first jointly developed and produced KNDS weapon systems - for instance a combat tank - to be on the market?

For many years, we will have to keep large parts of our present organisations unchanged in order to deliver on our commitments to our customers and our existing partnerships and to remain able to support our products in service. However, we are already starting to identify synergies, to act jointly on several matters (sales, product policy, finance, purchasing, communication, etc.). We have also started to work together on future systems, including combat tanks and artillery systems. These programs will be managed, developed and produced by a shared organisation. Their calendars are mainly driven by the operational needs of our customers and the timeframe to achieve a common vision between the German, French and other European customers. In the Defence industry, this takes 5 to 10 years!

2016 has seen a lot of movement in CSDP (EUGS set to be followed by a sectoral defence strategy; launch of Pilot Project and preparation of the Preparatory Action on defence-related research) and more is expected in the coming months (European Defence Action Plan by the EC). How optimistic are you that all this will give a boost to the European defence industry in general, and to the land systems sector in particular?

We can be optimistic, while remaining realistic. The land defence market is doing well internationally, and there are still many opportunities, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. However, it is an extremely competitive sector and every tender process requires increasingly large investments from the companies involved. In Europe in the last few years, Nexter and KMW have taken part in tender processes with products such as our 8x8 combat vehicles (VBCI and Boxer) and 155mm artillery systems (Caesar and PZH2000). We were not successful. Unfortunately in some cases buyers decided to purchase non-European equipment or untested equipment.
Of course competitiveness is essential in order to meet the European market's needs. But there are also needs for greater European awareness regarding defence, and particularly land defence. Armies on the ground need to be much more integrated through common equipment, we need to maintain an independent EDTIB that maintains Europe's superiority in certain areas of excellence (protection, firepower, communication systems, etc.) and we need to maintain and develop a European industry that guarantees the sovereignty of EU states.

On the other hand, there is also the uncertainty created by the Brexit vote and the prospect of the UK leaving the EU. How will all this impact European defence cooperation?

The European defence project is vital and the many dramatic events we have seen in recent years are a reminder that we must not let down our guard on security and defence issues. We are therefore confident that the United Kingdom will remain a staunch ally and continue to develop a strong defence relationship with France. Nexter has a joint venture with BAE, CTA International, based in France. CTA International specialises in telescoped 40mm-calibre armament systems, and has developed a revolutionary new cannon. This 40mm cannon has been acquired by both the French and British armies as part of the Scorpion and Scout programmes, proving both the effectiveness of the weapons themselves and the wisdom of our Franco-British joint venture. Brexit is unlikely to have an impact on our projects.

 

Biography

Stéphane Mayer joined the Airbus group (formerly EADS) in 2003 as Chairman and CEO of EADS Socata, an aviation component and aircraft manufacturer. In 2007, EADS appointed him for a 3-year term as CEO of ATR, a joint venture plane maker. In 2010, he joined the Daher group as President and CEO of its aviation and defence division. At the end of 2015, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Nexter Systems, which designs, integrates and maintains in operational condition weapons systems and armoured vehicles. As part of the association with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, he simultaneously became co-CEO of KNDS, the joint holding company which owns the two operating entities.

Eight days of exercises involving ships, aircraft, submarines, and marines from the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Russian Federation Navy (RFN) culminated in a simulated assault to seize an island off the Chinese coast using amphibious forces. Chinese and Russian marines practised an

Two US Air Force (USAF) Boeing (Rockwell) B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew over South Korea on 21 September in the latest demonstration of Washington's defence commitment to Seoul following North Korea's fifth nuclear test on 9 September, according to US Forces Korea (USFK). While one of the

The Philippine Navy's recently commissioned strategic sealift vessel (SSV), BRP Tarlac (601), has sustained damage to its bow section after a collision, the service's public affairs confirmed with IHS Jane's on 21 September. The 123 m landing platform dock (LPD)-like ship was anchored off Naval