NEWS IN BRIEF
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EUROPE
03 Apr 09. EU report calls for greater naval co-ordination between members. The EU faces growing domination of its vital sea lanes by Asian powers and should use the national overseas military bases of the UK, France and other EU countries in a co-ordinated way to increase the visibility of Europe’s naval power and protect its commercial and maritime interests, says a new report by the European Parliament. Commissioned by the parliament’s sub-committee on security and defence, the 25-page report argues for new shipbuilding programmes co-ordinated at EU level and for the placement of national overseas military installations and maritime power “at the crux” of the union’s European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) . (Source: Jane’s, IDR)
16 Apr 09. The AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association for Europe is
calling for more investment in R&D in the aeronautics defense sector.
“We need to see continued and accelerated investment now,” said ASD President Allan Cook at a press conference here April 16. “Look at the U.S., with its $70-75bn per year spent on R&D alone – the gap in technology capability between Europe and the U.S. is getting wider and wider.” He suggested that if Europe could not match the United States in terms of funding, it could do so in terms of innovation and technology.
“Continual investment into market-driven R&D is the lifeblood of the industry,” he said, adding that “the development of skills we need is absolutely essential”. The ASD president urged governments and the European Union to look at current levels of R&D in real capabilities, not just platforms, pointing to fast, accurate and sensitive communications as a top priority. He stressed the importance of space, air, naval and land communications, and confirmed the importance of good communications for military helicopters and transport airplanes in multinational operations. As far as defense markets were concerned, he said that the economic situation had shown “slight growth” in the United Kingdom, had “reduced slightly” in Spain, was “flat” in Germany, that France was putting more investment into capabilities, and that Italy was looking at its budget. He pointed out that the U.S. budget was set for about $664bin in 2010. (Source: Defense News)
Apr 09. Sources close to BATTLESPACE suggest that all is not well with the OUVS Programme (See: BATTLESPACE UPDATE Vol.11 ISSUE 15, 10 April 2009, OUVS NUMBERS LOOK TO DROP). The MoD SUV IPT has said to contenders that even with the increased survivability package the contenders should use the same chassis as submitted under the original Requirement. The cost of building and supporting the two prototypes with the additional changes is estimated to be between £4-5m for the lower numbers. These sources also suggest that some major players may withdraw from OUVS.
14 Apr 09. As we have discussed in the past Sweden’s sole aerospace company, SAAB, has been agressivley marketing the Gripen in Asia and Europe. With several NATO countries looking to replace their F-16 fl