Defence`s Feeds

The U.S. airlifter performed a successful emergency landing at Kandahar, Afghanistan. The following video was reportedly filmed on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, when a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft experienced a nose gear [...]

The post Video Shows U.S. C-17 Globemaster III Aircraft Performing Nose Gear Up Landing in Afghanistan appeared first on The Aviationist.

Gripen E Officially Presented During The Brazilian Air Force Day. On Oct. 23, 2020, the first Saab Gripen E, designated F-39E Gripen by the Brazilian Air Force, made its official debut during the celebrations of [...]

The post First Brazilian Air Force F-39E Gripen Makes Official Debut appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Last F-2000 Typhoon of the Italian Air Force Has Been Delivered By Leonardo. On Oct. 23, 2020, the last Eurofighter Typhoon for the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) was officially handed over during a [...]

The post The Italian Air Force Takes Delivery Of Its Final, Most Advanced Eurofighter Typhoon appeared first on The Aviationist.

The F-16AM with a Special Tail is from the 10 Wing of Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium. On Oct. 21, 2020, the Belgian Air Force unveiled an F-16AM Fighting Falcon with a special colored [...]

The post Here’s The F-16AM That Celebrates The 45th Anniversary Of The F-16 Multinational Fighter Program appeared first on The Aviationist.

Europe’s maritime security has significantly improved over the last years on several aspects including international or regional cooperation, information sharing, capability development, risk management and training. This is the conclusion of a new report about the implementation of the EU’s maritime security strategy action plan, developed by the European Commission together with the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

We all depend on safe, secure and clean seas and oceans. Through maritime security policies, we can maintain the rule of law in areas beyond national jurisdiction and protect the EU’s strategic maritime interests. These include, among others, our external borders, common natural resources and maritime infrastructures such as ports, offshore platforms and scientific equipment. Climate change and our preparedness to face its impact on the marine and coastal environment are also important maritime security priorities.

The European Union maritime security strategy explains how the EU defends its maritime interests, in full respect of international rules and principles. An action plan – adopted in 2014 and revised in 2018 – helps implement this strategy. 

According to the progress report, significant improvements have been achieved in all five “key areas for immediate action” defined in the strategy. Actions vary strongly, from improving resilience against cyber-attacks, over common information sharing platforms to developing semi-autonomous surveillance capabilities. The international level remains of critical importance to the EU, as it has strengthened its cooperation with the United Nations, NATO and other strategic partners.
 

More information

Curious to see in detail how the EU has been doing so far in protecting its maritime interests?

Have a quick look at our factsheet or read the full report.

 

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

In the framework of the Gender Equality Week, the SEDE Subcommittee will hold on 29 October 2020 an exchange of views on the 20th Anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) including a focus on women in CSDP. The emphasis will be on progress achieved in ensuring full participation of women in peace processes around the world. Members will also assess additional steps that need to be taken to further enhance the role of women in all phases of peacebuilding, while increasing in particular the number of women taking part in the decision-making process. The debate will also include a focus on women in CSDP missions/operations and actions taken by the EU and its Member States to fully implement UNSCR 1325 on WPS.

FEMM committee announcement - European Gender Equality Week 2020
EP press release on European Gender Equality Week 2020
Meeting documents and draft agenda of the SEDE meeting on 28/29 October 2020
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

An interesting video shows the two F-117s which have recently deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar departing for a mission in Southern California. On Tuesday Oct. 20, 2020, two F-117s, using radio callsign “KNIGHT”, [...]

The post Watch Two F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Jets Launch From MCAS Miramar Yesterday Afternoon appeared first on The Aviationist.

Chinese Shaanxi SX2220 Military Truck

The iconic USMC attack helicopter is replaced by the upgraded AH-1Z Viper after 34 years of service and almost one million flight hours. The United States Marine Corps retired the AH-1W Super Cobra with an [...]

The post The United States Marine Corps Bids Farewell To The AH-1W Super Cobra Helicopter appeared first on The Aviationist.

Last week, experts from 12 EDA Member States as well as Norway and Switzerland participated in an online workshop organised by the Agency to identify and discuss research & technology needs as well as potential future applications of hypervelocity systems.

The workshop (12-13 October) took place as part of an ongoing series of EDA Technology Foresight Workshops which aim to assess the potential of emerging technologies which are expected to strongly impact future defence capabilities. Hypervelocity is without doubt among these, given its high potential for application and disruptiveness in the defence domain. 

Against this backdrop, last week’s workshop gathered some 90 European subject matter experts to discuss current and future hypervelocity technologies and associated R&T needs. The topic was approached from different angles, including hypersonic transport, effectors and protection against hypervelocity threats. More detailed discussion took place on propulsion and launching platforms, manoeuvrability, trajectory, questions related to information management as well as guidance and control of such hypervelocity systems. In this way, the workshop comprehensively covered the defence view on hypervelocity from an EU perspective and its required autonomy. Furthermore, potential synergies with the civilian sector were also discussed. 

This workshop was an activity bringing together several EDA Capability & Technology (CapTech) groups on: Missiles and Munitions Systems, Air Systems, Guidance, Navigation and Control, and Materials and Structures.  

The workshop on hypervelocity systems was conducted virtually over a period of two working days, with the support of Ingeniería de Sistemas para la Defensa de Espana (Isdefe), under a specific contract with EDA. At the beginning, participants attended a plenary session during which keynote speakers introduced the topic and set the scene of hypervelocity, the expected advantages, examples of use cases and the current challenges, such as suitable test systems. Afterwards, participants were separated in smaller groups (virtual tables) in which they thoroughly discussed the subject of hypervelocity from different perspectives. In a final plenary session, the results of the virtual tables discussions were presented and summarized. The workshop results will be further analysed in the upcoming weeks and a comprehensive report will be elaborated for EDA participating Member States’ Ministries of Defence. It will include the main conclusions and recommendations for Member States concerning hypervelocity applications for defence, research needs and possible dual-use synergies.
 

Background 

EDA’s Technology Foresight Workshops aim to provide input to the EDA process of technology evaluation, including the identification and classification of technology trends and emerging technologies as well as the prioritisation of important technologies with respect to medium- and long-term capability needs. The output of the workshops is used as background information for relevant defence technologies, to be integrated in EDA Strategic Research Agendas (SRAs) and their Technology Building Block (TBB) roadmaps, as well as the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA) toolchain, the analyses of Key Strategic Activities (KSA) and in the Strategic Context Cases of the 2018 Capability Development Plan (CDP).
 

More information:

• Missiles and Munitions Systems
• Air Systems
• Guidance, Navigation and Control
• Materials and Structures

 

Karabakh Conflict - the view from Georgia

You have probably seen the pics. Here’s a video of an F-117 landing at Miramar. As already reported, on Tuesday Oct. 20, 2020, two F-117 Nighthawk stealth jets made a surprise visit to Marine Corps [...]

The post Check Out This Video Of One Of The Two F-117s Landing at MCAS Miramar Yesterday. appeared first on The Aviationist.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The F-117 saga continues. Two Nighthawks have landed at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar outside San Diego. On Oct. 20, 2020, two F-117s have made a surprise visit to MCAS Miramar. Using their usual [...]

The post Two F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Jets Have Landed At MCAS Miramar appeared first on The Aviationist.

A new acronym is being whispered in the French intelligence community, Intelligence Online can reveal. OTDH, which stands for Outil

A new acronym is being whispered in the French intelligence community, Intelligence Online can reveal. OTDH, which stands for Outil

Filipino Tarlac Class Landing Ship

EDA’s 4th Electronic Warfare course (5-16 October) involving more than a dozen participants from Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Ukraine has just been completed at Sintra Air Base, Portugal. It was the first helicopter course held in the Agency’s new training facility set up over the past four months at Sintra Air Base which will also host the future Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC) by mid-2023.

The Electronic Warfare course, which is part of EDA’s wide-ranging helicopter training activities, allowed participants to deepen their knowledge and expertise about Electronic Warfare and its application in the current operational theatres. From threat briefings to mathematics classes, an array of topics was touched upon with the goal to increase the know-how of the students who also had the opportunity to share experiences among them despite the strict precautionary Covid-19 measures put in place by the Portuguese Air Force and the country’s health authorities. 
 

 
Sintra ready for high-quality training

After months of intense preparations, the Sintra training centre meets all necessary conditions for delivering high-quality training for the EDA Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), the Helicopter Tactics Course (HTC) and the Helicopter Tactics Instructors Course (HTIC) programmes. The centre includes a large office and classroom building and a hangar built to accommodate an advanced helicopter mission simulator. The state-of-the-art simulator is composed of two full cockpits and rear cabins allowing to provide training to all the crewmembers, both pilots and rear crews. Based on the very latest simulation technology, the training device has VBS4 software integrated in a world data base, a very realistic flight model and a complete EW Defence Suite, all of which will allow crews to improve and extend their tactical skills and knowledge in any type of physical or tactical environment.

The new training facilities will ensure the continuity of the current EDA programmes until mid-2023 when they will be fully handed over to the Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC), also to be based at Sintra Air Base, which will take over the management of the three EDA helicopter programmes.
 

More information:

• EDA's helicopter initiatives (EDA project page)
• Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC) sets course for Sintra (EDM magazine article, June 2020)

Russian Abakan Anti-Ballistic Missile System