Defence`s Feeds

A consortium of naval forces from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, UK and US have taken part in a live-fire integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) programme, which involved defending against three subsonic anti-ship cruise m…

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has updated its Maritime Support Delivery Framework (MSDF) contract with BAE Systems to include two of the British Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has received 24 submissions with consortia including around 190 entities (with some applying to various calls in different consortia) in response to the three Calls for Proposals for the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR).

The objective of this year’s calls is to award grant agreements for a value of some €22 million from the Preparatory Action’s 2017 budget and to exercise options of up to an additional €20 million next year, to be funded under the 2018 budget, once available. 

“The high interest in the Preparatory Action on Defence Research was obvious from the Information Day and Brokerage Event, conducted by the EDA and the European Commission in June 2017, with over 400 participants. What is noteworthy, besides the number of submissions itself, is the incredible amount of entities - research institutes, small and mediums size enterprises and prime companies - which have bid for the various calls. This reflects the urgent need for more defence research funding, cross-border collaboration and harmonisation in Europe. With the  PADR, we are on the right path to a more comprehensive European Defence Research Programme after 2020”, commented Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency.

Research in defence-related technologies is critical for the development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base and to strengthen EU Member States’ strategic autonomy.

The European Commission launched the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) on 11 April 2017. The foreseen budget is €90 million over three years. The aim of the PA is to test and lay the groundwork for a possible European Defence Research Programme in the next Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020. 

The EDA and the European Commission signed a Delegation Agreement on 31 May 2017, by which EDA became the PADR’s implementing agency. The EDA published the first three Calls for Proposals on 7 June 2017. The deadlines to respond were 28 September 2017 for the 'research in technology and products in the context of Force Protection and Soldier Systems' and 'strategic technology foresight' topics, and 5 October 2017 for the 'technological demonstrator for enhanced situational awareness in a naval environment' topic.

The EDA will now conduct evaluations with the support of independent subject matter experts. The evaluation and scrutiny process will last until December 2017. The EDA expects to sign the various grants with the beneficiaries towards the end of 2017 and early 2018.

Based on the budgets for 2018 and 2019, additional Calls for Proposals and Information Days are in preparation.

Before the PADR, a Pilot Project (PP) was introduced in the EU budget in 2015 and 2016, adopted by the European Council and the European Parliament, on the basis of an initiative by the latter, and with the EDA as implementing agency. With a budget of €1.4 million, the three projects of the PP are well under way.

 

More information:

• 2017 calls for proposals published for PA on Defence Research (June 2017)
• Preparatory Action - EDA Project Page
• PA factsheet
• Research and Innovation Participant Portal (Pilot Projects & Preparatory Actions)

 

Early next year (23-25 January 2018), the European Defence Agency (EDA) will organise a workshop on ‘Innovations for Field Medicine’ in order to support future Multinational Medical Modular (M3U) developments, foster a platform for multinational collaboration and establish a dialogue with industry.

The main practical objectives of this workshop will be to identify new and promising products and services in three main areas:

• Advancements in pre-hospital care: solutions, including those contracted with external providers, to provide the best possible treatment for wounded soldiers from the point of injury to the Field Hospital
• Field Hospitals for present and future CSDP Operations: new systems to realise or provide cost-effective solutions for new generations of field hospitals, linked to the EDA M3U-Programme
• Medical training and simulation: systems and technologies to improve training and learning in a simulated environment prior to clinical encounters such as task trainers, virtual reality simulators, virtual patients, and computerized full-body manikins.

Questionnaire

In order to prepare this workshop in an efficient manner, and to ensure as fair, objective and balanced a discussion as possible the EDA is now looking for input from industry who are invited to express their views and expectations via a special questionnaire prepared by the Agency. The questionnaire has been distributed via National defence Industry associations, and AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe. EDA encourages industry to respond to the questionnaire as this will contribute to ensuring a high-quality workshop.

Industrial representatives will be invited to the workshop to present their products and solutions, and also to discuss and share their views on medium and long-term developments.

How to apply

• Send your completed files to CAT@eda.europa.eu, with a copy to Daniel.PETRILAK@eda.europa.eu
• Deadline for submissions is the 25th of October 2017

For more information:

• Medical Support (EDA project page)
• Four Project Arrangements signed in the margins of CAP Steering Board (EDA webnews, March 2017)
• Contact: Daniel PETRILAK, Project Officer Medical, daniel.PETRILAK@eda.europa.eu / phone +32 2 504 28 71

Americas

• Austral USA, the Mobile, Alabama-based subsidiary of the Australian shipbuilder has been awarded a $584.2 million modification to a previously awarded US Navy contract for the construction of a littoral combat ship (LCS). Under the terms of the deal, the firm will perform and oversee all necessary design, planning, construction and test and trials activities in support of delivery of the vessel to the Navy, with a scheduled completion date set for October 2023. Work will primarily take place at Mobile, Alabama, but also at several other east coast locations. The Navy expects to release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in future years, and therefore the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information and for the time being, will not be made public.

• Boeing plans to acquire Aurora Flight Sciences, both companies announced on October 5. Wanted to help accelerate Boeing’s development of game-changing autonomy technology for innovative aerospace vehicles, the Manassas-based company will retain an independent operating model after the acquisition. Since its founding in 1989, Aurora has designed, produced and flown more than 30 UAVs, and has collaborated with Boeing on several occasions in the last decade on the rapid prototyping of innovative aircraft and structural assemblies for both military and commercial applications. Further details on the acquisition were not given.

Middle East & Africa

• Saudi Arabia has been cleared by the US State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to proceed with the sale of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems. Valued at an estimated $15 billion, the package includes the provision of 44 THAAD launchers, 360 THAAD Interceptor Missiles, 16 THAAD Fire Control and Communications Mobile Tactical Station Group, and seven AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars. Additional items include THAAD Battery maintenance equipment, 43 trucks, generators, electrical power units, trailers, communications equipment, tools, and test and maintenance equipment, as well as spare and repair parts, logistics, construction of facilities and other program support. Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Raytheon will act as lead contractors in the deal, which the DSCA said will add an upper-tier to Saudi Arabia’s layered missile defense architecture and will support modernization of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Force.

• A historic visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to Moscow last week was marked by the announcement that the kingdom has agreed to buy the S-400 air defense system from Russia. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the system on Thursday, which will also see part of the system built in Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to develop its own military industries. The MOU also covers the production in Saudi Arabia of Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles, TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers, and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers. Another general terms and conditions of contract agreement was also signed, and covers Saudi production of the Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifle and associated 7.62×39 mm ammunition. King Salman arrived, along with a 1,500 strong entourage, in Moscow on Wednesday, the first time a Saudi king has ever visited Moscow.

• South Africa’s Paramount Group has snapped up four surplus Dassault Mirage F1Bs from the French government in a “multi-million euro” transaction the firm did not want to specify. Once delivered, the aircraft will join the company’s existing fleet of single-seat Mirage F1s—which it bought from the South African air force in 2006—and will support both aggressor and pilot training in addition to aiding maintenance and support instruction. They will be operated by the Paramount Aerospace Systems subsidiary.

Europe

• German prosecutors examining portions of Airbus’s $2 billion sale in 2003 of Eurofighter aircraft to Austria are expected to complete their investigations soon. While Austrian prosecutors are also investigating the case, the Munich authority is focusing on 16 individuals on suspicion of breeches of trust, and whether money supposedly spent on so-called offset deals was instead used to influence decision-makers on the main sale. Meanwhile,Vienna prosecutors are pursuing a separate investigation into allegations of fraud against Airbus and the Eurofighter industrial consortium based on complaints from the Austrian defense ministry, which is seeking up to $1.3 billion in compensation.

• The Finnish government has sent a Request for Information (RFI) to seven countries about weapons and other equipment for Finland’s HX fighter project to replace its F/A-18 Hornet fleet by 2025. France, Germany, Britain, Israel, Norway, Sweden and the US, have all been contacted with the requests, which aims to determine what capabilities will be available to meet Finland’s estimated future fighter needs. Helsinki intends to seek pricing on the Hornet’s replacement next spring, with testing of candidate aircraft to commence in 2019, and a final procurement decision will come made in 2021.

Asia Pacific

• Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has dismissed claims that Bangkok has agreed to replace ageing AH-1F helicopters with new attack helicopters from the US. Instead, he added that the army has a procurement plan for some attack helicopters and that a committee has yet to setup to select and procure a new attack helicopter. While Prawit did not disclose the models or country the new rotorcraft is expected to come from, a source close to the procurement said six helicopters will be sought, adding the models in contention include the Cobra, AH-1Z Viper, AH-64 Apache from the US, the Mi-28 from Russia, the Z-10 from China or the AW-129 from Italy.

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