The Libyan Navy has taken delivery of 30 new semi-rigid-hulled inflatable fast patrol boats from French military boat maker Sillinger, the first batch of 50 ordered in January this year. According to the Libya Herald, the Libyan Special Naval Forces showcased seven of the new boats during a high-speed display at the naval harbour in Tripoli on Monday. Naval Special Forces spokesman Colonel Ayoub Qassem said the high-powered boats, which range between 3.5 metres and 12 metres in length, will be used for the navy’s maritime border patrols. He said they will be deployed to various naval bases including one at the port of Ras Ijdar in the west and Al-Burdi in the restive east where they will also be used on coastguard duties, protecting vital installations as well as monitoring illegal sea-borne intrusions and landings within the country’s territorial waters. The order for the 50 rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBS) includes the 1200 RIB UM Inboard, designed for the high seas. Libya is the second customer for this new model. The 1200 RIB UM is one of the largest and most advanced of Sillinger's military offerings and is able to carry up to 25 people. Weapons options include a 7.62 or 5.56 mm gun on each side and a 12.7 mm machinegun on the front. Armour can be retrofitted to the sides of the boat. According to information from Sillinger, the 1200 RIB carries radar and infra-red cameras which make it easier for the boat to navigate rough seas in all types of weather. Powered by two 370 horsepower engines, the 1200 RIB UM Inboard weighs 3 900 kg. Sillinger boats are widely used by French Navy commandos and the French Customs, particularly the 580 RIB UM, a boat designed for open sea surveillance or insertion operations. Qassem said the Libyan Navy, which is still struggling to rebuild its capacities following the revolution which ousted Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, is shortly expecting delivery of 25 patrol boats from South Korea. He said that Libya’s navy received Dutch-made patrol craft earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Libya recently ordered two Raidco Marine RPB 20 boats, which will be delivered to the Navy on April 26. As part of the deal, Raidco is training 32 Libyan sailors (including four officers) as well as maintenance and other personnel in Lorient, France. They will remain in France for a month before sailing for Libya. The RPB 20 series is 20 metres long, has a top speed of 28 knots (thanks to its double-chine deep-V hull) and can launch a small boat.
Le groupe néerlandais de construction navale Damen, associé au chantier italien Vittoria, vient de remporter un appel d’offre européen pour la construction de deux patrouilleurs pour la douane italienne. Le choix de l’administration italienne s’est porté sur le modèle Stan Patrols 5509, mesurant 50.2 mètres de long pour une vitesse maximale de 35 noeuds, la gamme actuellement la plus vendue par Damen. Les deux navires seront assemblés en Italie à partir d’un kit d’éléments préfabriqués.
The MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) under development by Northrop Grumman for the US Navy has completed its first flight on 22 May. The 1.5 hour flight test was conducted from Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility in Palmdale.
As prime contractor for the programme, Northrop Grumman is developing the Triton UAV to fly surveillance missions up to 24 hours at altitudes of more than 10 miles – allowing coverage out to 2,000 nautical miles. The advanced suite of sensors can detect and automatically classify different types of ships.
Capt James Hoke, Triton program manager with Naval Air Systems Command, said: ‘First flight represents a critical step in maturing Triton's systems before operationally supporting the navy's maritime surveillance mission around the world. Replacing our aging surveillance aircraft with a system like Triton will allow us to monitor ocean areas significantly larger with greater persistence.’
Mike Mackey, Northrop Grumman Triton UAS deputy program director, added: ‘Triton is the most advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance [ISR] unmanned aircraft system ever designed for use across vast ocean areas and coastal regions. Through a cooperative effort with the navy and our industry partners, we successfully demonstrated the flight control systems that allow Triton to operate autonomously. We couldn't be prouder of the entire team for this achievement.’
Northrop Grumman was awarded a development and demonstration contract to build and test two MQ-4C Triton in 2008. The US Navy plans to acquire 68 Triton aircraft in total.
Triton is designed to carry a variety of ISR sensor payloads that allow military commanders to gather high-resolution imagery, use radar to detect targets, and provide airborne communications and information sharing capabilities to military units across long distances.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 130.9 feet, and combined with an efficient engine and other aerodynamic design features, is able to fly 11,500 miles without refuelling.
Northrop Grumman said the aircraft will now undergo additional flight testing from Palmdale to mature the system before it is flown to the main flight test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River later this year.
Raytheon will supply a rapidly deployable air traffic control (ATC) system to the US Air Force under a contract announced on 20 May. The contract, with a potential full value of $260 million, calls for one Engineering and Manufacturing Development unit plus production options for up to 18 Deployable Radar Approach Control (D-RAPCON) systems.
The ‘air traffic control in a box’ D-RAPCON system can be delivered anywhere in the world and then be fully operational controlling flights within six hours. It is designed for global military operations, including emergency and humanitarian missions.
D-RAPCON provides sequencing, separation of aircraft, navigation assistance and airspace control services, all with the latest digital sensors, communications equipment and advanced surveillance data processing systems.
The system consists of a transportable antenna plus three trailer-sized shelters that house radar equipment, communications systems, and an operations centre with multiple controller work stations. Each station has the same look and feel of what a controller would see at a major airport.
Joseph Paone, director of Air Traffic Management in Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business, said: ‘Our deployable system capitalises on many years of investment and testing, and will support safe and efficient airspace operations in areas where air traffic infrastructure is compromised or non-existent.’
Raytheon has been issued $50.6 million for the early development stage of the contract. The company will supply ten of the units to the Air National Guard, seven to the active-duty Air Force Space Command, one to the air force ATC school and one to the air force depot.
FLIR Systems will supply the US Coast Guard with an Electro-Optical Sensor System (ESS) configuration of its commercially-developed military-qualified Talon 9-inch stabilised multi-sensor gimbal system. The company announced the $23 million order on 16 May.
The ESS systems will be deployed on the coast guard’s H-60 and H-65 helicopters. Shipment of the systems is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Talon EO/IR system, of which the ESS is a specific configuration, is designed to operate on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, ships, small boats, and land vehicles. The lightweight, gyro-stabilized 9” turret contains up to six payloads simultaneously, with SMPTE digital video for all channels, providing high resolution images.
Earl Lewis, president and CEO, FLIR, said: ‘This order is a continuation of our longstanding support of the multiple missions of the Department of Homeland Security.
‘We have a proven ability to provide state of the art imaging technologies that are critical to protecting people and are developed on a commercial basis, which results in reduced delivery time and lower prices for our customers. We are pleased to be able to continue our successful relationship with the US Coast Guard.’
Lockheed Martin released the video of the first ever Vertical Take Off conducted by an F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) Lightning II test aircraft. The test was completed May 10 at Naval Air Station Patuxen River, Md.
ROME — As warships get sleeker and stealthier, the head of the Italian Navy wants to buck the trend and plan a one-size-fits-all warship that will be cheap, roomy and dual use, even making space for containers on deck.
Adm. Giuseppe Di Giorgi, who took over the Navy in January, told Defense News in an interview that he is pushing for a new generation of vessels that could be a floating hospital in disaster zones on one day and fight high-intensity wars the next.
Di Giorgi’s plans come as Italy makes deep cuts to its armed forces, with around 30 naval vessels of various classes due out of service over the next decade, and only six to 10 fregata multi-missione (FREMM) ships slated to enter service.
Hence, the Navy chief’s plan to buy up to 12 vessels, weighing 3,500 to 4,000 tons, 125 meters long and 15 meters wide, and which he says can replace the whole range of ships being phased out, at lower cost. Those dimensions would make the ships slightly smaller than the FREMMs.
“We need to replace the Maestrale class and the Soldati class of vessels, as well as the corvettes and patrol vessels, vessels which are on average 30 years old,” he said. That would mean a vessel up to 4,000 tons replacing 2,000-ton patrol vessels.
“The ship I have in mind to accompany the FREMMs would be conceived from the start as dual use, fast and modular,” he said.
Di Giorgi said the new vessel would achieve a top speed of at least 35 knots, “with a traditional, combined use of turbines and diesels, possibly two of each,” he said.
“It’s a concept in its early stages, but the General Staff has given preliminary approval for six vessels,” he said, referring to the type as a “simplified FREMM.” The cost, he said, would be about two-thirds of the price of a FREMM.
Building big would mean saving money, Di Giorgi said.
“This ship will have a huge potential for growth, with just a 127mm gun on the bow and a 76mm gun in the stern at the start, and it would be able to host further armaments.
“And if I want to install an armament, its size means I don’t have to dismantle the whole vessel,” he said. “And that means I will save over the life of the vessel because I will not have paid out so much to update armaments or the radar. Furthermore, with more space, I can be more flexible about the systems I use, and maintenance will cost less.
Additionally, the use of the ship becomes more extensive, since it will be used in rough weather that could stop a smaller vessel.”
Di Giorgi’s ship would have a hangar for two NH90s or one AW101 helicopter and a fixed-array radar, an evolution from the rotating Empar used on the FREMMs.
Technicalities aside, the ship’s planned dual-use capability is no afterthought, and could help the program win funding from politicians who are being forced to cut spending and have a rapidly declining interest in backing high-priced, purely military programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Below the flight deck, the ship will contain ample space for modular loads, with two large openings on the side of the vessel to receive them, including mine-hunting systems and underwater vehicles for special operations. The ship also will contain a hospital to be used by Italy’s civil protection agency, and equipment for use by civil research and environmental protection agencies.
At the center of the ship’s deck, a large space could be used to carry four 15-meter special operations craft or two ramp-equipped landing craft, but also containers for civil use, with a crane to load and unload.
“The ship would be able to provide electricity and clean water to a community of 6,000 people, so that in case of a natural disaster, the ship could dock and supply water and electricity to a small town,” Di Giorgi said. “Its high speed would also allow the ship to respond fast to disasters.”
The Navy recently took part in an exercise with the civil protection agency that simulated relief work after an earthquake.
“If you look at the map of Italy, you see that this ship, with its helicopters, could dock and reach any part of the country,” Di Giorgi said.
To accommodate passengers, the ship would have 230 beds, despite requiring a crew of only 90.
“The modularity of this project is very much the idea behind the littoral combat ship,” said Christian Le Miere, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
“It makes sense if you want to go multimission; you just need to be aware of the concerns over the time it takes to switch modules,” he said.
Le Miere said one concern about replacing various classes of naval vessels with one type is that if the type experienced a technical problem, that could temporarily take all of them out of service.
The dual-use concept, he said, is a sign of the times.
“Militaries in Europe today are not designed for high-intensity, state-on-state wars, so this makes sense,” Le Miere said. “But if they do look to source funding from other Italian government ministries because of the civil application, there could be questions about how to share time on the vessels. Bureaucracy can be a challenge.”
Apart from the new vessel, Di Giorgi said he has a handful of other vessels on his wish list, including a new submarine rescue ship with oceanographic capabilities, as well as a supply ship.
For the new type, he said he would rely on in-house design work to get development underway. “We have reactivated our center for ship design to optimize costs, to reduce spending on development and increase money available for production.”
20.05.2013 Navy Russia plans to have the first anaerobic (air independent) propulsion system for submarines of Project 677 "Lada" in 2-3 years, said Saturday the Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov. "We expect to have the first anaerobic power plant in 2015-2016," - said Teals, recalling that the development of this facility is currently in the Central Design Bureau "Rubin", RIA "Novosti". He specified that the first non-nuclear submarines with the installation of an anaerobic may appear in the Navy Russia during 2016-2017. "It will be an upgraded project, it will be upgraded submarines, submarine project" Harmony "- said the commander in chief. According to him, the first three submarines of Project "Lada" will be a classic diesel-electric propulsion system. Anaerobic air independent power systems will be used for future non-nuclear submarines, which should greatly improve their stealth and low noise.
Les russes seraient en train de tester une usine AIP pour sous-marin sur un sous-marin expérimental, le B-90 Sarov.
La technologie utilisée serait du type pile à combustible et présenterait des analogies avec les usines AIP des sous-marins allemands type 212 et 214 :
The Royal Thai Navy will ask the cabinet to approve a budget of 13 billion baht for a new frigate to be built by a South Korean shipyard.
Navy chief Adm Surasak Rounroengrom said the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters is scrutinising the budget proposal and later will forward it to the Ministry of Defence. Once approved, it will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration, he said.
A navy source said the navy had set up several sub-committees to coordinate with the Korea-based shipbuilding and offshore contractor.
A navy selection committee last month chose Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to build the new frigate, a navy source said.
The company was one of two South Korean firms in the final round of bidding, organised by the navy panel.
Three other three foreign firms were eliminated in the previous rounds - from Spain, Italy and China.
The source said the high-capability frigate to be built by Daewoo would be based on the company’s type DX II frigate, which has a displacement of 5,000 tonnes, with modifications to meet the Thai navy’s special requirements.
The new navy ship will have a displacement of between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes.
Navy chief of staff Chakchai Phucharoenyot, who chaired the selection committee, earlier told the media the navy also asked the company to install a Combat Management System (CMS) which can be allied to the systems already installed in the frigates HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Taksin.
The new frigate, which would be the first South Korean-built naval vessel in the Thai fleet, is expected to be ready for commissioning in two years, Adm Chakchai said.
Russia sold advanced Yakhont antiship cruise missiles to Syrian President Bashar Assad, outfitted with an advanced guidance system that makes them more effective than the older version of the missile Russia sold to Syria, The New York Times cited two American officials as saying on Thursday.
These missiles will allow Syria to thwart any attempt by international forces to reinforce Syrian rebels by imposing a naval embargo or no fly zone, Nick Brown the editor in chief of IHS Jane's International Defense Review told The New York Times.
“It enables the regime to deter foreign forces looking to supply the opposition from the sea, or from undertaking a more active role if a no-fly zone or shipping embargo were to be declared at some point,” Brown said, “It’s a real ship killer,” he added.
According to the Times report, Syria ordered the coastal defense version of the Yakhont system from Russia in 2007 and received the first units in early 2011.
Jeffrey White, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior American intelligence official, told the Times that by strengthening Syria's arsenal Russia was signalling its "commitment to the Syrian government."
In a separate report on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal cited US and European officials as saying that Russia sent at least a dozen warships to its Tartus naval base in Syria, in a move partly meant to send a message to Israel and the West not to intervene militarily in the country.
"It is a show of force. It's muscle flexing," the Journal quoted a senior US defense official as saying. "It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests."
Facing international criticism for his country's decision to sell the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday contended that the arms deal would not alter the balance of power in the region.
During a meeting in Sochi, Russia with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Lavrov was quoted by AFP as saying "this does not in any way alter the balance of forces in this region or give any advantage in the fight against the opposition."
Lavrov claimed that Russia's arms deals with Syria do not violate international agreements. "I do not understand why the media is trying to create a sensation out of this," AFP quoted him as saying.
"We have not hidden that we supply weapons to Syria under signed contracts, without violating any international agreements, or our own legislation," he added.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni on Friday criticized Russia for sending arms to the Syrian regime, stating that "the transfer of arms to Syria is clearly not positive and does not contribute to the stability of the region," according to AFP.
"Israel has the right to defend itself," AFP quoted Livni as saying.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a summit in Sochi on Tuesday not to sell the state-of-the-art S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.
Israeli officials declined to comment on Lavrov’s latest interview, which appeared to contradict a statement he made last week that Russia would not sell the S-300 advanced air defense system to Syria.
Le bureau d'étude de Toula a conçu une nouvelle version du missile antichar Kornet, capable d'anéantir des cibles en régime automatique comme l'américain Javelin et l'israélien Spike, écrit le quotidien Izvestia du 16 mai 2013.
Jusqu'à présent, les missiles russes devaient être guidés manuellement vers leur cible. Le nouveau système fonctionne sur le principe " tire et oublie" (fire and forget), mais l'opérateur pourra modifier la trajectoire du projectile si besoin.
Le ministère de la Défense russe reste sceptique quant à cette nouveauté : il estime que sa construction et ses performances sont obsolètes.
"Le missile n'est pas autoguidé en vol comme celui des Américains mais il est contrôlé à partir du système de lancement. Autrement dit, ce n'est pas une troisième génération de missile antichar mais "2+". Le fait que la commande ne soit pas lancée par l'opérateur mais par le lance-missile ne change rien. Détruisez le lance-missile et le missile tombera", explique un officier de l'armée de terre proche du dossier.
Cependant, les constructeurs expliquent qu'ils ont sciemment installé le système de guidage sur le lance-missile et non pas sur le missile.
"Trois chars passent. Vous en abattez un. Il est en feu et devient une puissante source de chaleur. Par conséquent, tous les autres missiles à ogive thermique, comme Javelin, réagiront à cette puissante source de chaleur. Et l'opérateur ne pourra plus corriger la visée du missile. Or notre système frappe précisément sur la marque placée par l'opérateur", explique un ingénieur.
De plus, le système d'autoguidage situé dans l'ogive du missile représente pratiquement 90% de son prix et "périt" avec le missile. Or le système de guidage du Kornet reste dans le lance-missile.
Par conséquent, la version russe est meilleur marché que les missiles américain ou israélien.
"Ces derniers coûtent près de 120 000 dollars pièce alors que les russes sont 6 à 7 fois plus économiques", souligne-t-il.
Il ajoute que le nouveau missile peut abattre non seulement des chars et des véhicules blindés mais aussi des hélicoptères et des avions volant à plusieurs centaines de mètres d'altitude. Les missiles existent également dans une version portative et peuvent ainsi être installés sur des véhicules blindés.
Viatcheslav Tselouïko, expert militaire indépendant, note que les concepteurs occidentaux mettent aujourd'hui au point leurs missiles avec des ogives autoguidées équipées de systèmes de contrôle à distance.
"L'expérience irakienne, libanaise et afghane montre qu'on tire plus souvent avec les missiles antichars sur les bâtiments, les positions renforcées et les refuges que sur les chars. L'ogive autoguidée est inutile pour ce genre de cibles : elle ne les voit pas. Pour cette raison Javelin et Spike ont été dotés d'une visée multiple afin que l'opérateur puisse librement choisir et atteindre toute cible indépendamment du fonctionnement de l'ogive autoguidée", déclare Tselouïko.
Le rédacteur en chef du site Otvaga-2004, Vitali Moïsseev, pense que le Kornet pourrait devenir une arme de transition avant l'apparition de missiles antichars autoguidés.
"Il faut indéniablement doter les troupes de nouveaux missiles. Ce serait une version de transition avant un missile de troisième génération à part entière. Pour l'instant il remplacera les missiles obsolètes de deuxième génération Metis, Fagot et Kornet", remarque-t-il.
Le premier missile antichar de troisième génération a été l'américain Javelin, conçu au début des années 1990 et mis en service dans les forces américaines en 1996. Il a été activement utilisé par les troupes américaines en Irak et actuellement en Afghanistan. Plus de 10 pays, dont la Géorgie, en disposent.
Le nouveau Kornet est aujourd'hui en phase d'essais, qui devraient s'achever fin 2013.
On connaissait 13 à la douzaine. Voici la version australo-eurocopteresque: l'Australie avait commandé 46 exemplaires du MRH-90, une version de l'hélicoptère de transport européen NH-90. Trois ans de retard et quelques tensions entre le ministère de la Défense australien et Australian Aerospace, la filiale locale d'Eurocopter, ont failli déboucher sur un/des procès. Pour faire passer la pilule, le constructeur a décidé de donner un 47e exemplaire, gratuit! Beau geste!
On devrait exiger la même chose avec l'A400. Au pro rata des années de retard bien sûr.
Une cérémonie d’hommage à quatre commandos marine morts en opérations extérieures au lieu ce vendredi au Mémorial national des marins morts pour la France.
Les commandos marine honorés sont :
- Capitaine de Corvette Jean-Loup Eychenne (Croatie 1992) - Capitaine de Corvette Yvon Graff (Serbie 1997) - Maître Jonathan Lefort (Afghanistan 2010) - Maître Benjamin Bourdet (Afghanistan 2011)
Le nom de Loïc Le Page, tué en Afghanistan en mars 2006, en y figure déjà (depuis mars 2009). Cliquer ici pour voir les photos de la cérémonie.
PALMDALE, Calif. -- May 22, 2013 -- The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)-built MQ-4C Triton high-altitude unmanned aircraft successfully completed its first flight today from the company's manufacturing facility in Palmdale. Triton is specially designed to fly surveillance missions up to 24 hours at altitudes of more than 10 miles (16 km) -- allowing coverage out to 2,000 nautical miles (3,704 km). The advanced suite of sensors can detect and automatically classify different types of ships. "First flight represents a critical step in maturing Triton's systems before operationally supporting the Navy's maritime surveillance mission around the world," said Capt. James Hoke, Triton program manager with Naval Air Systems Command. "Replacing our aging surveillance aircraft with a system like Triton will allow us to monitor ocean areas significantly larger with greater persistence." A Navy and Northrop Grumman flight test team conducted about a 1.5-hour flight that started at 7:10 a.m. from Palmdale.
Boeing has unveiled a new ground tactical vehicle designed to be internally transported in a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor to meet a US special forces’ requirement for a highly mobile, V-22 Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV).
Unveiled to reporters for the first time at Phantom Works near St Louis on 21 May, the new ‘Phantom Badger’ vehicle has been developed using the expertise of MSI Defense Solutions, which employed vehicle technologies originally developed for NASCAR racing.
Designed by the Special Pursuits Cell at Boeing Phantom Works, the Phantom Badger is Boeing’s proposal for a US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) request for proposal for a V-22 ITV, with a selection expected to be made by the end of the year.
Phantom Works programme manager for combat support vehicles, John Chicoli, said the vehicle addressed a gap for a vehicle that was able to be internally transported in a V-22 but which provided greater levels of protection and comfort than a smaller ATV.
‘There is a gap out there. This is a real tactical vehicle and doesn’t look like an ATV at all,’ Chicoli noted. ‘This features a high use of COTS and we have done a lot of work with special operation warfighters to look at what they require from a tactical vehicle.’
Boeing recently submitted its proposal for the SOCOM V-22 ITV requirement, which initially seeks two vehicles each with the ability to purchase eight additional units for testing.
The Phantom Badger has undergone testing at Fort Bragg and the Nevada Automotive Testing Center, with Chicoli claiming it features Humvee levels of mobility.
However, due to the nature of the requirement, and given that a number of companies are expected to respond to this latest RfP, Boeing was unwilling to disclose specific vehicle specifications such as speed, range, fuel capacity or weight.
The vehicle features four wheel steering, enhanced shocks and suspension developed by MSI, and mission-specific modules fitted behind the front two seats. These can be changed within 30 minutes, allowing special forces operators to quickly re-role the vehicle.
The vehicle can be loaded mission-ready onto a V-22 with 6 inches of space on each side.
While the prototype vehicle features a carbon fibre hood, Boeing has since decided this has been ‘over-engineered’ and has moved instead to fibre glass. Boeing claims Phantom Badger is relatively
Iran unveiled yesterday a new air-defense system designated Herze 9, the mobile system comprises a shelter carrying an engagement radar of domestic design and electro-optical systems (both thermal and TV are used) providing the system relative immunity to electronic-countermeasures. The system displayed was carries two missile rail launchers located in sealed canisters. The Chinese HS-80 system that the Iranians have followed in their design was carrying four missiles. Defense-Update reports.
The cooperation between Tehran and Beijing can be traced back late 1980s, when Iran handed over to Chinasome of the captured Iraqi hardware, including French Crotale systems for examination and reverse engineering. The result was the CPMIEC Chinese HQ-7B / FM-80 / FM-90 self-propelled air defense system. Simlar to the Chinese FM-90 system, the range of the Iranian Herze-9 is 8-12 km. “The new missile is 100% domestically made and corresponds with the tactics used by the armed forces,” IRGC Aerospace Commander, Brigadier General Hajizadeh said.
In the past Iran has tried to locally assemble HQ-7/FM-80 systems. In 2002 Tehran announced its defense industries managed to domestically produce a surface to air missile system named ‘Shahab Thaqeb’. This system closely resemebled the Chinese HQ-7which Iran had already received. At the time it was not clear whether the complete system was produced in Iran or only parts assembled in country. The Herze-9 could be an enhanced version of that weapon.
The Australian Minister for Defence has announced that Australia is considering the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the replacement programme for the Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C fleet.
The Australian government outlined plans in the 2013 Defence White Paper to replace the AP-3C fleet with P-8A Poseidon aircraft complemented by unmanned aircraft capable of undertaking broad area maritime surveillance and fleet overwatch.
On 16 May, the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, and Minister for Defence Materiel, Dr Mike Kelly, announced that the Australian government would issue a Letter of Request (LOR) to the US to gain access to detailed cost, capability and availability information on the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton UAV.
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said that the goal is to provide long-range, long-endurance maritime surveillance and response and an effective anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability. The acquisition of high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft for maritime patrol and other surveillance is being developed under project AIR 7000 Phase 1B.
If the Australian government does go ahead with the acquisition of the Triton UAV it would be welcome news for Northrop Grumman, prime contractor for the US Navy’s MQ-4C fleet, after it was revealed earlier this week that Germany is planning to end its Eurohawk UAV programme due to problems relating to air space integration and airworthiness.
To help assess the suitability of the Triton for Australia’s requirements, the government will establish a Foreign Military Sales Technical Services Case with the US Navy to obtain detailed cost, capability and availability information to inform future government consideration of Project AIR 7000 Phase 1B.
The Australian DoD plans to continue to investigate options for a mixed manned and unmanned aircraft fleet to inform government consideration later in the decade.
The growing use of unmanned surveillance "eyes in the sky" aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it.
A future with domestic drones may be inevitable. While civilian drone use is currently limited to government agencies and some public universities, a law passed by Congress last year requires the Federal Aviation Administration to allow widespread drone flights in the U.S. by 2015. According to FAA estimates, as many as 7,500 civilian drones could be in use within five years.
"Technology is great — as long as it's used the right and proper way," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Friday on the issues surrounding drones — which can be as small as a bird and as large as a plane.
Congress isn't alone in seeking to address the issues: Since January, drone-related legislation has been introduced in more than 30 states, largely in response to privacy concerns.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said it was important for new standards to address the privacy issues associated with use of drones. With Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, he is sponsoring legislation that would codify due process protections for Americans in cases involving drones and make flying armed drones in the U.S. sky illegal.
"Every advancement in crime fighting technology, from wiretaps to DNA, has resulted in courts carving out the Constitutional limits within which the police operate," Sensenbrenner said.
The subcommittee heard from experts who were divided on what actions Congress should take to address the new technology. But the four witnesses all agreed that drones raised new, often unprecedented questions about domestic surveillance.
"Current law has yet to catch up to this new technology," said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Calabrese said he supported immediate regulation of the drone industry and said his biggest concern was the overuse of drones by police and government officials for surveillance. But Calabrese said he doesn't want to hinder the growth of drones with the power to do good, including helping find missing persons, assisting firefighters and addressing other emergencies.
Tracey Maclin, a professor with the Boston University School of Law, said the issues raised by drones haven't been addressed by courts before because the technology goes beyond what humans had been capable of through aerial surveillance.
Past court rulings, "were premised on naked-eye observations — simple visual observations from a public place," he said.
Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., said he wanted to know when drone technology will advance to the point where Congress will have to act on the issue. He said he was concerned about the effect on privacy.
"At what point do you think it's going to get to a point where we have to say what a reasonable expectation of privacy is?" Richmond said.
Republicans expressed similar concerns.
"It seems to me that Congress needs to set the standard, rather than wait and let the courts set the standard," Poe said.
Some experts urged caution.
Gregory McNeal, an associate law professor at Pepperdine University, said writing laws to cover drones will be difficult because the technology continues to improve and Congress could think it's addressing key issues, only to have new ones emerge.
He compared drones to the privacy concerns raised by development of the Internet in the 1990s. Regulating then, he said, could have stymied the rapid growth of the Internet and wouldn't have addressed today's Internet privacy issues.
If Congress feels compelled to act, McNeal said, it should think in terms broader than a "drone policy" and set standards for surveillance or realistic expectations of privacy. "A technology-centered approach to privacy is the wrong approach," he said.
But the ACLU's Calabrese said Congress should work quickly.
"This can't be adequately addressed by existing law," he said. "Manned aircraft are expensive to purchase. Drones' low cost and flexibility erode that natural limit. They can appear in windows, all for much less than the cost of a plane or a helicopter."
(Infodefensa.com) Madrid - The 25 percent market share of new vessels corresponds to projected military programs planned in Asia-Pacific . Business value naval defense of these countries have already felled to Europe 's second world still led by the United States . In the next two decades all these Eastern nations expected to acquire 800 new warships. One hundred of them will be underwater, which will make the area's largest market these systems in the world in terms of number, and the second in spending after U.S. .
So says Bob Nugent , vice president of advisory services AMI International , an American company specializing in the analysis of navies. Concrete Nugent prognosis signature is "that the armed forces of the Asia-Pacific region will spend a total of 180,000 million in 2031 to nearly 800 new ships, including submarines and surface vessels." Only submarines and anti-submarine warfare systems ( ASW , for its acronym in English), represent a hundred new submersible, 40 percent of the total market of new submarines, which is worth about 63,000 million.
The general interest in promoting the navies of these countries, contained in a report by Defense News after the conclusion last week of the exhibition and maritime defense biennial conference of Singapore (Imdex), corroborating other industry officials.
The vice president of international strategy and business development for the U.S. firm Raytheon , Jim Hvizd , remember that more than 60,000 ships transit each year by the Strait of Malacca , and many of them with energy matters critical to the needs of countries in Asia- Pacific.
Hvizd explains how "traditional disputes over land borders have moved to the marine environment, and every country is now much more focused on their respective economic zones and to obtain a full awareness of the maritime domain."
John Fox president of Ocean Systems L- 3, another important sector American firm, agrees the current importance of defending "ports, economic exclusion areas and coastal zones" that is occurring in the area.
Also influences the desire to enhance maritime security in the region's career military modernization has taken China , the importance of the area for the United States, movements in North Korea , the rise in gross domestic product in the region and the existence of the terrorist threat and piracy.
Nugent, AMI International, estimates that of the 180,000 million armed calculated for the Asia-Pacific to 2031, 26,000 million correspond to the new acquisitions of the closest countries to the West : Japan , South Korea and Australia .
Australia, already a customer of Spain, is a key reference
The latter stands out especially for Spain, who is a leading customer. For now Navantia has already sold to the Navy two Australian-based amphibious Juan Carlos I , twelve type landing craft LCM-1E , design and technology for the construction of three frigates destroyers based on the Spanish F-100 , and could manufacture , among others, combat supply ships as Cantabria , which currently operates as a test Australia.
For the future stands in Australia the replacement program of its old submarines Collins is a "key reference for the subsea development of the Asia-Pacific region," said Nugent.
Malaysia and Indonesia stand as two interesting markets for large amphibious ships, of which the first is planning to buy one and the second, five, plus new submarine contract with South Korea , for its construction and combined in local shipyards foreigners, and acquired Germany .
But the two countries are going to make more acquisitions are China and India , whose military will go to swell almost a third of all military vessels planned for Asia-Pacific to 2031.
Vietnam is also acquiring new submarines, besides frigates and other fast attack boats, but Nugent notes that this is a country still heavily dependent on Russian manufacture.
But the biggest acquirer of submersibles in the area will be China , which hopes to gain 16 new aircraft, including conventional and nuclear, in the next five years.
Singapore and Thailand -another important traditional client Spain , who acquired his carrier, similar to the Prince of Asturias - will also gain new submarines.
The submarine weapon is a segment of the defense industry on the rise. The trade publication ASD Reports concluded in a report released barely a month ago that this activity will grow an average of 4.2% annually over the next ten years. This same exercise is estimated at 14,400 million which will move the world market military submersibles, and in 2023 the business will likely reached 21,700 million.
In its report, ASD highlights the drastic reduction in this market has experienced in the West after the Cold War , which also is a self-sustaining market, and points to the countries BRIC ( Brazil , Russia , India and China ) and Southeast Asia as the regions to which you are moving the industry's interest to do business with the sale of military submarine.
At the IDEF 2013 defense exhibition which was held recently Istanbul, Turkey, Italian company Oto Melara unveiled for the first time the 40mm single FAST FORTY naval mounting with dual feeding system (type C) with stealth cupola.
The Oto Melara Single Fast Forty Gun Mount is a new generation naval weapon, which fully satisfies the requirements of full automation, high reliability, easy installation (no deck penetration) and ease of maintenance. This weapon is fitted with a 40mm cannon characterized with high rate of fire, high accuracy and two ammunition feeding system that provides the plentiful availability of two different types of rounds ready to fire.
The Oto Melara Single Fast Forty Gun Mount with stealth cupola has the same gun as the existing “40mm Single Fast Forty”, but it was subjected to a technological update.
Specifications of the 40mm gun mount: » 450 rpm (mod. Fast Forty) » Stand alone, Local control, Remote control, Mannned » Availability due to High Performance Local Control: Simplified - 2/3 Axis stabilization Enhanced - Micro fire control system » Digital interface » Ready to fire rounds: 144 » Stealth cupola » No deck penetration » Environment Protected
This new gun mount will be installed on Turkish Navy future LST ships, in a manned version.
La Russie remettra la poupe du premier bâtiment de projection et de commandement (BPC) Mistral à la France pour y installer des équipements à l'automne prochain, a annoncé lundi à RIA Novosti le vice-ministre russe de la Défense Iouri Borissov.
"Les chantiers navals de la Baltique l'envoient en France à l'automne prochain pour y installer des équipements supplémentaires", a indiqué M.Borissov.
"Nous avons signé des contrats portant sur le premier et le deuxième Mistral qui doivent être réalisés en 2014 et 2015", a rappelé le vice-ministre.
La Russie et la France ont signé en juin 2011 un contrat de 1,2 milliard d'euros prévoyant la construction de deux BPC de classe Mistral pour la Marine russe. Le premier navire, baptisé "Vladivostok", sera livré à la Marine russe en 2014 et le second, "Sébastopol", en 2015. Les deux BPC feront partie de la flotte russe du Pacifique.
La cérémonie de mise en cale sèche du premier des deux Mistral commandés par la Russie s'est tenue aux chantiers navals de Saint-Nazaire, en France, le 1er février dernier. Toutefois la Russie assurera 20% des travaux de construction de son premier BPC et 40% des travaux pour le second Mistral. Un responsable du Groupe unifié de construction navale russe (OSK) a annoncé en février que la Russie avait déjà produit les 30 premiers petits blocs de la poupe du BPC qui devraient être envoyés en France.
Kongsberg Underwater Technology, Inc. has completed negotiations with the University of Washington’s Center for Commercialisation to obtain the sole rights to produce, market and continue the development of Seaglider technology. iRobot had a licence however the company halted the maritime activities. Kongsberg Underwater Technology reckons the Seaglider technology offers interesting perspectives. Also, co-operation with existing Seaglider users will be initiated.
This is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) system developed at UW’s School of Oceanography and Applied Physics Laboratory with funding from the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. Rather than using a propeller to move through the water, a Seaglider uses fixed wings and changes in buoyancy to achieve both vertical and forward motion. It can dive as deep as 1,000 metres and then ascend to the surface to communicate data on water properties, such as temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration, back to users via satellite. After verifying position and getting any new instructions, it dives again, repeating the cycle over and over.
The use of buoyancy propulsion is very energy efficient and allows mission periods of over 9 months and distances of thousands of kilometres rather than just a few days and tens of kilometres, typical of propeller-driven AUVs.
Fritz Stahr, manager of UW’s Seaglider Fabrication Center, wanted a company with broad experience in both the marine instrument and AUV businesses. He hopes Kongsberg will bring the technology to many more people interested in understanding the ocean.
Les planeurs sous-marins "gliders" ne sont pas dotés de système de propulsion. Ils se meuvent grâce à un système faisant varier la flottabilité, ce qui est peu gourmand en énergie. Chaque planeur contient une charge utile composée d'une suite de senseurs, qui mesurent les caractéristiques physiques de la colonne d'eau au fur et à mesure des mouvements ascendants et descendants du porteur.
Etant donné l’importance tactique de l’acquistion rapide de données environnementales pour la performance des systèmes de détection, l’US Navy espère pouvoir acquérir un nombre important de gliders afin de pouvoir soutenir une mission permanente de recueil de données océanographiques (REA : rapid environmental assessment).
L'AUV Seaglider, fabriqué par la société iRobots est un robot sous-marin qui peut opérer à de grandes profondeurs (jusqu'à 1 000 m) et ce pendant des durées allant jusqu'à plusieurs mois (10 mois). Il est possible de le piloter de n'importe où dans le monde. Il est utilisé par les scientifiques et des agences gouvernementales pour collecter des données océanographiques variées.
Kronstadt, St. Petersburg, May 18 (Interfax-AVN) - The second Mistral-class amphibious assault ship being built for Russia in France will be named the Sevastopol and will join Russia's Black Sea Fleet in 2017, a military official told Interfax-AVN on Saturday.
"The Sevastopol helicopter carrier will join the Black Sea Fleet not sooner than 2017 and will be based in Novorossiysk. Spetsstroy is supposed to prepare all the necessary infrastructure for it at the port to be based there by this time. In addition, a simulator is supposed to be built in Yeisk for helicopter crews to be based on this ship to receive training there," he said.
Two Mistral-class ships, the Vladivostok and the Sevastopol, were originally supposed to join Russia's Pacific Fleet upon their completion in France in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the official said. Berth 33 in Vladivostok is being reconstructed for this purpose now.
"However, the geopolitical situation required beefing up the Russian Navy's resources in the Mediterranean region, where an operational group is being built now. Its operation will require a significant number of new ships of various classes, including universal amphibious helicopter-carrying assault ships," he said.
Avec son rachat par Nexter, le fabricant de poudres et explosifs pour munitions, obus et petits missiles, ne veut pas être considéré uniquement comme un satellite du groupe public d'armement terrestre. Nexter ne représente que 15 % du chiffre d'affaires du groupe Eurenco.
L'opération de rapprochement entre les deux groupes publics, SNPE (maison mère d'Eurenco) et Giat Industrie (holding de Nexter), qui va dans le bon sens selon tous les acteurs concernés, nécessite néanmoins quelques ajustements très fins pour que la consolidation de la filière munitionnaire française soit gagnante-gagnante, notamment pour Eurenco. Car Nexter ne représente que 15 % du chiffre d'affaires environ du groupe Eurenco, qui a réalisé, selon nos informations, 248 millions d'euros de chiffre d'affaires en 2012 (plus de 1.000 salariés). "Les besoins de Nexter ne sont pas suffisants pour faire vivre Eurenco", explique-t-on à "La Tribune". Cette acquisition permettra au groupe d'armements terrestres de sécuriser son approvisionnement en poudres et explosifs (Eurenco lui vend environ 30 % de sa production) en internalisant la fourniture des composants essentiels pour ses munitions.
Ce contexte économique et stratégique a donc été pris en compte dans la rédaction du communiqué publié lundi. Il précise que "cette opération devrait permettre de regrouper, au sein d'une même entité et dans le respect de leurs stratégies, de leurs clients et de leurs marchés respectifs, les activités complémentaires des deux groupes". C'était la volonté de SNPE de protéger l'activité d'Eurenco. "Nous ne voulons pas devenir une société de poudres que pour le compte de Nexter", fait-on valoir dans le groupe SNPE.
Eurenco exporte 60 % de sa production
Pas question donc qu'Eurenco, qui se partage par exemple les charges modulaires du canon tracté Caesar de Nexter avec le groupe suisse Nitrochemie (groupe Rheinmetall), soit considéré que comme un "satellite de Nexter". Ce qui lui ferait perdre des marchés. Car Eurenco, selon nos informations, exporte environ 60 % environ de sa production, en dehors des pays où la filiale de SNPE est implantée. Elle a cinq usines de production modernes en Belgique (Clermont), en Finlande (Vihtavuori), en France (Bergerac et Sorgues) et en Suède (Karlskoga) et a ouvert un bureau commercial à Washington ainsi qu'une société de distribution à Houston.
Enfin, Eurenco devrait régler le dossier de Vihtavuori, dont le site a perdu près de 4 millions d'euros en 2012. Tout en poursuivant les discussions pour une éventuelle reprise du site avec les autorités finlandaises, la filiale de SNPE a lancé en parallèle une procédure de licenciement des salariés de Vihtavuori en vue d'une fermeture éventuelle. Une mesure qui pourrait éviter à Eurenco des discussions à l'infini pour la reprise du site.
Vers une consolidation européenne
La consolidation de la filiale munitionnaire pourrait être un premier pas vers un mouvement européen. Eurenco, qui avait entamé des discussions très amont avec Nitrochemie. De son côté, le PDG de Nexter n'est pas hostile à une telle opération. Philippe Burtin aimerait pouvoir rapprocher Eurenco de son rival Nitrochemie, une coentreprise détenue par l'allemand Rheinmetall et le suisse Ruag. Car selon lui, il ne peut pas y avoir deux fournisseurs européens de cette taille sur un marché aussi restreint.
Comme leurs homologues indiennes, les forces aériennes algériennes ont été de bonnes clientes de l’industrie aéronautique russe. Elles le restent d’ailleurs, mais dans des proportions moindres que par le passé étant donné que, de plus en plus, et comme New Delhi d’ailleurs, Alger se tourne vers d’autres fournisseurs pour moderniser les équipements de son armée.
C’est ainsi que, par exemple, dans le domaine du transport aérien militaire, l’Algérie a opté pour le C-295 d’Airbus Military et qu’il est question, à l’avenir, d’aquérir le C-17 Globemaster américain.
Mais ce n’est pas tout car, comme le rapporte Aviation Week, l’armée de l’Air algérienne a évalué l’avion ravitailleur A-330 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport), configuré comme les appareils déjà en service au sein de la Royal Air Force. Les démonstrations ont commencé le 10 mai dernier sur la base aérienne de Boufarik.
Selon un blog algérien traitant des affaires de défense, 3 A-330 MRTT pourraient être commandés par Alger – c’est aussi le chiffre avancé par l’hebdomadaire américain – afin de remplacer les avions ravitailleurs d’origine russe Il-76 (Il-78 Midas).
Jusqu’à présent, 28 A330 MRTT ont été vendus par Airbus Military, à l’Australie, l’Arabie saoudite, les Emirats arabes unis et le Royaume-Uni. En outre, cet appareil a été retenu par l’Inde en janvier dernier (un contrat portant sur 6 unités doit être négocié). Et il devrait également équiper l’armée de l’Air française. Selon le dernier Livre Blanc sur la Défense et la Sécurité nationale ( LBDSN) publié le 29 avril dernier, il serait désormais question de commander 12 exemplaires au lieu des 14 intialement envisagés.
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