VACANCIES
22 Mar 23. Altitude Angel seeks applicants for role as senior systems engineer. Unified traffic management (UTM) company Altitude Angel seeks applicants for the post of senior systems engineer to join the Reading-based company.
A key member of the company’s delivery team, you will be instrumental in the delivery of project SKYWAY, the world’s very first Drone Superhighway, working as a vital interface between the Product and Engineering departments, and key stakeholders throughout the project.
Key Accountabilities:
- Working closely with our technical partners and the UK CAA to identify operational and regulatory requirements
- Developing and evolving the SKYWAY requirements set, ensuring a balance between commercial, customer, safety and regulatory requirements
- Owning system certification work package and safety case development
- Collaborating with our technical and SME teams to ensure system requirements are understood and delivered
- Contributing to the development of the Operational CONOPS.
For more information visit: www.altitudeangel.com (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
LOCATIONS
LAND
30 Mar 23. First NATO defence innovation HQ opens in London. The first Regional Office of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) was opened in London today.
- London hosts NATO Defence Innovation HQ in partnership with Estonia.
- Opened by UK Defence Minister and NATO Deputy Secretary General.
- Leading innovation across the NATO Alliance to deter and defend against future threats.
The first Regional Office of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) was opened in London today, with a further hub in Tallinn due to open later this year.
Located at the Imperial College London Innovation Hub (I-HUB) in the White City Innovation District, the regional office was opened by the UK Minister for Defence Procurement, Alex Chalk KC and the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană on a visit to the site.
Delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy, the DIANA programme aims to support the foundation, growth and success of start-ups working to drive innovation and forward-thinking in Defence. Bringing together industry, government and academia from across the Alliance, DIANA will help enable NATO Allies to develop and integrate advanced dual-use technologies to address critical defence and security challenges, at pace.
Essential to delivering the NATO 2030 vision, the programme will ensure the Alliance develops the defence capabilities needed to deter and defend against existing and future threats, enhancing security within the Alliance and beyond.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Alex Chalk KC, said:
Combining the brightest and best from our thriving tech industries, government and academia, the UK’s first DIANA office will be a world-leading innovation hub to support future military technologies.
DIANA will operate to unite the best and brightest innovators across the Alliance to ensure that we are well-prepared to protect all Allied nations and nearly one billion citizens.
Mircea Geoană, NATO Deputy Secretary General, said:
DIANA is a game-changer for driving NATO’s innovation agenda forward. I am delighted that Imperial College’s White City Campus will host the first of DIANA’s regional offices. Imperial’s Innovation Hub already co-locates major defence contractors, innovators and researchers alongside UK and US government defence innovation accelerators, making it the ideal place to start this exciting new initiative.
The programme will support all nine of the key emerging and disruptive technologies that NATO has identified as priorities: artificial intelligence, data, autonomy, quantum-enabled technologies, biotechnology, hypersonics, space, novel materials and manufacturing, and energy and propulsion.
David van Weel, Interim DIANA Managing Director said:
Technology has never been as prominent on the NATO agenda as it is today. This location here in London on the Imperial College campus is a fantastic marker of our ambition. We want to bring NATO closer to the best and brightest of our innovators. Leading the establishment of DIANA has been a great pleasure over the past months. Now it is an honour to hand over to Professor Chana, who will be taking DIANA to new heights and launch DIANA’s first pilot activities in June.
Ranked in the world’s top ten innovative universities, Imperial College London will bring together academia, industry and government to host the HQ in a space shared with the UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), Major Defence Contractors and the US Department of Defense’s Tri-Service Office. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
28 Mar 23. The sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT today broke ground for the construction of a new plant in Oberkochen. The new building is the HENSOLDT Group’s response to the steadily growing demand for high-performance military equipment for the German Armed Forces and members of NATO, and to the ever-increasing demand from manufacturers of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry, who source high-precision optronic measuring equipment from HENSOLDT Optronics. The total investment volume is around 100 million euros. The company plans to move into the new location in 2025.
With the help of an innovative and sustainable energy concept, 70 percent of the electricity required in the new plant will be covered by the company’s own renewable sources. This share is to increase to 100 per cent in the long term. The total energy demand (heating, cooling, electricity) will be covered by regenerative sources, but mainly by geothermal probes working as heat pumps and photovoltaic systems. With its advanced energy concept, HENSOLDT is aiming for sustainability certification from a renowned institute.
“The focus of our growth plans is to expand our capacities in order to be able to supply the German Armed Forces quickly and to the required extent. I am pleased that this new location will create highly qualified jobs for the entire Ostwürttemberg region and beyond. As we grow, we will continue to invest in our employees and the environment in which we operate,” said HENSOLDT CEO Thomas Müller at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The new building will not only help us to handle the upcoming orders even better. It will also help us to better communicate the pride we as HENSOLDTians have in ourselves, our work and our service to the Federal Republic of Germany to the outside world.”
“All work areas, from administration, research and development, to assembly and integration areas will be synergetically stacked in the new location and interconnected due to the structure of the building,” explains Andreas Hülle, Division Manager Optronics & Land Solutions and Managing Director of HENSOLDT Optronics GmbH. “From 2025, around 850 employees will be able to take advantage of an innovative working environment in a “high-tech campus”. Flexible expansion options for the building structure and internal design will enable further growth in the long term.
“With more than 800 employees in Oberkochen and Aalen, HENSOLDT stands for the development, construction and production of state-of-the-art optical and optronic devices, including the necessary processing of sensor data. The new construction of the ultra-modern and particularly sustainable HENSOLDT Optronics Campus and the associated investment of around 100 million euros are a clear commitment to the Ostalbkreis innovation location,” said Dr Joachim Bläse, District Administrator of the Ostalbkreis. “The lessons learned from recent history show us that developments for security technology, civil and also military applications must be driven forward in equal measure. A beacon for this is being built in Oberkochen.”
MARITIME
29 Mar 23. Naval Group Launches the First Mine Countermeasure Vessel of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM Programme and Lays the Keel for the Third One. On 29 March 2023, the first of the twelve mine counter-measure vessels of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme, the M940 Oostende intended for the Belgian Navy, was floated out in Concarneau. The launching ceremony took place in the presence of Ludivine Dedonder, Belgian Minister of Defence, Kajsa Ollongren, Dutch Minister of Defence, and Patricia Mirallès, French Secretary of State for Veterans and Memory. During this day, Naval Group also laid the keel for the third of the twelve vessels, the M941 Tournai, intended for the Belgian Navy. This programme was awarded in 2019 to Belgium Naval & Robotics, the consortium formed by Naval Group and Exail*, following an international competition. It provides for the supply to the Belgian Navy and the Royal Netherlands Nay of twelve mine countermeasures vessels and around a hundred drones integrated inside a toolbox that will equip the vessels. The first delivery is scheduled for the end of 2024 in Zeebrugge, Belgium. Deliveries will then be staggered until 2030. (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/)
29 Mar 23. Beginning of Sea Trials of the Nuclear Attack Submarine Duguay-Trouin. The nuclear-powered attack submarine Duguay-Trouin made its first sea voyage on March 27 and 28, 2023, off the Cherbourg naval base. Led by the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) in conjunction with the Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) and in partnership with the French Navy and industry, the sea trials will last several months. The Duguay-Trouin is the second in a class of six nuclear attack submarines (SNA) of the Barracuda program, launched in 2006 by the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) and the Atomic Energy Commission and to alternative energies (CEA) for nuclear boilers. The first sortie, which marked the start of the sea trials, is a major milestone before the delivery of the second Suffren-type submarine, the Duguay-Trouin. The achievement of this milestone follows the completion work and a series of successful dockside trials in Cherbourg by the program’s state and industrial teams, since the transfer of the ship from its construction nave to the Cachin basin. These tests verified the correct operation of the various systems and equipment of the submarine, its watertightness as well as the correct operation of its propulsion (start-up of the nuclear boiler room, commonly called “first divergence”, on September 30, 2022). After a first leg in the Channel and a return to the basin in Cherbourg, the sea trials will lead the Duguay-Trouin to carry out trials in the Atlantic then in the Mediterranean. All of these sea trials will be carried out under the supervision of engineers and technicians from the DGA, the CEA’s Military Applications Department, Naval Group and TechnicAtome, and will be carried out by French Navy submariners. Their objective is to verify, in a progressive manner, all the technical and operational capabilities of the submarine. They will continue until its scheduled delivery in the summer of 2023. During the entire sea trial phase, the ship remains the property of Naval Group and TechnicAtome. It is placed under the responsibility of the French Navy for its operational command and in its capacity as delegated nuclear operator. As contracting authority for the Barracuda program, the DGA and the CEA are, for their part, responsible for the tests up to the acceptance of the ship by, and its delivery to, the French Navy.
A technological leap
The Barracuda-class submarines are equipped with nuclear propulsion which gives them a remarkable range of action and discretion. Suffren-type SSNs turn out to be real instruments of power, enduring and discreet. Their missions are varied: support for deterrence, protection of the carrier battle group, intelligence gathering, submarine and anti-ship warfare.
In addition to a significant improvement in performance in these areas compared to the previous-generation Rubis-class, the Suffren-class boats have new capabilities for implementing special forces and striking land targets located several hundred kilometers away with the Naval Cruise Missile. They represent a technological leap that allows France to remain in the very restricted club of nations that implement modern and high-performance SSNs.
The six submarines of the Barracuda program will have renewed by 2030 the component of the attack submarines of the French Navy, currently made up of four SSNs of the Rubis type, put into service from the 1980s, and the SSN Suffren, the lead boat. It was delivered to the French Navy on November 6, 2020 and was admitted to active service in June 2022.
The four other submarines of the Barracuda program (Tourville, de Grasse, Rubis and Casabianca) are currently at different stages of construction.
(Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ French Directorate General of Armament)
20 Mar 23. The first French FlotLog programme Force Supply Vessel (BRF – Bâtiment Ravitailleur de Forces) left Saint-Nazaire to return to its home port. On the night of March 18 to 19, 2023, the Jacques Chevallier, the first of the four force supply vessels (BRF – Bâtiment Ravitailleur de Forces) of the ‘Logistics Fleet’ programme (FlotLog) intended for the French Navy, left its construction port of Saint-Nazaire in order to begin a new phase of sea trials before heading to her future home port in Toulon. After being put on hold in December 2021, being floated in April 2022 and the ceremony for the first raising of colours on March 3, 2023, the BRF Jacques Chevallier has taken a new step by leaving its builder port before being received by the Organisation Joint Armaments Cooperation (OCCAR), on behalf of the General Armaments Directorate (DGA), and its delivery to the French Navy in the summer of 2023. The conduct of the ship will now be entrusted to a crew from the French Navy. In the short term, the ship will sail to Toulon, its future home port, where it will arrive at the end of March. This sea trial campaign is dedicated to the refuelling system at sea (supplied by Chantiers de l’Atlantique), and the combat and communication system (supplied by Naval Group).
The construction of the second BRF, Jacques Stosskopf, will begin in Saint-Nazaire in about a year, for delivery in 2025.
Laurent Castaing, Managing Director of Chantiers de l’Atlantique declared: “ We are delighted with the excellent result obtained thanks to the good cooperation of our teams and those of our various partners. We are now going to continue this quality collaboration until the delivery of the ship in July in Toulon.”
Laurent Castaing praised the excellent result obtained thanks to the commitment of the teams and the good collaboration between the manufacturers, the DGA and the OCCAR. “The FlotLog programme is a great story of cooperation between European partners but also between industrial partners. The departure of the ship for its home port is an important milestone for the DGA, the French Navy, the Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Naval Group and all our industrial partners. We are proud to be part of this European programme and remain fully committed to providing the DGA and the French Navy with the best expertise in the civil and military sectors in the construction of high-tonnage vessels,” underlines Olivier de la Bourdonnaye, Buildings Director of surface of Naval Group.
A multi-purpose vessel resulting from a strategic European industrial partnership serving the French Navy: As a reminder, the BRF Jacques Chevallier is the first of a series of four ships intended for the French Navy, the order of which was notified in January 2019 to the Momentary Group of Companies formed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group. The FlotLog programme is part of a Franco-Italian cooperation led by OCCAR on behalf of the DDGA and its Italian counterpart NAVARM.
Through their alliance, Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique are combining and multiplying their skills in order to offer the best of each of the two companies in the construction of ships of more than 8,000 tons, in the service of the French Navy. Equipped with a self-defence capability, the new series of BRFs is intended to replace the current oil tankers, with increased capacities and modern equipment in order to fully ensure the specific support missions of the carrier battle group, formed around the carrier. Charles de Gaulle aircraft, as well as any French or allied naval action group.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique is responsible for all of the design and construction of the four vessels and is responsible for the integration and assembly of the on-board systems. Naval Group is responsible for designing, developing and integrating the ship’s military systems, including the combat system, the systems contributing to the reception capacity of aircraft and the loading of ammunition and the centralized control system for the installations of the platform. The combat system of the four buildings notably allows the ships to deploy independently to their area of operations, to provide protection against close threats and to lead the fight against asymmetric threats.
Technical characteristics :
- full load displacement: 31,000 tonnes
- overall length: 194m
- overall width: 27.60m
- accommodation: 190 people, including 130 crew members, an aeronautical detachment of 10 people, and 50 passengers
- fuel carrying capacity: 13,000 m3
- total installed power: 24 MW.
- (Source: www.joint-forces.com)
PLANT CLOSURES, JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
30 Mar 23. Lawmakers decry US Navy’s plan to decommission aging amphibious ships. The U.S. Navy’s plan to decommission three amphibious warships ahead of schedule has drawn ire from some legislators, who last year put into law a requirement for the service to maintain a fleet of at least 31 ships for the Marine Corps to use.
The Navy in its fiscal 2024 budget request asked to decommission three Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ships — the Germantown, Gunston Hall and Tortuga — which it tried to decommission last year and Congress voted to save.
Vice Adm. Scott Conn, the deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, explained during a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s sea power panel that these ships are not viable options for overseas operations given their poor condition. The vessels have not reached the end of their planned 40-year life span.
Conn said the ships’ original service life was meant to be 35 years, but in the 1990s the Navy changed that to 40 based on the assumptions the ships would operate in six-month deployments and be properly maintained along the way.
Throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, “we operated those ships much longer than six-month deployments,” Conn said. “We know we didn’t put the resources [toward] those ships to be able to sustain them. So now we’re in a position where we have some hard choices to make.”
As the Navy watches their performance in ongoing maintenance availabilities, “we don’t have the confidence, as we’re seeing growth work and new work, that those ships will get out of the maintenance phase, be able to get through a work-up cycle … which is a year long, and then go on deployment.”
Why keep them if “we can’t get them away from the pier,” Conn wondered.
It would cost about $3 billion to keep the Whidbey Island amphibious ships and cruisers the Navy wants to decommission, but Conn argues that money would be better spent on other ships. Additionally, decommissioning the ships rather than continuing their unsuccessful maintenance availabilities would free up sailors for other ship assignments at sea and would free up repair yards to work on ships that are more badly needed by the fleet.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who serves in the Marine Corps Reserve, told Conn the Navy’s plan to decommission these ships brings the fleet lower than the now-statutory requirement for 31 ships.
“This is not a suggestion, it’s a law,” he said. “You have a law, we passed it … and the Navy comes out and says: ‘Eh, we’ll just blow off those silly U.S. senators.’ ”
Conn told him that “having 31 ships, of which three of them may be tied to a pier for the next five years, is not really 31.” (Source: Defense News)
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT
PERSONNEL
30 Mar 23. Statement From Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. Last night, we lost nine servicemembers in an accident during a routine training mission in Kentucky. My heart goes out to the families of these servicemembers and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day. I’m saddened by this tragic loss, and I am working with Army leadership to make sure our troops and their families receive the care that they need in the wake of this accident. (Source: US DoD)
EUROPE APPOINTMENTS
28 Mar 23. The Prime Minister has today made three re-appointments to his Trade Envoy programme.
The re-appointments are:
- Rt Hon David Mundell MP as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to New Zealand,
- Heather Wheeler MP as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Cambodia & Laos,
- Laurence Robertson MP as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Angola, Zambia with the addition of Ethiopia.
The Prime Minister has also appointed Gareth Johnson MP as his Trade Envoy to the United Arab Emirates.
28 Mar 23. Mr John Marshall has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea in succession to Mr David McIlroy who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Marshall will take up his appointment during March 2023.
27 Mar 23. His Majesty The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Earl of Minto as a Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade.
REST OF THE WORLD APPOINTMENTS
30 Mar 23. UAE: Consolidation of al-Nahyan rule via crown prince appointment will lead to limited policy change. On 29 March, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MBZ) appointed his eldest son, Sheikh Khaled, as the new crown prince of Abu Dhabi. In addition, MBZ has placed his other sons in key deputy roles. This highlights an increasing preference among Gulf rulers to appoint key positions via linear (rather than lateral) family lines. For example, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed his son as both the crown prince and prime minister of the kingdom in 2017 and 2022, respectively. Gulf rulers have historically positioned their brothers in crown prince positions as opposed to their sons. MBZ’s reshuffle effectively consolidates the ruling position of the al-Nahyan family in the UAE. This was underscored by MBZ naming his son, Sheikh Mansour, as vice president of the UAE; this position is normally filled by the head of Dubai (who is currently Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum). This will likely cause low-level tension between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, the reshuffle is unlikely to result in any major policy changes or business continuity issues in the coming months. (Source: Sibylline)
INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY TEAMINGS
27 Mar 23. AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR), a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs, announced a distribution agreement with Cloud Cap Technology, a Collins Aerospace Mission Systems business. This agreement expands AAR’s presence in the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) market, building on AAR’s civil and government relationships as well as its proven supply chain and sales support processes. AAR will stock, promote, and sell the TASE and Piccolo imaging payload and flight management systems used by manned and unmanned airborne applications to support Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Customers are expected to include UAS manufacturers, airframers, as well as civil and government operators.
“We look forward to working with AAR to grow our global reach for TASE and Piccolo,” said Guy Bowie, General Manager for TASE and Piccolo at Collins. “The AAR team brings an increased capability that will serve our customers well.”
“Cloud Cap is the field-tested market leader with the TASE and Piccolo systems,” said Darren Spiegel, Vice President and General Manager at AAR. “AAR is excited to broaden our reach in the UAS market with products that are integral and adaptable to a wide range of surveillance and tactical missions.”
PERSONNEL
EUROPE APPOINTMENTS
30 Mar 23. A management shake-up at Rolls-Royce, spearheaded by its chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic, moves Helen McCabe from BP to become the engineering group’s finance director. Rob Watson will head up its civil aerospace business with immediate effect while Adam Riddle becomes head of its defence business and will lead its North American division. (Source: FT.com)
U.S. APPOINTMENTS
27 Mar 23. Divergent Technologies, Inc. (Divergent), the leader in industrial digital manufacturing, today announced the appointment of retired United States Marine General Peter Pace to its Board of Directors. As the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007, General Pace served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council. He is the first Marine to hold this position. With more than four decades of leadership, strategic, and long-term planning experience, General Pace has demonstrated great success in both military and business arenas. He currently holds leadership positions as an advisor or board member for several well-respected corporations. (Source: PR Newswire)
27 Mar 23. Ex-Navy CIO Weis joins Google Public Sector as managing director. Former U.S. Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer Aaron Weis joined Google Public Sector as the company’s managing director of technology. In his new job, he’ll oversee the development and implementation of the technology strategy for the Google Cloud Platform, according to an announcement shared with C4ISRNET. His first day is March 27. (Source: Defense News)
30 Mar 23. GVF, the leading global association of the entire satellite industry ecosystem has announced that following the forthcoming departure of Secretary General David Meltzer, Irina Petrov, GVF’s Vice President for Marketing & Membership, has been appointed as Acting Secretary General, effective 24 May 2023. Mr. Meltzer, based at GVF’s Washington, D.C. Office has served as Secretary General since 2018, leading the association in promoting the satellite industry through its wide range of functions, including regulatory advocacy, technology and business training and related webinars. Ms. Petrov has served as GVF’s Vice President for Marketing & Membership since 2019 and during the last four years has contributed significantly to the success of the association’s initiatives, notably the highly acclaimed GVF Webinar Series, expansion of training programs and vigorously supporting the members.
24 Mar 23. HDT Global (HDT), announced today the appointment of Kevin McSweeney as President and CEO. Mr. McSweeney replaces Juan A. Navarro, who has announced his retirement. Mr. McSweeney comes to HDT from Telephonics Corporation, where he progressed through leadership roles including Vice President and General Manager of the Radar Systems Division, Executive Vice President responsible for all programs, business development and engineering and finally President and CEO. Prior to his tenure at Telephonics, Mr. McSweeney held roles of increasing responsibility at Lockheed Martin, culminating as the business leader for the Maritime Safety, Security and Surveillance business area. (Source: PR Newswire)
29 Mar 23. Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) has appointed Barbara Graham as senior vice president of the company’s Navy Business Unit. Graham is responsible for leading strategy, business development and program excellence across the company’s $1bn portfolio of solutions and services for a wide range of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps customers. In her new role, Graham reports to Bob Genter, president of SAIC’s Defense and Civilian Sector. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
29 Mar 23. VSE Corporation (“VSE” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VSEC), a leading provider of aftermarket distribution and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for land, sea and air transportation assets supporting commercial and government markets, today announced the appointment of Michael Perlman as its new Vice President of Investor Relations and Communications. In this role, Mr. Perlman will be responsible for leading the Company’s investor relations strategy and enhancing its communication with the investment community. Mr. Perlman brings over 20 years of experience in investor relations, corporate communications, and financial analysis to VSE, including establishing investor relations functions at two public company spin-offs and one new public offering. Most recently, Michael served as Executive Vice President, Investor Relations of Jushi Holdings Inc. (“Jushi”), where he successfully developed and executed a comprehensive investor relations program that effectively communicated the company’s growth strategy, financial performance, and operational achievements to investors, analysts, and the media. Prior to Jushi, Michael supported NASDAQ-listed companies KLX Inc. and KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc. for six years as Senior Director, Investor Relations and Treasurer(Source: BUSINESS WIRE)