Defence`s Feeds

via New York Times Hundreds of protesters stormed Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Saturday and entered the Parliament building, waving Iraqi flags, snapping photographs, breaking furniture...

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Thanks to Alert 5 for the link! via Russian Helicopters Press Release. "The new Ka-62 will be a worthy addition to the civilian version of the honored and the most massive in the world of the...

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via USA Today. It was the latest in a series of incidents where Russian aircraft have buzzed American planes or ships operating in the region, raising concerns the maneuvers could lead to mishaps.A...

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Thanks to Super Rhino for the link! via Fortune Five of six Air Force F-35 fighter jets were unable to take off during a recent exercise due to software bugs that continue to hamstring the world’s...

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via Sputnik "A joint command consisting of officers from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the US that is responsible for planning the invasion of Libya, as well as the Italian and British defense...

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I'm watching these clowns and this is taking on a MUCH different vibe than what we saw earlier.  I'm watching protesters pushing and shoving police! They're being MUCH MUCH MUCH calmer about it...

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On 29 April Jorge Domecq, the European Defence Agency’s Chief Executive, participated in a CSDP symposium organised by the EU delegation in the US at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, where he spoke on the topic of “Technology, Capabilities and Readiness: The Way Forward”.

In his speech - the full text of which is available on the link below – the EDA Chief Executive stressed that “unlike the United States, there is no single European country that is able to develop, acquire and maintain the full suite of military capabilities single-handedly. That is why cooperation is so crucial”. Talking about the need to bring innovation into defence, topic related to the US Third Offset Strategy, he called on the US authorities “to do it working closely with your European partners in order to be a real partnership not only in the doctrinal or operational matters but also in technological and industrial issues”.

On this occasion he also held talks with Ambassador Tina Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs in the US State Department, as well as with Keith B. Webster, Director International Cooperation for the Under Secretary of Defense (USD) for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L). He also had a meeting with Fred Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council.

On 28 April, Mr Domecq was the central speaker in a round-table dinner organized by the Atlantic Council with the participation of representatives from US defence industries. In his speech, the EDA Chief Executive highlighted the importance of strengthening the European defence capabilities – be it military, technological or industrial – in order to ensure a credible NATO. In this respect, Mr Domecq outlined the essential role of the EDA.

More information: 

• Jorge Domecq Speech at Washington CSDP Symposium

Remember this vid?  It was all the "hotness" on the internet and everyone was having a good time watching heavy construction equipment play transformers on a Chinese street. But did you go past...

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Alert 5 should be on everyone's morning reading list!

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via Navy Times. “I think this is going to revolutionize where we are with expeditionary strike groups,” Swift said. “The three-ship PAC SAG that [destroyers] Decatur, Momsen and Spruance are part of...

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The EDA seminar on “Setting priorities for R&T in Europe to prepare the future together” was concluded on 26 April in Amsterdam after two days of inspiring presentations and lively debates.

Organised in cooperation with The Netherlands’ Ministry of Defence, under the auspices of the current Netherlands EU Presidency, the conference saw some 150 participants discussing emerging and critical technologies, innovation in defence as well as strategic agenda setting for R&T in Europe.

The event was opened on 25 April with key note speeches by The Netherlands’ Vice Chief of Defence, Vice Admiral Rob Bauer, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq, European Commission Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux (DG GROW) and UK MoD R&T Director and current chairman of the EDA R&T Steering Board, Bryan Wells.

Presentations and discussions then followed in three successive panels. Panel 1, “From emerging to critical technologies”, focused on a number of game-changing technologies, as well as on the question of how to find them. In panel 2 “How to innovate in defence?”, participants looked at innovation from various angles. The third panel, “Delivering Europe’s defence research agenda for the future”, was dedicated to the future agenda for R&T in Defence, building on the outcomes of the two previous panels.

In his welcome remarks, EDA CE Jorge Domecq warned against the consequences of insufficient R&D investment and European cooperation in times of successive budget cuts. “In the longer term low R&T investment will lead to losing in Europe Defence and industrial capabilities. We can clearly not afford that risk”, he said. Now that defence budgets in many Member States are beginning to increase again, there is a “golden opportunity not only to invest in the here-and-now but also in the capabilities we will need in the future”, he said. Not only does Europe need to invest more in R&T “but it also needs to do so together, that is cooperatively”. Mr Domecq reckoned the upcoming Preparatory Action on defence research and the potential follow-on programme “will create a ‘game changer’ – provided the budgets are significant”. Domecq asked the question if we need to think about a European cooperation regarding technology watching and innovation on a low Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), in a structure he compared to DARPA.

The Netherlands’ Vice Chief of Defence, Vice Admiral Rob Bauer, also pleaded for investment in a “European agenda for collaborative R&T”. “Collaborative research leads to collaborative development of cutting-edge technologies. And this leads to less waste of both money and opportunities for collaborative procurement and more interoperability. This is why the Netherlands is in favour of a large comprehensive EU-funded defence research programme”, he stated.

European Commission Deputy DG Pierre Delsaux said the Commission’s objective was to make sure the European defence technological and industrial base is “broad, robust, innovative and fit or purpose”. If Europe does not invest in R&T, it won’t be able to cope with the security and defence responsibilities it has, he warned. European defence players need to cooperate more: “Competition should not be between Member States but with the rest of the world”, he said.

UK MoD R&T Director Bryan Wells highlighted the change in defence innovation patterns as civil and commercial high tech players have now taken the lead in R&D, including in fields relevant for the military. The scale of civil R&T investment now dwarfs defence-specific research spending; this trend has already given rise to technology areas in which defence relies completely on civil developments. “We have to accept that we will no longer invent the scientific and technology futures – and we should expect to see truly disruptive innovations occurring in unexpected, unfamiliar places”, he said.

The three experts panels highlighted the great quality of technological developments in Europe and the impact of emerging technologies on Defence, the need for innovation, collaboration, the importance of the Preparatory Action and its potential follow on Defence research programme and the need for a comprehensive prioritization scheme taking into account the different governance models and funding schemes for Defence R&T in Europe.

EDA Deputy Chief Executive Rini Goos closed the conference on 26 April by commending speakers and participants for their “inspiring and active engagement”. The event confirmed that defence-related R&T is important because it underpins the needed future capabilities, he said. “But to do so, it needs adequate funding”, Mr Goos insisted.

More information:

• The Netherlands EU Presidency, together with the EDA, will shortly publish a report summarizing the main findings of the seminar’s three panels. This report will be publicly available and can be obtained on the EDA website from 15 May 2016.

The Australian government has signed an agreement with local industry to sustain the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) fleet of eight ANZAC-class frigates, it was announced on 29 April. Under what is called the Warship Asset Management Agreement (WAMA), the government will join forces to support the

United Kingdom Eurofighter Typhoons from the Royal Air Force's II(AC) Squadron deployed on 27 April to Amari Air Base in Estonia to take part for four months in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission. The four Typhoons will be joined by four Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons from Portugal, which

US defence services provider CACI reported its third-quarter earnings for the company's fiscal year 2016 on 27 April, with revenue up 20% and operating income up 19% year over year. The company reported revenue of USD977 million for the third quarter of 2016, up from USD818 million for the third

The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has said it will focus activities on civilian-military integration (CMI) in a bid to spur innovation and boost revenues. In outlining its priorities for China's 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20), CSIC said on 28 April that CMI, which aims to leverage

Two Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors and one Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker arrived at Èiauliai Air Base on 27 April after concluding a training mission in Romania, the US Air Force (USAF) announced. The F-22s and about 20 supporting airmen are from the 95th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base,

Nexter Systems is moving forward with the upgrade of the French Army Leclerc main battle tanks (MBT) and armoured recovery vehicles (ARV). In March 2015, the French Procurement Agency, the DGA, awarded Nexter Systems a EUR300 million (USD339.5 million) contract covering 200 Renovated Leclerc MBTs

Key Points Despite concerted efforts to 'indigenise' production, important programmes face cost overruns and significant delays adding to operational woes. Systemic deficiencies, particularly procedural delays in finalising contracts, contribute to project postponements. The Indian Navy's (IN's)

Indonesia's state-owned land systems specialist PT Pindad has entered an agreement with German company Junghans Defence - a joint venture between Diehl and Thales - to produce fuzes for a range of munitions. PT Pindad said on 28 April that the memorandum of understanding is intended to maximise