Defence`s Feeds

There is an increasing demand for the EU to become a ‘Security Provider’. This demand comes from Europe’s best ally, namely the U.S., but also from Member States themselves. For the first time ever the defence solidarity clause of article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union was invoked in November 2015. Ultimately the demand to put ‘more defence in the Union’ comes from European citizens who wonder why Europe does not protect them in the current turmoil. From the answer to this question depends not only Europe’s ‘strategic autonomy’, but possibly the future of the whole European project. Several steps have already been initiated to answer the call for more defence in Europe. Since the beginning of his mandate, President Juncker has declared defence a ‘priority’, called for the implementation of the Permanent Structured Cooperation enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty and reiterated the long term vision of a ’European army’. In June 2016, a ‘global strategy’ will be issued and a Commission Defence Action Plan should follow by the end of 2016. A ‘Pilot Project’, adopted by the European Parliament in autumn 2014, has been launched and should open the path to a ‘Preparatory Action on Defence Research’ that may be voted in 2016 for the 2017-2020 budgets. A natural underpinning of those efforts should be the undertaking of a full-fledged Union programme in defence research. The size, the shape and the steps to be taken towards setting it up are the subject of the present report.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Russian Strela-3 Man-Portable Air Defense Missile System

Recently, Michael Kofman and I published an article arguing that Russia’s claimed withdrawal from Syria is not really a withdrawal, but rather a public relations move to normalize Russian military presence in Syria for the long term. Events over the last 10 days have confirmed our analysis and also provided more details on the air forces that Russia is continuing to maintain in Syria. A photo made by the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales and distributed via IHS Jane’s shows that as of March 20, there were still 12 Su-24M bombers at Hmeymim, as well as four Su-34 bombers, three Su-30SM fighters and three Su-35S fighters. Zero to three additional aircraft may have been out conducting airstrikes, for a total of 22-25 remaining Russian fixed-wing strike aircraft in Syria. There were also 14 helicopters, including two Mi-28Ns and two Ka-52s.

This means that in the first week after the withdrawal was announced, Russia pulled out three Su-24Ms, four SU-34s, all 12 Su-25s, and four Mi-35M helicopters, while adding at least two Mi-28N and two Ka-52 helicopters. The photo also shows IAI Searcher Mk2 Forpost UAVs.

In other words, the current size of the Russian air presence at Hmeymim is comparable to what Russia had at the start of the operation, minus the Su-25s, but with the addition of Su-35s.

 

Italian Beretta ARX-160 Assault Rifle

Anti-EU rhetoric in the run-up to the UK referendum ignores the achievements and relevance of CSDP, as well as the risks of losing influence over its future direction. Sandy Johnston provides an objective UK perspective on the Policy.

The post The EU’s CSDP: an (objective) UK perspective appeared first on European Geostrategy.

South African Oryx Medium Utility Helicopter

Russian RPK-74 Light Machine Gun

German Walther P99 Pistol

Israeli Merkava Mk.1 Main Battle Tank

Today, a call for proposals for the Pilot Project for defence research has been published in the Official Journal and on the EDA website. The objective of the call is to award grant agreements for the value of almost €1.4 million for two technological development projects in the area of defence and one research and development project linked to certification for military and civil uses. This is the first time that defence research will be funded through the EU budget following a Delegation Agreement signed by the EDA and the European Commission in November 2015.

In particular, the present call looks for proposals that: foster research cooperation between defence research actors in European Union Member States, strengthen the defence industry’s competitiveness and raises the level of defence technological and industrial capacity for the armed forces. 

Research in defence related technologies is a critical area for the development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base and the strength and strategic autonomy of the EU Member States armed forces. 

The Pilot Project, has been introduced by the European Parliament in the EU budget (2015 and 2016), with the aim to test the conditions for defence research in the EU framework and pave the way for the planned Preparatory Action on defence research. 

The European Commission, in agreement with the European Council, will launch a Preparatory Action on defence research, as foreseen in the Commission’s 2013 Communication on the defence and security sector and the 2014 implementation roadmap, which will start in 2017 and last for three years, in order to test and prepare the ground for a possible defence research programme in the next Multiannual Financial Framework.

The Pilot Project has been entrusted to EDA by the European Commission through a Delegation Agreement which was signed on 16 November. As a result, EDA is responsible for the execution and management of the projects. The call for proposals, the submission of proposals, the evaluation and the awarding of the grant agreement will be organised and coordinated by EDA. 

Interested parties are invited to respond to the call for proposals before 20 May 2016. The call and associated documentation are available here. 

More information:

• Call for proposal for the Pilot Project on defence research

On 17 March, the Republic of Serbia officially joined the EU Satcom Market. The EDA initiative is designed to provide flexible commercial satellite communication solutions for its contributing members.

Commercial satellite communications are used by all nations to provide extra capacity on top of their own military and governmental satellite communications. The EU Satcom Market provides a flexible and cost-effective way of doing this. 

Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive, welcomed Serbia's decision to join the EU Satcom Market project highlighting the benefits of the project as regards the provision of commercial satellite communication solutions. He added that this was a concrete step of the Republic of Serbia to enhance cooperation with EDA partners in the framework of the Administrative Arrangement between the Agency and the Serbian Ministry of Defence. 

The Republic of Serbia signed an Administrative Arrangement with the Agency in 2013 enabling it to participate in EDA projects and programmes. The EU Satcom Market is the first EDA project which the Republic of Serbia has decided to join.

Background

Within the EU Satcom Market project, EDA acts as the central purchasing body on behalf of the contributing members. It purchases the services from a commercial provider. The project uses a ‘pay-per-use’ model, so members do not have to contribute with regular fees, instead they only pay for what they order. 
Since May 2013, 32 orders have been passed for a total value of around €5.2 million. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal, the Republic of Serbia, Romania, the United Kingdom, the Athena Mechanism, EUCAP Sahel Niger and EUCAP SAHEL Mali are now members of the project. Further participation is open to all EDA participating Member States as well as all entities entitled to take part in Agency activities.

 

More information

• EU SatCom Market project page
• Operations Support project page

 

Azali Nord Sud Hotel accomodationg the European Union Training Mission in Mali was shot Monday night by an attack, whose perpetrators were pushed back, killing one among the attackers. The hotel is located in the ACI 2000 quarter, close to the luxury Radisson Blu hotel which was hit on November 20 by a jihadist attack that killed 20 people besides the two assailants. Shooting, followed by exchanges of automatic weapons, broke out in the early evening in the exclusive area of the capital of Mali. Military EUTM and guards that provide protection building immediately returned fire. One of the attackers was shot. The attack against the Radisson was claimed by Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in coordination with the jihadist group of Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, al-mourabitoun, who had sealed this occasion his support for AQIM.
EUTM, which has some 600 personnel, brings together European soldiers from 25 countries, currently under German command. It was launched in February 2013, in the wake of the military operation at the initiative of France to drive the jihadists who controlled northern Mali. It aims to rebuild a Malian army under-trained and under-equipped in providing expertise in operational readiness, logistics support, intelligence and training of combat units on the Koulikoro camp (60 km north east of Bamako).

Tag: EUTM Mali

In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks on Brussels, Sven Biscop argues that now is not the time for grand words but greater European solidarity and cooperation.

The post Staying Belgian, investing in Europe appeared first on European Geostrategy.

Chinese FN-6 Man-Portable Air Defense Missile System

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Exercise COLD BLADE 2016, hosted by the Finnish Defence Forces, was formally completed Wednesday evening March 16th 2016 by the Chief of Finnish Army Aviation, LtCol Jaro Kesänen.

At exercise closure, a total of 290 hours had been flown on 156 missions with 3 participating Member States (Finland and Germany, as well as Sweden which sent observers) and 10 European helicopters: seven NH-90, one MD500 and two CH-53GA. Italian attendees participated in the survival training.

This cold weather exercise was operated from Ivalo airbase in Finland. The challenging winter scenario in Lapland allowed Finland and Germany to train and adapt their aircrew to winter conditions. Besides the focus on flying in demanding white-out conditions, the exercise was used to test the helicopters, test the aircrew and to teach and learn Technics, Tactics and Procedures in a cold and snowy environment.

During the first week, Finland and Germany executed individual trainings, qualifying helicopter pilots and loadmasters in white-out landings and navigation skills in an area with barely any houses or roads. During day and night missions all training aims were met and, even with Night Vision Goggles, the nights were very dark in northern Finland. During the second week, formation flights with German CH-53GA and Finnish NH-90 helicopters were flown at night. While aircrew from Germany and Finland were flying, Italian militaries attended the survival course and learned how to survive in Lapland.

The German Detachment commander praised the unique nature of the exercise and stressed that the added value of cooperating with other nations and practicing winter operations in combined missions just could not have been achieved by working alone. The skills developed during the exercise are precisely those needed to conduct successful operations in the future. These types of exercises truly enhance helicopter capabilities in Europe which also reflects the objective of EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP). Since the first exercise in France in 2009, trainings have increased in scale, environmental challenges and complexity. Participants not only came from different nations but also from different branches with air force and army all working together. In exercise Cold Blade 2016, German Army NH-90 mechanics executed tests and exchanged information with their Finnish counterparts concerning winter maintenance, use of tools and NH-90 helicopter documentation.

This was the first EDA exercise hosted by Finland.

More information:      

• Factsheet COLD BLADE 2016
• COLD BLADE 2016 Video
• Infos on EDA Helicopter Initiatives

(picture above and video were provided by Finnish Defence Forces)

The Subcommittee held a Public Hearing on the Review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is due in 2015, with experts from think tanks, NGOs and the EEAS.
Location : Brussels, room Altiero Spinelli 1G2
Programme
Draft programme
Poster
Poster
Background documents
Background documents
Presentations
Presentation by Rebecca Johnson, Director, Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Russian PSS-2 Silenced Pistol

The public hearing "The crisis in Syria and the role of international and regional actors: security implications for Europe" was held on 16 March with researchers closely working on the issue and a representative from the EEAS. The hearing provided a better understanding of the situation on the ground, a vital requirement for bringing the conflict to an end.
Location : Altiero Spinelli 3G-2
Programme
Programme
Presentation
Presentation by Michael Benhamou
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Presentation of the study "The future of EU Defence Research"
Securing commercial shipping lanes against piracy - Presentation by Simon Church, EU NAVFOR Somalia
Securing commercial shipping lanes against piracy - Presentation by Giles Noakes, BIMCO
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP