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25 Oct 18. UK Armed Forces: All Roles Open to Women. The Defence Secretary announced (25 Oct 18) that all roles in the UK Armed Forces are now open to women. Those already serving in the Army can transfer to the Infantry while new recruits can apply for Infantry roles in December 2018, with basic training starting in April 2019. Women can also apply to join the Royal Marines (RM) from the end of 2018. Training courses will start at the RM Commando training centre in Lympstone in early 2019.
Comment: The ban on women serving in combat roles was lifted in 2016 when the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) was the first to recruit female soldiers and officers, followed by the RAF Regiment in 2017. The Defence Secretary made the above announcement during a Land Power Demonstration on Salisbury Plain which involved some of the first women to join the RAC. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
25 Oct 18. Future Air Defence Availability Project (F-ADAPT): Contract Award. The Defence Procurement Minister confirmed (25 Oct 18) that Thales UK has been awarded a £93m contract for F-ADAPT. The project will enhance the High Velocity Missile (HVM) and Lightweight Multi-role Missile (LMM) systems which are designed to intercept a range of air and surface threats such as drones, helicopters and armoured vehicles. The upgrade includes thermal imaging and ‘Friend or Foe’ identification.
Comment: The above announcement is an amendment to the ADAPT contract, awarded to Thales in 2008, supporting the UK’s Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) which provides close air defence for land and coastal forces. The contract will guarantee availability and support for the Starstreak HVM and, from 2019, the LMM. Both missiles are designed to be fired from tactical platforms such as the Stormer fighting vehicle and Lightweight Multiple Launcher. Some 100 jobs will be secured at Thales UK’s Air Operations and Weapon Systems facility in Belfast. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
23 Oct 18. F-35B Lightning Aircraft: Deliveries. During questions in the House of Lords (23 Oct 18) the Spokesman on Defence confirmed that firm orders have been placed for 18 F-35B Lightning aircraft with 16 having already been delivered. The 17th aircraft is expected to be delivered by the end of 2018 and the 18th aircraft is expected in Summer 2019. The Lords’ Spokesman also confirmed that the Deployable F-35 Operations Facility at RAF Marham is ready for use, with formal initial operating capability anticipated in February 2019. The Facility is air-portable.
Comment: Currently there are 26 pilots qualified to fly the F-35B Lightning aircraft: 15 RAF and 11 RN. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
16 Oct 18. AJAX: Programme Update. In answer to a Written Question (16 Oct 18) the Defence Procurement Minister confirmed that the AJAX armoured fighting vehicle programme “is currently in its low-rate initial production phase, with the Army expected to take formal delivery of the Ares variant later this year”. The Minister went on to state that negotiations are ongoing to confirm delivery and manufacture timelines of the AJAX variants with the aim of achieving Initial Operating Capability in 2020 and Full Operating Capability in 2025.
Comment: General Dynamics UK is the prime contractor for the AJAX vehicles, following contract award in 2014. There are six variants in the AJAX programme: Ajax, Apollo, Ares, Argus, Athena and Atlas. The Defence Procurement Minister confirmed (24 Jan 18) that the MoD plans to procure 589 AJAX vehicles. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
25 Oct 18. RAF Northolt: Runway Resurfacing. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) confirmed (25 Oct 18) that a £23m contract has been awarded to Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure to resurface the runway at RAF Northolt. The airfield works are expected to take around six months and will extend the life of the runway by 10 to 15 years. The runway is expected to be closed from Spring to Autumn 2019 and during this time military aircraft will operate from RAF Benson in South Oxfordshire. RAF Northolt is the last remaining military airfield within the M25 area around London.
Comment: Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure has recently undertaken work at RAF Gibraltar and RAF Akrotiri and work at RAF Marham is nearing completion. RAF Northolt is home to 33 supported units from across the Armed Services. 32 (The Royal) Squadron operates out of Northolt and provides air transport to UK Government and military leaders on official business. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
26 Oct 18. HMS MONTROSE: Gulf Deployment. The MoD announced (26 Oct 18) that Type 23 frigate HMS MONTROSE is sailing to the Gulf for a three-year deployment on 29 Oct 18. The ship will be the first vessel to provide an enduring presence in the Gulf “as part of the UK’s commitment to security in the Middle East.”. HMS MONTROSE will be based at the UK Naval Support Facility in Bahrain and the crew is due to rotate in Spring 2019.
Comment: Details of the number of days that Type 23 frigates have spent at sea from 2010 to 1 Oct 18 is provided in a Written Answer (177797) of 16 Oct 18 and can be found in the House of Commons Daily Report of the same date on the Parliament website (www.parliament.uk). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
11 Oct 18. Mali: C-17 Support. The RAF reported (11 Oct 18) that a C-17 transport aircraft has arrived at Gao airfield in Mali. The flight delivered supplies to the RAF Chinook detachment currently deployed to Mali in support of the French OP BARKHANE. The arrival of the C-17 was made possible following a visit by RAF personnel from 99 Squadron to ensure the safety of runway and airfield facilities. The RAF is now able to support directly the Gao-based Chinook detachment for the first time since it was deployed in June 2018. Previously supplies have been flown to Niger and then transhipped to Mali.
Comment: The RAF intends to run monthly direct flights to Gao, carrying essential mission equipment and urgent spares as well as providing ‘relief in place’ of RAF personnel to and out of Mali. The Chinook detachment relies on both French and UK transport to fly supplies from RAF Odiham to sub-Saharan Africa. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
22 Oct 18. Joint Forces Command (JFC): Director of Overseas Bases. The MoD confirmed (22 Oct 18) that the first JFC Director of Overseas Bases has been appointed. The appointment of Alison Stevenson was welcomed by the JFC Commander who said that she brings “a wealth of expertise, knowledge and leadership to her new role”.
Comment: Alison Stevenson was previously Director Head Office at the MoD, with responsibility for the financial and corporate management of the Head Office and she is also the Department’s Gender Champion. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
24 Oct 18. The Netherlands: State Visit. Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands arrived in the UK on 23 Oct 18 for their first State Visit. The programme included a visit (24 Oct 18) to HNLMS ZEELAND anchored next to HMS BELFAST on the Thames where 42 Commando and 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, alongside their Dutch counterparts, provided a 10-minute water capability demonstration.
Comment: 2018 marks the 45th anniversary of the UK/NL Amphibious Force which is comprised of Marines from both nations working together as a single unit. As noted by the Defence Secretary: “Our forces have
worked closely with the Netherlands amphibious forces for more than 45 years, demonstrating world-class military integration”. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
15 Oct 18. Ministry of Defence: Recent Publications. Global Strategic Trends, updated on 15 Oct 18, details the strategic context for MoD long-term planning. UK defence in numbers 2018, published on 24 Oct 18, provides figures from a wide range of official statistics and other releases. Both documents can be found on the Government web portal (www.gov.uk). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/38, 29 Oct 18)
26 Oct 18. France warns Germany that exports key to fighter jet project: Spiegel. France has threatened to cancel a Franco-German project to develop a next-generation fighter jet unless Germany agrees to allow unlimited exports of the warplanes, even to countries involved in conflicts, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. The German magazine, citing a confidential cable sent by the German ambassador in France, said French officials made their position clear during a meeting in Paris on Sept. 21. Official could not be reached for comment at the German Defence Ministry, which is overseeing the project, nor were any available at France’s Defence Ministry and the French presidency. The project was first announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in July 2017, along with plans to develop a new tank.
During the September meeting, Claire Landais, France’s general secretary for defense and national security, said unlimited exports were “a central part of the financing of the overall project” and France viewed “long-term guarantees for future exports of the equipment as essential,” Spiegel said.
“Only when such guarantees have been made can the political green light be given for billions of euros in investments”, the notes quoted Landais as saying.
Last week, Airbus defense chief Dirk Hoke warned France against demanding too big of a share of the program, saying it could doom its chances for approval by the German parliament.
Airbus had agreed to let its rival, France’s Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA), take the lead on developing a new combat aircraft, but that did not mean France would run the overall project, which will also include unmanned aircraft and other weapons, Hoke told French website La Tribune. Dassault Aviation and Airbus, the respective industrial partners for France and Germany, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Spiegel report and Hoke’s comments laid bare continued tensions over the ambitious undertaking by two countries with very different views on arms exports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has halted arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia in protest over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, a killing she has called a “monstrosity”.
France’s reaction to the Khashoggi case has been guarded to date as Paris tries to retain its sway with Riyadh and protect commercial relations spanning energy, finance and weaponry. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that calls by several EU countries including Germany to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s killing smacked of populist “demagoguery”.
Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders was critical of Germany’s stance in remarks to Der Spiegel. “Berlin cannot constantly call for European cooperation, but then back out when it gets to be concrete,” he said.
Germany, he added, was signaling to Paris that it did not consider French foreign and security policy to be responsible. (Source: Reuters)
26 Oct 18. A lost opportunity for European Defence. Statement by Airbus Defence and Space on Belgium’s Decision on the Fighter Jet Replacement. With sincere regret Airbus Defence and Space has taken note of the decision by the government of Belgium to select the F-35 to replace its existing fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft. Airbus Defence and Space accepts this decision by Belgium and is aware of the strong links between Belgium and the United States on defence industrial matters. Therefore, yesterday’s decision does not come as a complete surprise. However, Airbus Defence and Space remains firmly convinced that the offer submitted by Team Eurofighter, consisting of the industrial partners of United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain, would have represented a superior choice for the country both in terms of operational capability and industrial opportunities. The Eurofighter solution would have resulted in more than € 19 billion direct contribution to the Belgian economy. This partnership could have also laid the path for Belgium to join the Franco-German Future Combat Air System programme, which Airbus is currently defining with its strong industrial partner Dassault Aviation. Yesterday’s announcement by the government is a sovereign decision which all contenders have to respect. Yet, it is a lost opportunity to strengthen European industrial cooperation in times when the EU is called upon to increase its joint defence efforts.
26 Oct 18. UK MoD opens all roles in military to women. UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed that all roles in the military are now open to women. The announcement was marked with the joining of some of the first women into the British Army’s Royal Armoured Corps. With the new regulation, women already serving in the UK Army can be transferred into different infantry roles, while those not currently in service will be able to apply for infantry roles in December. New recruits are due to start their basic training in April.
Williamson said: “Women have led the way with exemplary service in the armed forces for over 100 years, working in a variety of specialist and vital roles. So I am delighted that from today, for the first time in its history, our armed forces will be determined by ability alone and not gender. Opening all combat roles to women will not only make the armed forces a more modern employer but will ensure we recruit the right person for the right role.”
Women will now be able to apply to join the Royal Marines, with selection scheduled to begin before the end of this year, confirmed Williamson. Training courses are expected to commence at Royal Marines Commando training centre in Lympstone early next year.
The Royal Armoured Corps was the first ground close combat branch to allow female soldiers and officers to join the service in November 2016, which was followed by the Royal Air Force Regiment in September last year. (Source: army-technology.com)
25 Oct 18. Turkey says Russian S-400 systems installation to begin Oct. 2019 – Anadolu. The installation of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in Turkey will begin in October 2019, state-owned Anadolu news agency on Thursday quoted Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying. Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 systems, which are not compatible with NATO defences, has unnerved the United States and NATO member countries, which are already wary of Russia’s presence in the Middle East.
Akar told Anadolu that selected personnel would be sent to Russia to receive training and return to work in Turkey, according to Hurriyet. It was not clear where he was speaking. The United States has warned Turkey that going through with the purchase of S-400s could result in Washington imposing sanctions and halting other existing procurements, but Ankara has pressed on with the deal.
Turkey has said that its Western allies, namely the United States, have failed to cooperate with it in its efforts to boost its defence capabilities, and that Ankara has had to look outside of the NATO to meet its needs. While pursuing S-400 project, President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey’s ties with NATO remain strong, and Ankara has sought to secure defence deals with other countries as well. Last year, Turkey signed a letter of intent with France and Italy to strengthen cooperation on joint defence projects. As a first step, the Franco-Italian EUROSAM consortium and Turkish companies will look into a system based on the SAMP-T missile systems. Turkey is also buying Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets from the United States, but United States has warned that their purchase could be jeopardised if it does not drop the S-400 purchase plan.
“There were some issues stemming from the S-400s, political and judicial developments, but the political and military conditions we have now do not cause concerns,” Akar told Anadolu.
Akar said the F-35 programme was continuing as planned, with the third and fourth jets to be delivered in March next year. Erdogan has previously said that Turkey would continue to pay its instalments to procure the jets, but that it would look elsewhere if Washington decided to halt the delivery. Turkey and the United States have also held talks on the possible sale of a Raytheon Co Patriot missile defence systems as an alternative to the S-400 systems. (Source: Reuters)
24 Oct 18. French, Italian Shipyards Agree to Form Joint Venture. The joint venture company announced last night by Italy’s Fincantieri and France’s Naval Group is a modest step towards the integrated military shipbuilding group that the French and Italian governments have been calling for, and is initially limited to two joint programs for both countries’ navies. It however falls well short of the very ambitious plans for an integrated group as initially envisioned by the French government, and kept alive largely through its determination to create a “naval Airbus” intended to bring benefits to both countries. Such a project, however, seems totally unrealistic, and this was tacitly acknowledged by the wording of both government and industry statements issued Tuesday night, and which describe a cooperation that is limited to two bilateral naval programs. More critically, it does little to reinforce the two companies’ capabilities to withstand competition from Chinese and Russian shipyards, which was one of the original reasons for the tie-up.
One modest step forward, however, is that the two companies have agreed to cooperate on the international market, and to avoid competing with each other for the same export contracts, as is now rather embarrassingly the case for the Brazilian Navy’s procurement of 12 new Tamandaré corvettes. That is a significant advance, but given the fact that Australia and Canada both opted to buy the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 frigate, the decision by France and Italy not to compete with each other seems beside the point. Some sources claim that Naval Group and Fincantieri have agreed to jointly bid for the Dutch Navy’s frigate replacement contract, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The new joint venture will benefit from France’s decision to build four logistic support ships based on the design of the Italian Navy’s Vesuvio-class fleet oiler. The agreement signed today by the two countries’ national armament directors calls for Fincantieri to build the tank sections of the French ships in Italy, which will be assembled in France by Naval Group and the Chantiers de l’Atlantique. Although all details have not been settled, it is unlikely that the industrial benefits will be more than lowering the price of the French tankers which, while welcome, will not change the face of Europe’s naval shipbuilding. Another joint project is the Mid-Life Upgrade of the French and Italian Horizon-class frigates, for which the two companies have agreed to submit a joint offer based on a common Combat Management System (CMS) they will develop together. An initial offer is to be submitted to the French and Italian navies in 2019. However, despite a profusion of management-speak catchphrases in the joint communiqués issued separately by the governments and the manufacturers, the plans announced Tuesday fall far short of what was initially envisaged: a single company that would avoid duplication and pool the most cost-effective shipbuilding assets of the two groups. Initial plans to establish cross-shareholdings between Fincantieri and Naval Group have disappeared, as has the idea of “a naval Airbus” that seems to be the obsession of successive French governments who cannot understand that building airliners does not affect national sovereignty in the same way as naval shipbuilding. In fact, the limits of this new project are set out in the joint government communiqué, in which Paris and Rome state that the “industrial alliance will have no impact on the ability of each government to master the capabilities and strategic resources of each of these companies.”
Furthermore, while the future joint venture company is limited to surface combatants, as well as systems and equipment, both governments will build their future generation of frigates separately, France with its Frégate de Taille Intermédiaire (FTI) and Italy with the Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura, the first two of which have already been laid down. This is a marked regression compared to the previous two generations of major surface combatants, which France and Italy jointly designed but built separately: the Horizon air-defense frigates and the FREMM European multi-mission frigates, so the new roadmap can hardly be described as an advance. (Source: defense-aerospace.com)
23 Oct 18. German halt to Saudi arms sales could put squeeze on Eurofighter. Germany’s hardline halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi may jeopardise a big UK-led Eurofighter order from Riyadh and could hit jobs at a shipyard in struggling northeastern Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been more outspoken than fellow major arms exporters the United States, Britain and France about stopping sales to Saudi Arabia until Khashoggi’s case is cleared up, a stance that a senior conservative ally said could also affect previously approved orders.
Berlin is now reviewing all Saudi sales, including contracts approved in September for more patrol boats built by privately-held Luerrsen and four Cobra counter-battery radar systems built by a consortium that includes France’s Thales (TCFP.PA), Airbus (AIR.PA) and the U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin (LMT.N). German authorities approved more than 400m euros worth of Saudi arms supply contracts in the first nine months of 2018, but have not specified the value of equipment not yet delivered. Germany accounts for just under 2 percent of total Saudi arms imports, a small percentage internationally compared with the United States and Britain – but, crucially, also makes components for other countries’ export contracts.
The biggest impact may be on a £10bn($12.99bn) agreement by Saudi Arabia to buy 48 new Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from Britain, given that a third of their components would come from Germany, industry sources said.
The deal, nailed down in a memorandum of understanding in March, has not been finalised yet, and is not reflected in BAE Systems Plc’s (BAES.L) 2018 financial statements.
BAE declined to comment on the issue, as did officials from the German-based Eurofighter consortium. Britain’s Foreign Office had no immediate comment.
Nearly four years in the making, the Saudi Eurofighter order would secure thousands of jobs at BAE, and help extend production of the European warplanes until a next-generation fighter jet to be designed in coming years goes into production.
Saudi Arabia is also one of the few remaining export markets for the Eurofighter, given the warplane programme’s losses to the Lockheed F-35 fighter jet in other tenders, including a decision expected soon from Belgium.
PATROL BOATS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Of more immediate concern are three patrol boats currently under construction at the Luerrsen shipyard in Wolgast, in the financially strapped northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It employs 300 people, Stern magazine reported. Of 33 boats ordered in total, 16 must still be approved, it said.
Luerssen declined to comment on the Saudi work, but said it would respect any political decision on the fate of the boats while underscoring the importance of the orders for the yard.
Germany has taken a far tougher approach on arms sales to Riyadh following Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which has stirred international outrage, than major allies such as the United States, France and Britain.
U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced concern that shelving arms sales to Riyadh could push Saudi Arabia, its key Arab ally against Iran, to place orders with Russia and China.
Tim Stuchtey, executive director of the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS), said Germany faced a tough dilemma – whether to follow its moral instincts or pursue a realpolitik-led agenda of arms sales out of economic interest.
Merkel is guided in part by the March 2018 governing accord with her coalition partners, the left-leaning Social Democrats, who insisted on language that bans arms sales to any parties to the devastating war in Yemen – where Saudi-led Arab forces intervened in 2015 – except for certain previously approved items and those that will remain in the purchasing country.
Divergent views in Europe on the issue also underscore the challenges facing an ambitious Franco-German programme to develop a future fighter jet, he said. “As long as we don’t have unified European rules for arms exports, we will always have this problem. It will be difficult to square French and British attitudes about arms exports with German moral imperatives.”
PRICE OF FOREIGN POLICY
If Berlin does halt work on approved orders for the Saudi patrol boats, it may have to compensate the shipyard, which invested heavily to be able to execute the work, said Jan Techau, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think-tank.
“Ultimately, the question is, how much is a principled foreign policy worth,” he said. “If the shipyard in Wolgast suffers damage due to a policy shift, it may cost money. That’s the decision they’ll have to make.”
Arising in part from its Nazi past, Germany’s cautious approach to weapons sales, and past moves to slow down approvals for exports, have raised eyebrows in other European countries.
It has already prompted France to market certain weapons as “100 percent French” – not subject to disruption by suppliers in other countries, according to one executive.
Norbert Roettgen, who chairs the German’s parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told broadcaster ZDF on Monday that Germany’s credibility was at stake if it did not halt all arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia until the ultimate responsibility for Khashoggi’s killing is established, or serious consequences were seen in Saudi Arabia.
But industry experts say blocking work on contracts vital to its partners also raises questions about Germany’s viability and reliability as a partner for future projects.
“It’s clear,” Techau said, “that global supply chains require agreements among partners, and that coordinated positions are needed on a European level, but that is not yet the case today.” (Source: Reuters)
23 Oct 18. Spain’s parliament backs arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Spain’s parliament voted on Tuesday against blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia, despite increasing international pressure to punish Riyadh for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Spain’s socialist government said on Saturday it was “dismayed” by the death of the Saudi journalist but it decided to join forces with the main opposition party, the conservative People’s Party, to defeat a parliamentary motion that called on the government to stop such trade.
Spanish arms sales to Saudi Arabia were already in the spotlight last month when the Spanish government announced it would halt the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Riyadh only to reverse its decision a few days later. According to Spanish media, Saudi Arabia had threatened to cancel a 1.8bn euro ($2bn) contract with Spain to buy warships if the bomb sale did not take place. (Source: Reuters)
22 Oct 18. For Europe, it’s naval business as usual. Is there enough drive to reach a unified shipbuilding enterprise? As European shipbuilders prepare to transform their nations’ rising military budgets into naval power, local priorities are acting as formidable forces against the integration of a fragmented market. Two years ago, Italian defense think tank CESI produced a document lamenting the fractured state of the European naval industry, warning that firms on the continent would be swept aside by foreign competition if they failed to team up and take on the world. The paper provided the ideological underpinning for proposals by Italian shipyard Fincantieri to jointly build vessels with France’s Naval Group, a plan being considered by both governments.
But today, one of the authors of the report, Francesco Tosato, says that despite European Union moves to integrate the defense industry, little has changed in the naval sector.
“We still have six or eight types of frigates, each with manufacturing runs of no more than 10 vessels, which is unsustainable,” he said. Supporters of integration say shipyards will be able to cut costs through synergies and avoid competing against each other in export markets.
“The Germans are building U-212NG submarines with the Norwegians, but they are not integrating,” he added.
A second analyst agreed that integration is not happening, but offered a positive outlook.
“With European governments not wanting to spend on naval vessels, it is all about exports, and buyers in Asia and the Middle East want to deal with one government, not with Europe,” said Peter Roberts, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
“They may want a German frigate with a French radar and MBDA missiles, but they still want one national point of contact,” he added.
Roberts also argued that European multinational shipbuilders risked stifling competition. “That could lead to poorer designs and higher prices,” he said.
In addition, one European industrial giant may be unable to offer different types of vessels to export customers with a variety of requirements.
“Customers have bespoke needs, which means systems integrators are crucial,” Roberts said. “Why not have systems integrators working on a European basis? That could be the starting point for integrating Europe’s industry, rather than putting together shipyards.”
German angst
In Germany, meanwhile, industry officials and lawmakers are bickering over whether surface shipbuilding is, or should be, a national priority so critical that contracts must go to German yards. (The Ministry of Defence has only designated submarine construction as such a key capability.)
That debate permeates the competition for the MKS-180 program, a novel multi-use combat ship. The thought that Dutch contractor Damen, one of the bidders still in the race, could win the contract over the purely German team of German Naval Yards and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has some coastal politicians and trade unions up in arms.
There is a lot at stake for German shipbuilders. A recent MoD strategy document proclaimed a national objective of restoring the balance between out-of-area missions and homeland defense. The latter area has been chronically underfunded in the rush to provide troops at the tip of the spear with equipment that works, the argument goes.
That dynamic will “inevitably mean an increase in forces, including warships and modernization of the fleet,” a spokesman for the Germany Navy told Defense News.
For example, the service plans to buy at least one new warship annually over the next 10 years, plus 46 helicopters. Combined with a new deployment and manning scheme, officials hope to raise the entire fleet’s operational availability to 50 percent compared with today’s 30 percent, meaning more vessels theoretically will be ready to fight at any given time.
Those plans could directly translate into jobs in Germany, and domestic shipbuilders, including heavyweight TKMS, are doing their part to support the demand for government favoritism toward their own yards.
British exclusivity
The situation is similar in the United Kingdom, where shipbuilding for the Royal Navy is by definition a domestic affair.
It has been a little more than a year since the British government published a national shipbuilding strategy, which in part called for a greater surface warship building capability.
BAE Systems has had a stranglehold on the business since it first merged and then in 2009 acquired VT Shipbuilding. BAE Systems’ two surface warship building yards in Glasgow, Scotland, meet the government requirement that complex warships must be locally built. The Conservative government, however, made it clear in its shipbuilding strategy that while BAE would continue to build in Glasgow the planned eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates destined for the Royal Navy, it wanted another yard to build a fleet of five Type 31e general purpose frigates.
Peter Parker, the author of the strategy report, justified the creation of a second naval build center, saying it would be unprecedented for BAE to run two new programs side by side.
But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for British Ministry of Defence officials running the Type 31e program, as they seek sufficient bidders to hold a robust competition. Building frigates in a British yard with a price of no more than £250m (U.S. $329m) and an in-service date of 2023 has proved a challenge.
The government stopped the competition earlier this year after it failed to attract a sufficient level of interest from qualified vendors. But officials got the show back on the road Aug. 20, restarting discussions with potential suppliers on a revised plan. Competition documents were issued to industry last month, with potential bidders mandated to reply by Oct. 19.
With German and the British shipyards hoping to secure their respective turfs at home, the Fincantieri-Naval Group deal could still become the poster child for European naval-industry consolidation.
At least, that’s the theory.
French maneuvers
French officials appeared to get cold feet earlier this month on a key aspect of the merger arrangement: a proposed cross-shareholding of 5 to 10 percent.
“Bercy is not keen,” said an industry executive, referring to the French Economy and Finance Ministry, located in a vast modern building resembling a bridge by the river Seine.
A source with the French Armed Forces Ministry would only say: “Negotiations take time. We need more time.”
Even before that wrinkle, the French and Italian governments requested “clarification” from Fincantieri and Naval Group after the two companies submitted dossiers in mid-July for a partnership.
The request for clarification referred to the key elements of cooperation in research and development, common purchase of parts and offers in export markets, an industry executive told Defense News.
Cross-border cooperation in foreign sales is seen as significant, as Naval Group has set a target of exports accounting for half of annual sales compared to the present estimated one-third of revenue.
Competition with Fincantieri raises the cost of sales and cuts profit margins, as each seeks to submit competitive offers.
If Naval Group and Fincantieri do manage to forge an industrial alliance, that will reverse a declining trend in cooperation. Previous French attempts to work with Italy in building a common MU90 light torpedo led to nothing, while the level of common parts on the FREMM multimission frigate fell compared to that realized on the Horizon air-defense frigate. European industrial cooperation also stalled on the Scorpene attack submarine, with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia opting to pursue its own S-80 diesel-electric boat rather than work with Naval Group. (Source: Defense News)
21 Oct 18. “Choice for F-35 Is Made, Government Is Looking for Best Way to Announce It.” The choice of the American F-35 fighter plane as a replacement for the aging F-16 has been made, but the government – and more specifically Prime Minister Charles Michel – has yet to see how the decision is interpreted, preferably as a European decision. That has been heard from several sources within the government today. The federal government started in March 2017 the selection procedure for a new fighter plane. Initially it was a contract of 3.6bn euros, with a value of 15bn euros through the service life of the aircraft, that is estimated to last about forty years. Two governments responded according to the rules of the tender: the American government with the F-35 Lightning II from the American group Lockheed Martin, and the United Kingdom with the Eurofighter from a consortium including Germany, Spain and Italy. (France offered a long-term strategic partnership based on the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter outside of the competition—Ed.) The American offer was formally valid until October 14, the same day when local elections took place in Belgium, but was extended by two weeks until the end of October, according to a reliable source. After two meetings of the “core” cabinet, on October 4 and last week, the most senior ministers had all the information to make a well-founded decision. Several government sources indicate that the choice has already been made for the F-35. “The government is still looking for a formula to explain the American choice,” they stated, without wanting to be cited by name. (Issued in French; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com) (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Belga news agency)
22 Oct 18. Production begins on Qatari Amiri Air Force’s Typhoon fighter jets. BAE Systems has started production on the Qatari Amiri Air Force’s (QAAF) Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets at its sites in Warton and Samlesbury, UK. The start of production was officially marked by a steel cutting ceremony at the BAE’s facilities during a visit of Qatari Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah to the UK. The Eurofighter Typhoon is manufactured by a consortium of BAE Systems, Airbus and Leonardo. Under the contract, the first aircraft is expected to be delivered to the QAAF in 2022. Last month, BAE Systems finalised a £5bn deal to sell 24 Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar following the receipt of the first payment. Qatar will also acquire nine Hawk trainer aircraft.
The Middle Eastern nation becomes the ninth country to buy the Typhoon jets. As part of the deal, the Royal Air Force (RAF) will work with QAAF in a Typhoon Joint Squadron. The defence collaboration between the countries for Typhoon Joint Squadron was struck during the visit of the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani to the UK. To be initially based at RAF Coningsby in the UK, the joint squadron will enable the QAAF to get practical experience with the aircraft prior to delivery.
During his visit, Al Attiyah discussed the future of the defence relationship between the two nations with UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. The officials also discussed regional security and advancement of collaboration across the Gulf to address mutual threats to security and stability.
Williamson said: “Our two nations enjoy extremely strong links. From the coalition air campaign headquarters in Qatar, we work together to stamp out the threat from Daesh.
“We trade together, significantly boosting the British economy, and it is vital that we continue to forge this relationship to ensure the mutual safety of our people.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)
21 Oct 18. Angela Merkel puts on hold arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany will stop exporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, at least for the time being. The decision comes in the wake of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Germany would put arms exports to the kingdom on hold for the time being, given the unexplained circumstances of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death. The chancellor said Riyadh had not put the full facts of Khashoggi’s demise “on the table.”
“First, we condemn this act in the strongest terms,” she told a news conference after speaking to members of her Christian Democrat (CDU) party. Second, there is an urgent need to clarify what happened — we are far from this having been cleared up and those responsible held to account. Thirdly, I agree with all those who say that the, albeit already limited, arms exports can’t take place in the current circumstances,” she said.
Pressure from within
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democrats — the junior partner of Merkel’s conservatives in the ruling grand coalition — had already called for weapons exports to the kingdom to be halted.
A clause already exists in the coalition agreement signed by Germany’s governing parties, saying that no weapons exports may be approved to any country “directly” involved in the war in Yemen, such as Saudi Arabia. However, the agreement does exempt countries that had made weapons deals with Germany before the current government took power.
Merkel said Germany would discuss further “reactions” to the case with its international partners.
On Saturday, the chancellor said the Saudi explanation for Khashoggi’s death was insufficient— and that those responsible for the killing “must be held accountable.”
Germany is the fourth largest exporter of weapons to Saudi Arabia after the United States, Britain and France.
Body not located
Merkel’s comments came after Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister described the killing of Khashoggi as part of a “rogue operation,” adding that the circumstances of his death — and the whereabouts of the body — were unknown.
The Saudis have said Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was killed in a “fistfight” at its consulate in Istanbul, having previously insisted that he had left the building. Khashoggi had been at the diplomatic office to seek paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancee.
Last month, Germany approved €416m ($480m) worth of military exports to Saudi Arabia for 2018. In the past, such exports have mostly consisted of patrol boats. Amid calls across the world for arms embargoes against Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump has said his country would be “punishing itself” if it halted weapons sales to the country.
“There are other things we can do that are very, very powerful, very strong and we’ll do them,” Trump said on Saturday, without elaborating.
The US president has repeatedly said he does not want to stop a proposed $110bn arms sale to the Saudis because too many US jobs depend on it. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/www.dw.com)
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