The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 18 March 2020 from 9:00 - 12:30 and from 14:30 - 18:30 and on Thursday 19 March 2020 from 9:00 - 12:30 in Brussels (room SPINELLI 1G3).
Please also consult the SEDE meetings' calendar 2020 below.
Recent press releases:
- MEPs exchange views with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations - 21 November 2019
- Subcommittee for Security and Defence visit to the European Defence Agency - 18 November 2019
- Militarisation of space and race for resources: What can EU do about it? - 12 November 2019
- Children of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq: MEPs to assess the situation - 6 November 2019
- AFET/DROI/SEDE meet with UN Secretary General in New York and hold consultations with the US Congress in Washington, DC - 1st November 2019
- Parliament delegation to visit the United Nations General Assembly and US Congress - 25 October 2019
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CAE USA-Mission Solutions won a $10.6 million modification for the F-15E, F-16 and F-22A contract aircrew training and courseware development contract. The contract modification is for exercising Option Year Three. The Boeing F-15E dual-role fighter is an advanced long-range interdiction fighter and tactical aircraft. The F-15E is the latest version of the Eagle, a Mach 2.5-class twin-engine fighter. The F-16 and the F-15 Eagle were the world’s first aircraft able to withstand higher g-forces than the pilots. The F-16 Fighting Falcon entered service in 1979. The F-22A Raptor is an advanced tactical fighter aircraft developed for the US Air Force. It entered service with the USAF in December 2005 to replace the F-15, with emphasis on agility, stealth and range. Work under the contract modification is expected to be finished by April 1, 2020.
Airbus Helicopters won a $122.7 million contract modification for procurement of 15 UH-72 Aircraft. The UH-72A Lakota is a light utility helicopter specifically designed to meet the requirements of the US Army. Based on the EC 145 multirole helicopter, the UH-72A serves the army principally for logistics and support missions within the US. Work will take place in Columbus, Mississippi and estimated completion date is August 31, 2022. Army funds in the full amount were obligated at the time of the award.
Middle East & AfricaThe DoS approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of up to eight KC-46 aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The KC-46A is a 767-2C provisioned freighter with a 767-400 flight deck (this flight deck features the Rockwell Collins large format displays of the 787 airliner). The KC-46A has a minimum crew of three comprised of a pilot, co-pilot, and mission system operator/officer. It can carry 96 tonnes of fuel, although it should be noted that the KC-46A loses much of its underfloor cargo space with auxiliary tanks in doing so. According to the DoS, the proposed sale supports the foreign policy and national security of the United States by allowing Israel to provide a redundant capability to US assets within the region, potentially freeing US assets for use elsewhere during times of war.
The DoS approved a possible FMS to Morocco of 25 M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) vehicles and/or M88A1 long supply HERCULES refurbished vehicles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $239.4 million. The potential $239.35 million sale would include 25 M88A2 and/or refurbished M88A1 vehicles along with with an equal number of .50 caliber machine guns, M239 or M250 smoke grenade launchers, 1,800 M76 or L8A1/A3 smoke grenade rounds, 25 SINCGARS radios, AN/PSN-13A GPS receivers (DAGR), and 30 AN/VAS-5B Driver Vision Enhancer kits. The main contractor will be BAE Systems, the original producer of the M88. The armored M88 Hercules, or Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System, is designed to lift or tow stuck or disabled fighting vehicles while under fire.
EuropeThe Land Battle Decisive Munitions initiative welcomed the Czech Republic and Sweden, bringing the total number of participating NATO Allies and partners to 23. The amendment to the initiative’s Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the margins of the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels. The Land Battle Decisive Munitions Initiative was launched during the NATO Summit in 2018 and the first delivery of acquired munition followed within six months. Participating nations are now working on further acquisition rounds for later this year. With the two new participants, the Land Battle Decisive Munitions Initiative now includes Belgium, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, as well as the partner nations Austria, Finland, North Macedonia and Sweden.
Asia-PacificThe Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) will be receiving a new batch of patrol boats as part of efforts to improve security along the country’s coastal waters. Speaking in parliament on March 2, Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, described the new vessels as “fifth generation PT-class patrol boats” that will replace the service’s current fleet of “third-generation boats”. The PCG has a fleet of 18 m patrol craft that were built by Geraldton Boats in Australia, and delivered to the PCG from 1999. These vessels have a top speed of 40 kt, and are armed with manually operated 7.62 mm machine guns.
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The European Defence Agency (EDA) confirms that one staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member tested positive and is currently at home in self isolation since symptoms appeared on Saturday evening (29 February 2020). The individual has reported very light symptoms and not returned to the Agency since.
The staff member promptly informed the Agency and since then EDA has taken several steps:
The staff member had recently travelled to Italy (Milan and Cortina) and returned to Brussels on 23 February. The Agency also wishes to address reports in the media, that the impacted staff member attended a meeting with 30 officials from other EU institutions, as incorrect.
EDA will continue to closely monitor the situation and remain in close contact with the responsible health authorities in order to strictly follow their guidance.
Textron Aviation won a $14.3 million contract modification for the production and delivery of one King Air 350C Cargo Slick aircraft modified to a UC-12W. The UC-12W, a modified version of the King Air 350 equipped with a cargo door and military required equipment, is a modern and improved version of the UC-12. The UC-12 is used by the Navy for personnel and cargo transport, range clearance, medical evacuation, and humanitarian assistance. The Navy operates UC-12B/F/M Huron as modified variants of the King Air B200 as well as the UC-12W Huron. Work will take place in Kansas and expected completion is in March 2021.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won a $9.6 million delivery order, which procures program management support to execute the planning, procurement and delivery of initial aircraft spares in support of the F-35 Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers operational aircraft. The F-35 is considered a significant driver of the Pentagon’s budget: an August DoD report said the F-35 program grew by $25 billion in 2018 and was the primary reason the Pentagon’s budget grew by four percent that year. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be finished in December 2020. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Middle East & AfricaThe head of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, has revealed that three JF-17s, which the country ordered, will arrive home in November this year. He made the disclosure during the Passing Out Parade of the Basic Military Training Course 40 on February 15. In March 2019, Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) announced that it had approved the sale of three JF-17s to Nigeria under a $184 million US contract. It is likely that the NAF will follow-up this contract with a follow-on order to fully replace its legacy F-7Ni and FT-7Ni fighters. Through the JF-17, Nigeria possesses one of Sub-Sahara Africa’s most well-equipped fighters.
EuropeThales UK has been awarded contracts worth around $422.8 million to develop the sonar suite and above-water sensor systems for the new Royal Navy Dreadnought Class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Previously known as Successor, the Dreadnought submarine program is planned to replace the RN’s four existing Vanguard Class SSBNs – one for one, from the early 2030s – to maintain a posture of continuous at-sea deterrence. Manufacture work on the first two 17,200-tonne displacement boats is under way at the BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard facility in Cumbria.
Asia-PacificSingapore-based unmanned maritime systems developer Zycraft has produced a logistics-optimized variant of the Dolphin rescue unmanned surface vessel (USV), the company announced on its official website on March 3. According to Zycraft president James Soon, the company has developed the BacPac sea transfer module to carry payloads of up to 10 kg between ships that are unable to maneuver alongside each other due to sea conditions or security concerns. The baseline Dolphin rescue USV measures 1,150 mm long, 800 mm wide, and 250 mm tall, and has a displacement of 13 kg. It can operate for up to 30 minutes between charges and is powered by a pair of electric waterjets that propel it at speeds of up to 8 kt. The USV can be deployed off the stern or sides of a vessel and recovered using a grapnel hook or line lift, although it can also be extracted from the water by hand if conditions permit. A weight transfer device enables the sea vehicle to be lifted out of the water without excessive induced motion.
Australia took delivery of the Royal Australian Navy’s third and final Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer, the future HMAS Sydney, at the Osborne naval shipyard in Adelaide on February 28. The third Hobart-class destroyer is expected to be commissioned in Sydney on May 20 and undertake work-up activities until the end of the year in preparation for up to six months of US Navy Combat System Ship Qualification trials. These will include firings over the Pacific Test Range off San Diego of the destroyer’s RIM-66 SM-2 Block 3B and RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSMs) air-defense missiles. First-of-class HMAS Hobart was commissioned in 2017 while the second, HMAS Brisbane , was commissioned the following year: each more than two years behind the original schedule, which itself was re-baselined three times.
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