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02 Mar 23. UK and Saudi Arabia sign new agreement during defence minister’s visit. During the visit, the Defence Secretary met his Saudi counterpart HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman. The Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP is visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (28 February to 2 March). The Defence Secretary held a number of bilateral meetings, including with HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and others in the Saudi government.
It was an opportunity to reflect on the strength and depth of the UK-Saudi partnership, including following the signing of the Defence Cooperation Plan in December 2022. The Defence Secretary reaffirmed the UK’s enduring commitment to work with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with discussion of how to enhance the bilateral relationship yet further in support of regional stability and security.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia following the recent commitment of $410m in aid for Ukraine, announced during Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud’s visit to Kyiv last weekend.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “It was a pleasure to meet with HRH Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and build on the long history of UK-Saudi defence collaboration. The Statement of Intent signed today will strengthen our Saudi-UK combat air relationship and our ability to address shared security challenges for decades to come, supporting Saudi Vision 2030 aspirations.”
The Defence Ministers signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) during the visit, which will initiate a Partnering Feasibility Study to explore how we can best position our decades long combat air relationship for the future. Both Governments confirmed a common desire for closer industrial collaboration, to develop key capabilities and boost prosperity in both nations, including in support of Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
28 Feb 23. USAF’s B-52 bombers undertake BTF mission 23-2 in Europe.
The start of the mission was marked by a flyby involving a B-52 over Tallinn, Estonia. The US Air Force’s (USAF) B-52 Stratofortress long-range heavy bomber aircraft has officially started the routine Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission 23-2 in Europe. This was announced by the Nato Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) on 27 February. The deployed bomber aircraft belong to the 5th Bomb Wing from Minot Air Force Base (AFB) in North Dakota, US.
The start of the scheduled mission was marked by a low-approach flyby performed by two of the deployed B-52 aircraft over Tallinn to commemorate Estonia’s Independence Day.
The two nations are Nato allies and work in close coordination to safeguard the Baltic States and Europe’s eastern flank.
USAF Europe-Air Forces Africa and Nato Allied Air Command commander USAF general James Hecker said: “The US and Estonia are close allies and share a strong partnership based on a common commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“We remain steadfastly committed to the freedom and sovereignty of Estonia and all our Baltic allies as we deter and defend against any threats to our shared security.”
As part of the new BTF mission, the USAF’s B-52 Stratofortress bombers will operate with different allied and partner nations’ forces and fighter jets to bolster their interoperability and cohesion with the allied forces.
Deployed bombers will be based at Moron Air Force Base in Spain.
The deployment of B-52 planes in Europe will also further strengthen the trans-Atlantic bond between the US and European allies.
The USAF’s BTF missions aim to reinforce the country’s National Defense Strategy objectives to demonstrate collective defence capabilities across the globe.
This routine operation allows the deployed forces to maintain operational readiness and efficiency while validating the USAF’s ‘always-ready’ global strike ability. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
28 Feb 23. Western European defence investment is humbled by Estonia-UAE robotics deal. EDGE Group’s recent acquisition of Milrem Robotics is just one example of how eastern European commitments to defence are putting western efforts to shame.
Western European countries have pledged a greater commitment to their defence industries as Russian forces engage Ukraine in a war of attrition that is taking a toll, not just on them, but on the continent as a whole.
Despite all the talk and promises of ramping up their defence industry investment the continent marks the anniversary of the conflict, western European countries seem to be increasingly upstaged by their eastern neighbours.
Nearer to the front line, countries like Poland and the Baltic States are demonstrating an admirable response to the conflict as they are fulfilling relatively larger commitments to their respective defence industries.
None more so than Estonia, where the Tallinn-based Milrem Robotics company has brought the largest investment to the Estonian defence industry to date, according to a GlobalData webinar that provided expert analysis in an overview of the Ukraine Impact and Q4 2022 on 27 February.
The details of the deal saw the United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned conglomerate EDGE Group purchase a majority controlling share in Milrem Robotics.
GlobalData land domain analyst, Tristan Sauer, stated in the webinar that Milrem “received support from its domestic government and gained EDA investment” on top of the acquisition, while “failure of major European firms to invest in smaller competitors is a testament to the bureaucratic failures of the EU defence bloc”.
Milrem acquisition
Mansour Al Mulla, managing director and CEO of EDGE Group, stated: “There is great potential here for both companies, and our investment in Milrem will allow it to take advantage of EDGE’s considerable resources to offer our customers operating in perpetually changing operating environments a more robust portfolio of superior autonomous systems at competitive costs.”
By tapping into the UAE’s defence resources, alongside its vast amount of capital, the Estonian Robotics company has harnessed a valuable source that can bolster Europe’s defence security.
On top of this funnel of security assurance, it seems the company’s product portfolio will also contribute to the growing area of robotics and unmanned vehicles in the defence industry.
When showcasing its latest uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) at the 2023 International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), Milrem Robotics CEO, Kuldar Väärsi, noted that “in ten years Milrem Robotics has evolved from a vehicle developer into a system integrator in the robotics domain”.
Väärsi added: “Over the next years we will increase our product protfolio in terms of new autonomous ground systems and work on manned-unmanned teaming solutions.”
Meanwhile, Germany, Europe’s leading economy, has pledged to create a €100bn special defence fund, as well as sending Leopard 2-type main battle tanks (MBTs) to Ukraine.
While this demonstrates a significant change of stance from their traditional pacifism, in the grand scheme of things, a lot of this has yet to materialise or have any implementation at all.
Polish defence efforts
Similarly, Poland has expanded its own defence commitments on a grand scale compared to the insufficient efforts of western neighbours.
GlobalData’s Macroeconomic Report on Poland states that Poland has also exploited the UAE avenue. In September 2022, Poland and the UAE announced they would boost bilateral relations in various fields, especially economic and trade through joint economic and investment cooperation.
Moreover, both nations also proclaimed to enhance opportunities for trade exchange and establishment of investment projects in sectors of common interest since Poland is the UAE’s second trading partner in eastern Europe.
Additionally, Poland and the UAE also discussed ways to develop and exchange best experiences and practices to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the energy sector performance in both countries.
The Polish government also reached out globally for its defence contractors. A deal was made with South Korean defence firm, Hanwha in January 2023, as the Polish Army procured 180 K2 Black Panther MBTs. The deal extends to the procurement of 48 FA-50 fighter jets and howitzers.
This deal has reverberated in the MBT market, as it indicates how countries like Poland have lost confidence in the European market for the German-made Leopard 2A7 because of a reluctant German government to supply growing demand.
Poland sought to be unconstrained in its ability to mobilise in a potential future conflict, much like the rest of eastern Europe, as they turn to support themselves by other means due to western inactivity.
(Source: army-technology.com)
27 Feb 23. UK and Germany prepare for first joint Nato Air Policing task.
The training will allow UK-German forces to understand and integrate each other’s operating tactics and procedures. UK and German air forces have started conducting a series of training exercises to prepare for their first integrated Nato Air Policing mission.
The preparatory exercises are being carried out to train the Royal Air Force (RAF) detachment for undertaking an Air Policing task in Estonia from April. This task is currently being performed by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe).
The RAF Expeditionary Air Wing, including RAF Lossiemouth-based IX(Bomber) Squadron, will be deployed to take over this mission.
Before officially handing over air policing responsibility to the UK, associated detachments from the two countries will be integrated to conduct joint missions next month.
A Luftwaffe detachment will continue to support the British forces, even after the RAF takes over the charge of Air Policing in April.
Initial training also involved personnel from Luftwaffe’s 71 Tactical Air Wing to perform ground and air training with IX(B) Squadron.
RAF Operations deputy commander air marshal Smyth said: “Under this construct, we learn from each other more rapidly, and combine our strengths to become greater than the sum of parts.”
The training effort will ensure that deployed troops can understand the national differences between both countries, which operate the Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.
It will allow the UK-German detachments to fly two Eurofighters, one from each air force, together on a live-intercept mission.
Exercises also included air-to-air refuelling from an RAF Voyager and joint Quick Reaction Alert procedures and a cross-training, involving 18 Luftwaffe engineers, between German and RAF Typhoon variants.
Luftwaffe detachment commander major Lars Hansen said: “This week was important to train and develop together ahead of delivering Combined Baltic Air Policing. The lessons we learnt in the air and on the ground will pay dividends when we meet again in Estonia.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
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