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25 Apr 19. How the UK’s Joint Forces Command is about to change – and why it won’t be easy. When Britain’s Ministry of Defence announced last year it planned a make-over of its Joint Forces Command as part of a wider defence modernisation program, it revealed few details.
Now, the country’s vice chief of the defence staff has lifted the lid a little on what changes it has in mind: A revamped Joint Forces Command with new levels of authority to drive through coherence into Air Force, Army and Navy programs; more focus on generating strategic capabilities; and the ability to to better control its own personnel requirements.
Those changes were outlined by Gen. Gordon Messenger during a recent Defense News interview in Washington.
Joint Forces Command was created in 2011 when the MoD decided to link the fighting commands of the Air Force, Navy and Army by standing up a new office, known as Joint Forces Command. In essence, JFC has the lead on areas of interoperability between the three services.
All four commands control their own budgets, and are known as top line budget (TLB) holders. But that layout doesn’t quite fit JFC the same way it did the three military branches, Messenger said, which provided some the impetus to change how JFC is laid out.
“What we found was JFC wasn’t homogeneous. It wasn’t the same sort of TLB as the three services because it had a remit to deliver pan-domain, pan-service enabling capability, and therefore we need to view it more as an agent of the Ministry of Defense, of head office, and give it the right levels of authority to drive coherence into the army, navy and air force programs” Messenger said in a March interview. “Getting the JFC in a place that is separable from the single services, and acting as an agent of head office, driving coherence and interoperability is where we’re trying to move it to.”
However, the proposed changes to the JFC are not driven solely by budget issues. They are also driven by a desire for JFC to generate what Messenger called “strategic capability,” comparable to how the services generate operational capability.
“So our Special Forces are force generated through JFC. Our cyber capability is force generated through the JFC, and we’re looking to deepen our ability to deliver defensive cyber capability, which will be a Joint Forces Command responsibility,” said the Royal Marine General.
“We are examining certain other aspects of what that [capability] would be, so there’s some further studies that are going into that, but essentially it becomes your force generator for strategic effect,” he added.
Messenger said that the upcoming revamp of JFC would also address issues around personnel and acknowledged, albeit diplomatically, that in the past the Command may have come off as second best at the hands of the other services when it came to staffing priorities.
“It’s [JFC] tended to be a little bit of a poor cousin in terms of personnel priorities. Single services are quite sort of, for justifiable reasons, keen to career manage and work force plans. JFC tends to sort of be a bit of an adjunct to that, and what we’re trying to do is to improve the ability for the commander of JFC to manage his or her workforce in a slightly more autonomous way than currently,” he said.
Challenges ahead
The changes outlined by Messenger come months after defence secretary Gavin Williamsonflagged up the MoD’s intention to further empower the JFC when he announced a defence modernization program last December.
“A major new step will involve improved JFC that will be in a better position so that defence can play a major role in preventing conflict in the future and improve our cyber operations and capabilities across the armed forces but also across government as well,” he said.
Williamson’s rollout of the modernization program came just days after he announced Gen. Patrick Sanders as the new Commander of JFC. Sanders, previously the commander of the field army, takes up his new post May 9.
Peter Roberts, the director of military sciences at the Royal United Studies Institute think tank in London, said Sanders faces a “formidable challenge to deliver what so many people want, but few people understand.”
“For a commander to have his head into the detail of military education, offensive cyber capability, communications, electronic warfare, satellites, a huge array of things, its a massively difficult problem,” he said.
“It is down to the commander and his infinitely small staff to deliver on a myriad of projects, all of which are difficult and exceedingly complex and cannot be cohered between the competing demands of the three fighting arms,” Roberts continued. “It is an insanely difficult group of projects to run together and the staff there really have a tough job ahead of them.”
Few would dispute the importance of a British joint forces command in today’s complex, data driven, military environment, but Roberts said that while JFC is a great idea, it won’t work without the right resources.
“It’s perfect as a theory. The problem comes when you don’t resource it correctly, nor have sufficient expert people to manage it correctly. JFC is a tiny command with a massive swathe of responsibility,” said Roberts.
The analyst said the shortcomings in the JFC are well known and not just related to financial or manpower resources.
“The manpower issues, the resources, the priority they get, or don’t get, is widely understood and is at the heart of some of the change programs Gen. Nick Carter, the Chief of the Defence Staff, is implementing,” said Roberts.
“One of the key problems is that while JFC is providing services to the three front line commands, the fighting arms, it is also delivering on major programs for the MoD, like the joint force cyber group,” he said.
“JFC is a very disparate organisation involved in cyber, space, communications, novel weapons, electronic warfare, education, doctrine, logistics, joint training; all those problem child projects that none of the other front line commands really wanted to take on in the first place. Unsurprisingly it has found it exceptionally hard to deliver on the lofty aspirations that were placed on it when it was first formed,” said Roberts.
The analyst said the MoD had to be more selective in what areas of military responsibility the JFC took on.
“The MoD needs to take some brave decisions. For example, it would be wise to pass something like space systems to one of the single services, like the RAF, to deliver on it. It may be wiser to push electronic warfare back to individual front line commands … simply because the coherence they aspire to have in JFC is not being delivered and nor is there a process of delivering it in a cost effective way.
“In order to get the best out of it rather than lumping all the difficult projects into JFC, the Command needs to be more selective and realistic about what it can deliver on and pass the rest back to the other commands who have far more staff and expertise to deal with it,” he concluded. (Source: Defense News)
24 Apr 19. Destroyer HMS Duncan joins forces with French carrier strike group on counter-Daesh operations. Royal Navy warship HMS Duncan joined forces with a French carrier strike group to support the international fight against Daesh. The Type 45 destroyer has been providing air defence and escort duties to the FS Charles de Gaulle and her accompanying ships in the eastern Mediterranean over the past few weeks. French jets have been flying missions in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the international task force aimed at defeating Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
During her time with the carrier, HMS Duncan’s crew has been using the ship’s sophisticated radar and missile systems to protect the skies over the Mediterranean and safeguard the task force.
Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster said: “The fight against Daesh has been a truly international campaign. HMS Duncan’s crew can be extremely proud of the part they played alongside our allies, destroying the barbarous group that subjugated millions of innocent civilians.
“Due to the tireless efforts of our brave men and women from all three services, we have been able to beat Daesh back, depriving them of territory and making sure that Britain is safer.”
Commander Tom Trent, HMS Duncan’s Commanding Officer, said: “This has been a rewarding opportunity for my team to fulfill HMS Duncan’s core role as a primary air defender protecting a carrier strike group.
“With the Royal Navy’s own aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, getting ready for their first operational deployments this was an excellent chance for us to integrate into the French task group on live operations ahead of the first deployment of our own carrier strike group.
“I am proud of my team for the professionalism they have shown in support of the operation against Daesh.”
Frequent air sorties flown by the French fighter jets provided plenty of opportunity for HMS Duncan’s fighter controllers to test their abilities as aerospace battle managers. They provide tactical control and safety assurances to the Dassault Rafale fighter jets flying from the carrier.
HMS Duncan’s sensors are optimised for air defence. Her cache of Sea Viper missiles, world-beating radars and communication suites provide
the ability to defend the skies and protect surface ships and aircraft within the task group.
Lieutenant Francois-Xavier Morel is a French naval officer who has been working on board HMS Duncan since October last year. He is one of three principal warfare officers who lead the ship’s operations team.
He said: “This exchange has been a real education for me. I have enjoyed being a link between our two navies in the build up to working with my own navy’s flagship.”
Throughout the Royal Navy, sailors are provided the opportunity to take up exchange opportunities within other navies. While Lt Morel works on board HMS Duncan, one of the destroyer’s own crew has also swapped places to work in the aircraft carrier.
Lieutenant Luke Thompson is currently embarked in the FS Charles de Gaulle as a fighter controller. He said: “Providing air space control on behalf of the French command team is interesting and highlights how aligned our nations are. Our two navies working so closely together in the Mediterranean shows how much our people and our kit complement each other.”
HMS Duncan’s time with the French aircraft carrier also provided the opportunity for one of the ship’s officers to act as a liaison officer between the two navies. Sub Lieutenant Jack Mercer, one of the ship’s officers of the watch, joined the Charles de Gaulle for a one-week exchange.
He said: “It was a fantastic insight into carrier operations and an invaluable opportunity to experience life on board another nation’s warship. Witnessing HMS Duncan’s contribution to the task force as the Charles de Gaulle launched her jets was impressive.”
HMS Duncan has now concluded her time with the French carrier and continues her deployment until the late summer. She goes on to support other NATO operations in the region as well as foreign engagements in her upcoming port visits.
HMS Duncan is the newest of six highly-capable Type 45 air defence destroyers and one of the most advanced warships in the world. She sails with a ship’s company in excess of 280 personnel. (Source: U.K. MoD)
24 Apr 19. European Armaments Projects Pose New Challenges for Germany and France. It gets serious for the most ambitious and expensive defense project in Europe: Germany and France want to sign four contracts with industry in mid-June for the development of the new European Future Combat Air System (FCAS, or FSAF in French). The new aircraft will enter service around 2040, and generate an industry turnover of up to 500bn euros over their lifetimes. The Europeans want to secure the opportunity to keep their weaponry apace with the US, Russia and China. But before the decisive step of launching development work, which Defense Ministers Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) and Florence Parly want to take place during the Paris Air Show in June, two major obstacles are piling up: there are still no common German-French arms export regulations, and, perhaps even more problematic, the consortium that is to produce a joint new tank is creating conflict rather than cooperation. Parly recently hinted that she did not see the desired concurrent progress on the bomber and tank projects as a given.
“In the next few weeks, we want to conclude the first industrial contracts for a demonstration model of the new fighter aircraft. As for the battle tank, the architecture for the project is not yet there, but we’re working on it,” said Parly. That will have to be clarified in the next few weeks or months.
In June 2017, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to jointly develop completely new weapon systems for the air force and army of both countries, and later to involve other European countries.
One month more to wait
The planned signing of contracts with industry at Le Bourget would enable the industry to begin development work. The engineers of the aircraft manufacturers have been waiting for months to get started. Statements from the Élysée Palace, however, can now expect that it might take even longer to award the contract – because the parallel tank project is not progressing quickly enough. “For us, a prerequisite is that the balance is maintained in the association of tank builders,” the Handelsblatt learned from the French government headquarters.
However, this is no longer the case if Rheinmetall is to join the joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter as intended. “If Germany really wants that, something should be added on the French side, so that the balance is right again,” explained the Élysée insider.
Arms industry associations are decided by the president of France, but the Ministry of Defense can only support them. In fact, Rheinmetall chief Armin Papperger is planning to take over KMW in view of the tank project, which promises orders worth more than 100bin euros. He seeks a majority stake in the German-French holding KNDS, in which the shares of KMW and Nexter are bundled. As a minority shareholder, the influence of the French would be less than before. The owners of KMW are in principle prepared to sell their company to Rheinmetall. But in the implementation of the merger, according to business circles, it always comes back to friction: the vigorous Rheinmetall CEO Papperger wants to energetically drive forward the consolidation of tank makers. The more cautious boss of the medium-sized enterprise KMW, Frank Haun, insists therefore on care – and diplomacy towards its partner Nexter. Officially, both companies did not want to comment on Handelsblatt request. It will take some time to merge, it said.
The German Ministry of Defense would welcome a consolidation under clear industrial leadership, but emphasizes that it is up to companies. A Rheinmetall majority in KNDS – 50 percent plus one share – is not seen on the German side as a contradiction to the government agreements: France then takes over the leadership of the combat aircraft system FCAS (“Future Combat Air System”) and Germany in the tanks,
Next week, there are plans for further action between governments. In the fighter plane system, which consists of a completely new aircraft supported by drone swarms, satellites, reconnaissance aircraft and tankers, Berlin and Paris are already ahead of the tank.
“We have a first contract for the general architecture, because the needs have to be perfectly matched between Germany and France, before new partners can join,” said Parly. Spain has since joined.
“We want to sign the first industrial contracts for the construction of a demonstration model of the fighter in the next few weeks,” Parly told Handelsblatt. Altogether, according to statements from industrial sources, in Le Bourget four contracts are to be signed: one with Dassault for the Next-Generation Fighter aircraft, one with Airbus for the unmanned aircraft, while MTU and Safran are to develop the engines.
In addition, Airbus and probably Thales are to be commissioned to develop the “System of Systems”, i.e. the overall integration of the weapon system. It would be the first phase in which both countries have to spend relevant amounts of money to get the industry off the ground.
The controversy over the tank consortium is not the only threat to the bilateral schedule. In the smoldering conflict over arms export regulations, Parly has now put some pressure on the cooker. “Export regulations are not a handicap at this stage,” she told Handelsblatt before Easter.
Criticism of German restraint
In the recent past, French politicians and diplomats had harshly criticized a German reluctance to export to warring countries such as Saudi Arabia, perceived as un-European. In March, the German government decided to allow deliveries of German companies to French arms manufacturers for a limited period of time, even if they export the end products to Saudi Arabia. Parly sounds probably more accommodating, but leaves no doubt in the matter: “We have to solve the issue quickly, because it would be irresponsible to spend billions of euros without having clarified the export regulations.”
In addition, an agreement in the new Aachen Treaty on German-French relations is provided. “We understand that it is difficult for the German government, especially because of the coalition agreement; we do not ignore that, but we still have to move forward,” Parly demanded.
Both countries face an economic constraint: “Together, we must reduce the costs for the end user.” This is only possible through the possibility to export to non-European countries, “because unfortunately the European market is too small, because three-quarters of Europeans buy American equipment.” The Germans should not forget that even France places demanding conditions on arms exports.
In France, exports of weapons are in principle prohibited and require a special permit. The government is often generous. Parly now acknowledged for the first time that French weapons are used in Yemen.
“Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are being attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen. You cannot blame them for resisting,” Parly said. However, she had no information that civilians would be killed with French weapons. “We have no other goal but to end this dirty war,” the minister asserted. Until recently, she had asserted that French armaments were not in Yemen. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Handelsblatt)
23 Apr 19. Where’s the money for Britain’s future littoral strike groups? When British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced in February that his ministry would create two “littoral strike groups,” some naval experts turned their heads in confusion.
The announcement, after all, came with few details about the cost, required trade-offs and the concept of operations. For those looking for more information, expect to have to wait until the first part of 2020.
In a recent interview with Defense News during his visit to Washington, Gen. Gordon Messenger, vice chief of the U.K. Defence Staff, said a study on the plan for the littoral strike groups will be out roughly “a year from now.” He added that questions about funding will “certainly” be part of the broader U.K. spending review expected later this year.
“At the moment, the money has been found to examine the concept and develop the concept, and I think until we have the information that that phase will bring, it’s very difficult to put a timeline or a sort of hard figure against it,” Messenger said.
“Clearly that’s going to need to be weighed up against other priorities. But it’s a way of us understanding more about it. It’s a capability that is attractive, it’s a capability that we think will have relevance in the future, but until we really understand more about it, it’s difficult to weigh up against other priorities,” he added.
The operational plans that come out of that study will determine if new support ships are needed for the strike groups, but Messenger noted that the U.K. is already investing in new support ships, including the South Korean-made Tide-class tanker.
“We’re investing quite a lot in support ships and then trying to work out what the best [concept of operations] is, given that we’re never going to have everything that we want because we’re simply not a nation of that sort of size,” Messenger said.
The last point is notable, as some politicians in the U.K., including Williamson, have said Britain’s divorce from the European Union will allow the country to take on a more global military role.
Asked whether the U.K. has a fleet large enough to fill that goal, Messenger said the kingdom is updating several of its fleets and adding Type 26 and Type 31 frigates. And he indicated some outside-the-box-thinking may be involved.
The military must “get that balance right between war fighting at the very highest end, and the sort of ubiquity that comes from platforms in, let’s call it the constabulary role,” he said. “Then you don’t have to just think warships. We get a lot of utility out of our amphibious shipping. We have offshore patrol vessels, which are [such] capable platforms that we’re just buying new ones. So you don’t have to be out-and-out warships.”
As another example, Messenger cited the Tide class, noting it has a “really capable hanger on the back,” as well as medical facilities and space to carry other equipment. “Its principal task will always be to carry fuel for warships, but nonetheless the utility you can get from that fleet is considerable,” he said.
“So, you know, could we do with more? Yes, but do I feel that we’re about appropriately configured for what we want to do? Probably. And the fact that we’ve been able to have an LPD — an amphibious ship — and three frigates go to the Far East in the last year and a half is an indication of our ability to veer and haul and flex availability for areas that we want to prioritize.” (Source: Defense News)
23 Apr 19. Hungary to lead Nato’s Baltic Air Policing mission. Hungary is set to take over the lead of Nato’s Baltic Air Policing mission from next month at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. The country will be assisted by Spain and the UK in their role as augmenting nations. As the lead nation, Hungary will deploy the JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft to the Šiauliai base and an airforce detachment. The latest deployment represents the second time since 2015 that Hungary will deploy its assets to lead the mission out of Lithuania. Meanwhile, Spain will send its F-18 fighter jets to Šiauliai.
Spain has so far deployed six times to the mission, including twice as lead nation in 2006 and 2016 and three times as augmenting nation at Ämari Air Base in Estonia in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
The British Royal Air Force will be represented by the Eurofighter aircraft, which will fly out of the Ämari base.
The UK served as the lead nation in 2004 and as an augmenting nation once in Siauliai in 2014 and twice in Ämari in 2015 and 2016.
According to Nato, this deployment will be the 50th fighter detachment deploying since 2004.
The objective of the air policing mission is to protect the airspace over the Baltic nations, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
In a statement, Nato said: “The two additional detachments deployed to the region in the next four months demonstrate collective resolve and deter any threat against Nato Allies.”
Nato introduced the Assurance Measures in 2014 as part of a Readiness Action Plan (RAP) to ensure readiness to respond swiftly to security challenges. At the time, the organisation approved the deployment of additional fighter detachments to the region in response to Russia’s alleged illegal actions in Ukraine. The statement added: “These additional assets allow Allied Air Command, via its Combined Air Operations Centre at Uedem, Germany, to employ assets more flexibly providing an air policing capability to safeguard Nato airspace in the Baltic Region.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)
22 Apr 19. Turkey’s fiscal state threatens to impact defense imports and programs. Turkey’s financial situation continues to be in a weakened state. Furthermore, Turkey’s unemployment rate surged to its highest in a decade at 14.7 percent in January, with the ranks of the unemployed swelling by 366,000 people in one month. The number of people without jobs has reached 4.7 million, with youth unemployment jumping to 26.7 percent, a record high, according to data going back to 1988.
The recession-hit country also faces macroeconomic challenges. A continuing recession could force fiscal austerity and consequently curb government spending, likely impacting defense programs. Inflation hovers around 20 percent, and most state banks are lending at a 15-16 percent rate, well below the overnight and inflation rates.
Economists fear eroding confidence and credibility in government policy could drive dollarization and put further pressure on the local currency, the lira. Last summer, the lira lost 40 percent of its value; while it did gain back 28 percent of its value, it seems to be headed toward another plunge.
On Aug. 21, 2017, the U.S. dollar closed at 3.50 liras on the foreign currency markets and at 6.10 liras exactly a year later. The lira temporarily recovered to 5.10 against the dollar earlier this year, but on April 16 it was traded at 5.80.
“Weak lira has always been problematic for Turkey’s defense planners and local industry,” an Ankara-based analyst explained. “Another major wave of plunge [of the lira] could expose foreign currency-related weapons programs to the risk of major delays or suspension.”
Major fluctuations of the national currency often jeopardize procurement programs, according to Ahmet Doğan, an economist and founder of the Ankara-based think tank Sigma. “There are still fundamental macroeconomic problems and political uncertainties that may fuel another lira crisis,” he warned
Turkey’s gross domestic product shrank by 3 percent in the last quarter of 2018. Public borrowing remains an expensive option: The annual interest rate on 10-year government bonds hovers at more than 17 percent, the highest in emerging market economies.
“For any imported defense equipment, both the Turkish government and defense companies must now pay 30 percent more in Turkish lira terms than they had to last year,” Dogan said.
One imported piece of defense equipment includes the engine to power the TF-X, Turkey’s first indigenous fighter jet in the making. The government also plans to select a foreign-made engine and transmission system for the Altay, the Turkish indigenous main battle tank in the making. And there are several foreign parts and systems used on the T129, the Turkish helicopter gunship produced under license from the Italian-British firm AgustaWestland.
Turkey also regularly imports smart ammunition used in its fight against Kurdish militants inside Turkey and in northern Iraq and Syria.
Additionally, whether Turkey remains part of the F-35 fighter jet program, or is expelled and decides to buy a Russian-made replacement, both options involve foreign imports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the currency problems on an “underhanded plot” that aims to bring Turkey to heel. Few investors are convinced.
Last year, Turkey’s defense procurement office, the Presidency of Defence Industries, announced new measures to counter the effects of the currency crisis on acquisitions. It planned to convert foreign currency guarantees in previous and ongoing contracts into Turkish liras, and sign new contract guarantees (such as letters of credit from banks) in lira terms instead of dollar terms. The move put some foreign and local contractors at currency risk. Contractors have been reluctant to accept bank guarantees in lira terms; or if they did, the risk was reflected in final prices.
Another plunge in the lira’s exchange rate may make Turkish banks increasingly reluctant to offer loans and bank guarantees to finance defense programs, as such a dive would erode capital reserves in the banking system and risk bankruptcies. (Source: Defense News)
19 Apr 19. Turkish firms see IDEF as chance to pitch locally made systems for export. Turkey’s most prominent defense and aerospace exhibition is set to showcase several indigenous Turkish systems to foreign buyers.
“New Turkish systems will dominate the show this year, with their producers seeking to win new export contracts,” a senior defense procurement official said of the International Defence Industry Fair taking place in Istanbul April 30-May 3. “New export deals will be the main motive for Turkish manufacturers.”
A Turkish defense analyst said this year’s show will highlight aerospace systems, including drones, a new fighter jet and an advanced jet trainer, plus naval systems and a locally made new-generation battle tank.
Turkey’s state-controlled defense entities Aselsan, a defense electronics specialist, and missile-maker Roketsan will be the leading exhibitors. Aselsan and Roketsan are co-partners in an ambitious program to build Turkey’s first long-range air and anti-missile defense system.
Over the past several years, Turkey’s local industry has sought to develop several armed and unarmed drone systems, as well as the country’s first indigenous fighter jet (TF-X), an advanced trainer jet (Hurkuş) and Turkey’s first indigenous tank (Altay).
In recent years, Turkey’s defense and aerospace industries reported an average export increase of 8 to 10 percent annually. Only in the past six years have defense and aerospace exports risen by 61 percent, while Turkey’s overall exports rose by 10.5 percent. Turkey’s defense and aerospace exports have risen from an annual $1.388 bn in 2013 to $2.035 bn in 2018. In January 2019 the sector reported $175m worth of exports. This compares with sales growth from $5.076bn in 2013 to $6.693bn in 2017.
IDEF is expected to lure more than 900 local and foreign companies this year. Turkish officials also invited 144 foreign defense ministers and procurement officials as well as more than 400 foreign delegations.
In 2017, IDEF hosted 133 official delegations from 67 countries and 820 companies from 50 companies.
Recently, Turkish Aerospace Industries, which is the lead manufacturer on the TF-X and Hurkus programs, announced it will invest $181m in a new composite plant, the world’s fourth-largest facility of its kind, in Kahramankazan near Ankara. TAI said it aims to meet 2 percent of the world’s overall aerial composite structures after its new plant becomes fully operational.
IDEF is set to kick off amid a row between NATO allies Turkey and the United States over the former’s quest to deploy the Russian-made S-400 air defense system on its soil.
The U.S. has threatened to expel Turkey from the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program that builds the F-35 fighter jet. Turkey is a member of the consortium that builds the F-35, and the local industry could lose up to $10bn if the country is kicked out of the program.
If Turkey accepts the S-400, “no F-35s will ever reach Turkish soil. And Turkish participation in the F-35 program, including manufacturing parts, repairing and servicing the fighters, will be terminated, taking Turkish companies out of the manufacturing and supply chain for the program,” wrote a group of bipartisan lawmakers from the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In addition Turkey has been aggressively marketing the T129, a helicopter gunship produced by TAI under license from the Italian-British firm AgustaWestland. Last year, Turkey signed a $1.5bn deal with Pakistan to sell 30 T129s. It is also in talks with the Philippines for the sale of eight attack helicopters.
Those and other potentially successful export deals for the T129 could be blocked amid the U.S.-Turkey dispute if the U.S. denies export licenses to the Turkish manufacturer. The T129 is powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC, which makes the engine, is a joint venture between the American company Honeywell and the British firm Rolls-Royce. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
19 Apr 19. Russia would be Turkey’s ‘first best choice’ for fighter jets if its F-35 plan flops. If U.S. officials were to expel Turkey from the multinational group that builds the F-35 Lightning II, Turkish defense officials said they likely would pursue Russian fighter jet technology.
“We cannot afford to leave the F-35 not substituted,” a senior military officer told Defense news. He declined to comment on the replacement options, as this would require “technological, economical and political deliberations.”
But a defense procurement official said “geostrategic assessment” would make Russian options emerge as the natural first replacement. “Russian fighter technology would the first best choice if our American allies behaved in an un-allied way and questioned Turkey’s membership in the Joint Strike Fighter program,” he said.
Washington has threatened to expel Ankara from the multinational program if Turkey deploys the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system on its soil.
If Turkey accepts the S-400, “no F-35s will ever reach Turkish soil. And Turkish participation in the F-35 program, including manufacturing parts, repairing and servicing the fighters, will be terminated, taking Turkish companies out of the manufacturing and supply chain for the program,” wrote a group of bipartisan lawmakers from the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced a freeze on deliveries and activities with Turkey in relation to the F-35 program over Ankara’s decision to buy the S-400. Turkey insists the first S-400 shipments would arrive in July and the first S-400 system would become operational in September.
A Turkish presidential source said that potential Turkish-Russian cooperation on fighter technology was “preliminarily discussed” between their respective defense officials during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Moscow on April 8.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu told broadcaster NTV on Apri 10: “There are F-35[s], but there are also aircraft manufactured in Russia. If we are not able to purchase [the] F-35, Turkey will buy similar aircraft from other countries. And this will continue until we start producing our own fifth-generation fighter jets.”
Such a move would make Turkey the only NATO member to simultaneously use the S-400 and Russian fighter.
“This is not a useful dispute for the alliance,” asserted an Ankara-based European Union military attaché. “What we observe today could push Turkey further into Russia’s military orbit … and we don’t want that.”
Earlier this month, Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky visited Turkey to discuss the possibility of co-production efforts.
However, Russia’s isn’t the only alternative for the F-35. In 2015, Turkey’s procurement authorities released a request for information for the TF-X, the country’s indigenous fighter jet program. Sweden’s Saab was one of the bidders to supply know-how for the initial design phase of the program, but Ankara selected Britain’s BAE Systems for that contract.
“Saab’s commitment to technology transfer was very generous, but its price was expensive at the time,” a Turkish official recalled. “Saab could now revise its bid and incorporate it into the new [no F-35] situation,” he said. Another option for Turkey is Airbus, a partner in the Eurofighter program based in the Netherlands and France, the official added. (Source: Defense News)
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About Lincad
Lincad is a leading expert in the design and manufacture of batteries, chargers and associated products for a range of applications across a number of different sectors. With a heritage spanning more than three decades in the defence and security sectors, Lincad has particular expertise in the development of reliable, ruggedised products with high environmental, thermal and electromagnetic performance. With a dedicated team of engineers and production staff, all product is designed and manufactured in-house at Lincad’s facility in Ash Vale, Surrey. Lincad is ISO 9001 and TickITplus accredited and works closely with its customers to satisfy their power management requirements.
Lincad is also a member of the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR), the accreditation system for the aerospace, defence and security sectors, and is certified with Cyber Essentials, the government-backed, industry supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks. The majority of Lincad’s products contain high energy density lithium-ion technology, but the most suitable technology for each customer requirement is employed, based on Lincad’s extensive knowledge of available electrochemistries. Lincad offers full life cycle product support services that include repairs and upgrades from point of introduction into service, through to disposal at the end of a product’s life. From product inception, through to delivery and in-service product support, Lincad offers the high quality service that customers expect from a recognised British supplier.
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