Over 10,000 troops from nine nations ready to meet global challenges in Joint Expeditionary Force led by UK

With the UK at the forefront as the framework nation, the JEF can now deploy over 10,000 personnel from across the nine nations.

Speaking at the event at Lancaster House today Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Our commitment today sends a clear message to our allies and adversaries alike – our nations will stand together to meet new and conventional challenges and keep our countries and our citizens safe and secure in an uncertain world.

We are judged by the company we keep, and while the Kremlin seeks to drive a wedge between allies old and new alike, we stand with the international community united in support of international rules.

Launched in 2015, the joint force has continued to develop so that it’s able to respond rapidly, anywhere in the world, to meet global challenges and threats ranging from humanitarian assistance to conducting high intensity combat operations.

The JEF, made up of nine northern European allies Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, is more than a simple grouping of military capabilities. It represents the unbreakable partnership between UK and our like-minded northern European allies, born from shared operational experiences and an understanding of the threats and challenges we face today.

In May this year, the JEF demonstrated it readiness with a live capability demonstration on Salisbury Plain. It featured troops from the nine JEF nations, including troops from the UK Parachute Regiment, the Danish Jutland Dragoon Regiment, the Lithuanian “Iron Wolf” Brigade and the Latvian Mechanised Infantry Brigade, which conducted urban combat operations with air support provided by Apaches, Chinooks, Wildcats and Tornados.

Source: Over 10,000 troops from nine nations ready to meet global challenges – GOV.UK

This is not a standing force, but one where each time it is deployed is created by the countries deciding whether to (or not) add earmarked forces to the structure.

New Artificial Intelligence Beats Tactical Experts in Aerial Combat Simulation

ALPHA is currently viewed as a research tool for manned and unmanned teaming in a simulation environment. In its earliest iterations, ALPHA consistently outperformed a baseline computer program previously used by the Air Force Research Lab for research.  In other words, it defeated other AI opponents.

In fact, it was only after early iterations of ALPHA bested other computer program opponents that Lee then took to manual controls against a more mature version of ALPHA last October. Not only was Lee not able to score a kill against ALPHA after repeated attempts, he was shot out of the air every time during protracted engagements in the simulator.

Since that first human vs. ALPHA encounter in the simulator, this AI has repeatedly bested other experts as well, and is even able to win out against these human experts when its (the ALPHA-controlled) aircraft are deliberately handicapped in terms of speed, turning, missile capability and sensors.

Lee, who has been flying in simulators against AI opponents since the early 1980s, said of that first encounter against ALPHA, “I was surprised at how aware and reactive it was. It seemed to be aware of my intentions and reacting instantly to my changes in flight and my missile deployment. It knew how to defeat the shot I was taking. It moved instantly between defensive and offensive actions as needed.”

He added that with most AIs, “an experienced pilot can beat up on it (the AI) if you know what you’re doing. Sure, you might have gotten shot down once in a while by an AI program when you, as a pilot, were trying something new, but, until now, an AI opponent simply could not keep up with anything like the real pressure and pace of combat-like scenarios.”

[…]

Eventually, ALPHA aims to lessen the likelihood of mistakes since its operations already occur significantly faster than do those of other language-based consumer product programming. In fact, ALPHA can take in the entirety of sensor data, organize it, create a complete mapping of a combat scenario and make or change combat decisions for a flight of four fighter aircraft in less than a millisecond. Basically, the AI is so fast that it could consider and coordinate the best tactical plan and precise responses, within a dynamic environment, over 250 times faster than ALPHA’s human opponents could blink.

[…]

It would normally be expected that an artificial intelligence with the learning and performance capabilities of ALPHA, applicable to incredibly complex problems, would require a super computer in order to operate.

However, ALPHA and its algorithms require no more than the computing power available in a low-budget PC in order to run in real time and quickly react and respond to uncertainty and random events or scenarios.

[…]

To reach its current performance level, ALPHA’s training has occurred on a $500 consumer-grade PC. This training process started with numerous and random versions of ALPHA. These automatically generated versions of ALPHA proved themselves against a manually tuned version of ALPHA. The successful strings of code are then “bred” with each other, favoring the stronger, or highest performance versions. In other words, only the best-performing code is used in subsequent generations. Eventually, one version of ALPHA rises to the top in terms of performance, and that’s the one that is utilized.

[…]

ALPHA is developed by Psibernetix Inc., serving as a contractor to the United States Air Force Research Laboratory.

Support for Ernest’s doctoral research, $200,000 in total, was provided over three years by the Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

Source: New Artificial Intelligence Beats Tactical Experts in Combat Simulation, University of Cincinnati

DARPA looking for Innovative Ideas for Swarm Drone Systems in Urban Environments

DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program envisions future small-unit infantry forces using small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or small unmanned ground systems (UGSs) in swarms of 250 robots or more to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments. By leveraging and combining emerging technologies in swarm autonomy and human-swarm teaming, the program seeks to enable rapid development and deployment of breakthrough capabilities to the field. DARPA is continuing its pursuit of these goals through awarding Phase 1 contracts to teams led by Raytheon BBN Technologies (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and the Northrop Grumman Corporation (Linthicum, Maryland).
[…]
The focus of this effort is the generation of swarm tactics for a mixed swarm of 50 air and ground robots to isolate an urban objective within an area of two square city blocks over a mission duration of 15 to 30 minutes. Operationally relevant tactics to achieve that mission include performing reconnaissance, identifying ingress and egress points, and establishing a perimeter around an area of operation.

Source: OFFSET “Sprinters” Encouraged to Share Innovative Ideas for Swarm Systems

When a North Korean Missile Accidentally Hit a North Korean City

What happens when a North Korean ballistic missile test fails in flight and explodes in a populated area? On April 28, 2017, North Korea launched a single Hwasong-12/KN17 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) from Pukchang Airfield in South Pyongan Province (the Korean People’s Army’s Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447 in Ryongak-dong, Sunchon City, to be more precise). That missile failed shortly after launch and crashed in the Chongsin-dong, in North Korean city of Tokchon, causing considerable damage to a complex of industrial or agricultural buildings.
[…]
As seen in image 1, had the launch succeeded, Rodong Sinmun would likely have printed an image of Kim Jong-un standing in front of the transporter-erector-mounted IRBM in a hardened tunnel.

That would have (and now does) send a dire message to U.S. and allied military planners: North Korea’s missiles won’t be sitting ducks at known “launch pads,” contrary to much mainstream analysis. What’s more, the proliferation of newly constructed hangers, tunnels, and storage sites cannot be assumed to stop at the Pukchang Airfield. Similar facilities likely exist across the country. In 2017, not only has North Korea tested a massive variety of strategic weaponry, but it has done so from a more diverse list of launch sites — what the U.S. intelligence community calls “ballistic missile operating areas” — than ever before. Gone are the days of Kim Jong-un supervising and observing launches at a limited list of sites that’d include Sinpo, Sohae, Wonsan, and Kittaeryong.
[…]
As North Korea’s production of now-proven IRBMs and ICBMs continues, it will have a large and diversified nuclear force spread across multiple hardened sites, leaving the preventive warfighter’s task close to impossible if the objective is a comprehensive, disarming first strike leaving Pyongyang without retaliatory options. The time is long gone to turn the clock back on North Korea’s ballistic missile program and its pre-launch basing options.

Source: When a North Korean Missile Accidentally Hit a North Korean City | The Diplomat

Project Maven brings AI to the fight against ISIS

For years, the Defense Department’s most senior leadership has lamented the fact that US military and spy agencies, where artificial intelligence (AI) technology is concerned, lag far behind state-of-the-art commercial technology. Though US companies and universities lead the world in advanced AI research and commercialization, the US military still performs many activities in a style that would be familiar to the military of World War II.

As of this month, however, that has begun to change. Project Maven is a crash Defense Department program that was designed to deliver AI technologies—specifically, technologies that involve deep learning neural networks—to an active combat theater within six months from when the project received funding. Most defense acquisition programs take years or even decades to reach the battlefield, but technologies developed through Project Maven have already been successfully deployed in the fight against ISIS. Despite their rapid development and deployment, these technologies are getting strong praise from their military intelligence users. For the US national security community, Project Maven’s frankly incredible success foreshadows enormous opportunities ahead—as well as enormous organizational, ethical, and strategic challenges.
[…]
As its AI beachhead, the department chose Project Maven, which focuses on analysis of full-motion video data from tactical aerial drone platforms such as the ScanEagle and medium-altitude platforms such as the MQ-1C Gray Eagle and the MQ-9 Reaper. These drone platforms and their full-motion video sensors play a major role in the conflict against ISIS across the globe. The tactical and medium-altitude video sensors of the Scan Eagle, MQ-1C, and MQ-9 produce imagery that more or less resembles what you see on Google Earth. A single drone with these sensors produces many terabytes of data every day. Before AI was incorporated into analysis of this data, it took a team of analysts working 24 hours a day to exploit only a fraction of one drone’s sensor data.
[…]
Now that Project Maven has met the sky-high expectations of the department’s former second-ranking official, its success will likely spawn a hundred copycats throughout the military and intelligence community. The department must ensure that these copycats actually replicate Project Maven’s secret sauce—which is not merely its focus on AI technology. The project’s success was enabled by its organizational structure: a small, operationally focused, cross-functional team that was empowered to develop external partnerships, leverage existing infrastructure and platforms, and engage with user communities iteratively during development. AI needs to be woven throughout the fabric of the Defense Department, and many existing department institutions will have to adopt project management structures similar to Maven’s if they are to run effective AI acquisition programs.
[…]
To its credit, the department selected drone video footage as an AI beachhead because it wanted to avoid some of the more thorny ethical and strategic challenges associated with automation in warfare. As US military and intelligence agencies implement modern AI technology across a much more diverse set of missions, they will face wrenching strategic, ethical, and legal challenges—which Project Maven’s narrow focus helped it avoid.

Source: Project Maven brings AI to the fight against ISIS | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Twenty-five EU states sign PESCO defense pact

The European Council has adopted the decision to establish a European Union defense pact, known as PESCO. The 25 participating EU states are set to begin working on a series of joint-defense projects next year.

The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which was first set out in the Lisbon Treaty, will allow member states to jointly develop military capabilities, invest in shared projects and enhance their respective armed forces.

On December 7, Portugal and Ireland announced their decision to join, taking the total number of contributing members up to 25. The countries that have chosen not to take part are Malta, Denmark – which has special opt-out status – and the UK (which is set to withdraw from the bloc in March 2019).

Officials have earmarked 17 joint projects that will fall under the scope of the PESCO agreement. These include establishing a pan-European military training center, improving capability development and even introducing common standards for military radio communication.

Source: Twenty-five EU states sign PESCO defense pact | News | DW | 11.12.2017

EU creates large scale military cooperative framework (PESCO)

Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) – Factsheet – European Union External Action

PESCO is a Treaty-based framework and process to deepen defence cooperation amongst EU Member States who are capable and willing to do so. The aim is to jointly develop defence capabilities and make them available for EU military operations. This will thus enhance the EU’s capacity as an international security partner, also contributing to protection of Europeans and maximise the effectiveness of defence spending.

The difference between PESCO and other forms of cooperation is the binding nature of the commitments undertaken by participating Member States. However, participation remains voluntary and decision-making will remain in the hands of participating Member States.

Source: Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) – Factsheet – EEAS – European External Action Service – European Commission

They commit to the following (http://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/31511/171113-pesco-notification.pdf):
Based on the collective benchmarks identified in 2007
, participating Member States subscribe to the following commitments:
1.Regularly increasing defence budgets in real terms, in order to reach agreed objectives.
2.Successive medium – term increase in defence investment expenditure to 20% of total defence spending (collective benchmark) in order to fill strategic capability gaps by participating in defence capabilities projects in accordance
with CDP and Coordinated An
nual Review (
CARD).
3. Increasing joint and “collaborative” strategic defence capabilities projects.
Such joint and collaborative projects should be supported through the
European Defence Fund if required and as appropriate.
4.
Increasing the share of
expenditure allocated to defence research and
technology with a view to nearing the 2% of total defence spending (collective
benchmark).
5.
Establishment of a regular review of these commitments (with the aim of
endorsement by the Council)

(b) bring their
defence apparatus into line with each other as far as possible, particularly by
harmonising the identification of their military needs, by pooling and, where appropriate,
specialising their defence means and capabilities, and by encouraging cooperation in
the
fields of training and logistics.”
6.
Playing a substantial role in capability development within the EU, including
within the framework of CARD, in order to ensure the availability of the
necessary capabilities for achieving the level of ambition in Eur
ope.
7.
Commitment to support the CARD to the maximum extent possible
acknowledging the voluntary nature of the review and individual constraints
of participating Member States.
8.
Commitment to the intensive involvement of a future European Defence
Fund in mul
tinational procurement with identified EU added value.
9.
Commitment to drawing up harmonised requirements for all capability
development projects agreed by participating Member States.
4
10.
Commitment to considering the joint use of existing capabilities in order
to
optimize the available resources and improve their overall effectiveness.
11.
Commitment to ensure increasing efforts in the cooperation on cyber
defence, such as information sharing, training and operational support.

(c) take concrete measures to enhance
the availability, interoperability, flexibility and
deployability of their forces, in particular by identifying common objectives regarding the
commitment of forces, including possibly reviewing their national decision

making
procedures.”
12.
With regard to
availability and deployability of the forces, the participating
Member States are committed to:

Making available formations, that are strategically deployable, for the
realization of the EU LoA, in addition to a potential deployment of an EUBG.
This
commitment does neither cover a readiness force, a standing force nor a
stand by force.

Developing a solid instrument (e.g. a data base) which will only be accessible
to participating Member States and contributing nations to record available
and rapidly d
eployable capabilities in order to facilitate and accelerate the
Force Generation Process.

Aiming for fast

tracked political commitment at national level, including
possibly reviewing their national decision

making procedures.

Providing substantial suppor
t within means and capabilities to CSDP
operations (e.g. EUFOR) and missions (e.g. EU Training Missions)

with
personnel, materiel, training, exercise support, infrastructure or otherwise

which have been unanimously decided by the Council, without preju
dice to
any decision on contributions to CSDP operations and without prejudice to
any constitutional constraints,

Substantially contributing to EU BG by confirmation of contributions in
principle at least four years in advance, with a stand

by period in li
ne with the
EU BG concept, obligation to carry out EU BG exercises for the EU BG force
package (framework nation) and/or to participate in these exercises (all EU
Member States participating in EU BG).

Simplifying and standardizing cross border military
tr
ansport
in Europe for
enabling rapid deployment of military materiel and personnel.
13.With regard to interoperability of forces, the participating Member States
are committed to:

Developing the interoperability of their forces
by:

Commitment to agree on com
mon evaluation and validation criteria for
the EU BG force package aligned with NATO standards while
maintaining national certification.
5

Commitment to agree on common technical and operational standards of
forces acknowledging that they need to ensure
interoperability with
NATO.

Optimizing multinational structures: participating Member States could
commit
to joining and playing an active role in the main existing and possible
future structures partaking in European external action in the military field
(EUROCORPS,
EUROMARFOR,
EUROGENDFOR,
MCCE/ATARES/SEOS).
14.Participating Member States will strive for an ambitious approach to
common funding of military CSDP operations and missions, beyond what
will be defined as common cost according to the Athena council
decision.

(d) work together to ensure that they take the necessary measures to make good, including
through multinational approaches, and without prejudice to undertakings in this regard
within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the shortfalls
perceived in the framework of
the ‘Capability Development Mechanism.’”
15.Help to overcome capability shortcomings identified under the Capability
Development Plan (CDP) and CARD. These capability projects shall increase
Europe’s strategic autonomy and stren
gthen the European Defence
Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).
16.Consider as a priority a European collaborative approach in order to fill
capability shortcomings identified at national level and, as a general rule,
only use an exclusively national ap
proach if such an examination has been
already carried out.
17.Take part in at least one project under the PESCO which develops or
provides capabilities identified as strategically relevant by Member States.

(e) take part, where appropriate, in the developm
ent of major joint or European equipment
programmes in the framework of the European Defence Agency.”
18.Commitment to the use of EDA as the European forum for joint capability
development and consider the OCCAR as the preferred collaborative
program managin
g organization.
19.Ensure that all projects with regard to capabilities led by participating Member States make the European defence industry more competitive via an appropriate industrial policy which avoids unnecessary overlap.
20. Ensure that the cooperation
programmes – which must only benefit entities
which demonstrably provide added value on EU territory – and the acquisition strategies adopted by the participating Member States will have a positive impact on the EDTIB

Paramount group acquires 4 French dual seat Mirage F-1 fighters for agressor training

Paramount Aerospace Systems has been in negotiation with the French Government to acquire four Dual-Seater Mirage F1s. These aircraft are compatible with the existing fleet of Mirage F1 aircraft that was acquired by Paramount group from the South African Government.

The Company has extensive capability on this aircraft type with full airframe and engine overhaul capability, as well as the ability to upgrade, modernise avionics and mission systems.

Brian Greyling, CEO of Paramount Aerospace Systems said: “One of the most important trends in today’s military aviation market is the increasing utilisation of legacy aircraft for adversary training by air forces. The new acquisition of the Mirage F1 aircraft will inject additional ‘top gun’ capability into Paramount Group’s advanced pilot training programmes. Paramount Aerospace Systems is now recognised as the only privately-owned aerospace company in the world that is capable of offering military type aircraft training from ab initio to supersonic fighter capability.”

Paramount group

Dutch defence minister and top general step down for munition problem out of their control. How is this taking responsibility?

Due to an accident caused by a mortar exploding within the launch tube, both the Dutch minister of Defence, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and commander of the armed forces, Tom Middendorp have both fallen on their swords.

The incident involved the sloppy purchasing of a mortar grenade in 2006 (expedited for the Afghan war), which led to it being used in an unsafe manner. Rapport here

Both people stepping down were obviously nowhere near this purchase in 2006. It was also not their fault that the Ministry of Defence has been woefully underfunded for years. However political responsibility requires that they step down? I don’t really understand this.

The fact is that in a cabinet with jokers, the minister was doing a good job and the only minister in the NL who understands fully the necessity of broad co-operation – not only with NATO – but within the EU. Tom Middendorp is respected by his coalition partners. The Netherlands is losing two good people for political expediency. It’s a waste.

Swedish government leak: clueless agency moved all citizens data + military secrets to “The Cloud” in clear text and to people without security clearances in many countries

Sweden’s Transport Agency moved all of its data to “the cloud”, apparently unaware that there is no cloud, only somebody else’s computer. In doing so, it exposed and leaked every conceivable top secret database: fighter pilots, SEAL team operators, police suspects, people under witness relocation. Names, photos, and home addresses: the list is just getting started. The responsible director has been found guilty in criminal court of the whole affair, and sentenced to the harshest sentence ever seen in Swedish government: she was docked half a month’s paycheck.
[…]
Last March, the entire register of vehicles was sent to marketers subscribing to it. This is normal in itself, as the vehicle register is public information, and therefore subject to Freedom-of-Information excerpts. What was not normal were two things: first, that people in the witness protection program and similar programs were included in the register distributed outside the Agency, and second, when this fatal mistake was discovered, a new version without the sensitive identities was not distributed with instructions to destroy the old copy. Instead, the sensitive identities were pointed out and named in a second distribution with a request for all subscribers to remove these records themselves. This took place in open cleartext e-mail.
[…]
The weight capacity of all roads and bridges (which is crucial for warfare, and says a lot about what roads are intended to be used as wartime airfields);

Names, photos, and home addresses of fighter pilots in the Air Force;

Names, photos, and home addresses of everybody and anybody in a police register, all of which are classified;

Names, photos, and home addresses of all operators in the military’s most secret units – equivalent to the SAS or SEAL teams;

Names, photos, and home addresses of everybody in a witness relocation program or who has been given protected identity for other reasons;

Type, model, weight, and any defects of any and all government and military vehicles, including their operator, which says a ton about the structure of military support units;

[…]
All of this was not just outside the proper agencies, but outside the European Union, in the hands of people who had absolutely no security clearance. All of this data can be expected to have been permanently exposed.

Source: Worst government leak: clueless agency moved everything to “The Cloud”

Just completely wow!

Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used by private contractor on US soil, Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies”

A shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures, collaborating closely with police in at least five states, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. The documents provide the first detailed picture of how TigerSwan, which originated as a U.S. military and State Department contractor helping to execute the global war on terror, worked at the behest of its client Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, to respond to the indigenous-led movement that sought to stop the project.

Internal TigerSwan communications describe the movement as “an ideologically driven insurgency with a strong religious component” and compare the anti-pipeline water protectors to jihadist fighters. One report, dated February 27, 2017, states that since the movement “generally followed the jihadist insurgency model while active, we can expect the individuals who fought for and supported it to follow a post-insurgency model after its collapse.” Drawing comparisons with post-Soviet Afghanistan, the report warns, “While we can expect to see the continued spread of the anti-DAPL diaspora … aggressive intelligence preparation of the battlefield and active coordination between intelligence and security elements are now a proven method of defeating pipeline insurgencies.”

More than 100 internal documents leaked to The Intercept by a TigerSwan contractor, as well as a set of over 1,000 documents obtained via public records requests, reveal that TigerSwan spearheaded a multifaceted private security operation characterized by sweeping and invasive surveillance of protesters.

Source: Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to “Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies”

It’s just like cowboys and indians again!

EU takes first steps towards military HQ with MPCC

28 countries backed the Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) with a view to it taking over this spring.

The embryonic military headquarters has long been opposed by Britain, the bloc’s leading military power, but the idea was revived by Germany and France after the British voted to leave the EU.

The organisation would command the bloc’s “non-executive military missions”, within the existing EU military staff of the European External Action Service (EEAS). These include the three military training missions the bloc now runs in Mali, Somalia and Central African Republic.

“These missions are important for peacekeeping but also for security in the region,” said Carmelo Abela, foreign minister of Malta, whose country chairs the rotating presidency of the EU.

In the future, this could also cover any capacity-building, monitoring or demobilisation and disarmament military missions.

“We are progressing steadily towards strengthened defence cooperation and we will continue to do more,” EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said after the ministers’ meeting.

Source: EU takes first steps towards military HQ – EURACTIV.com

It is currently compromised of 30 personel and is designed to simplify the reporting from the (now 3) EU missions to this staff and from there a single report to Brussels.

The Royal Navy’s ENTIRE fleet of attack submarines is out of action — and Theresa May doesn’t know because ‘chiefs fear reaction’

THE Royal Navy’s entire fleet of attack submarines is currently out of action. Repairs and maintenance to all seven have left none to defend our waters — or monitor Russia’s relentless probes. But …

Source: The Royal Navy’s ENTIRE fleet of attack submarines is out of action — and Theresa May doesn’t know because ‘chiefs fear reaction’

Fortunately the Vanguard nuclear deterrent fleet is still sailing. This is what happens when you keep taking “peace dividend” when there is no peace.

NL MoD plans for flexible defence

Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert van Defensie heeft vandaag een brief naar Tweede Kamer gestuurd over de invoering van het Total Force Concept. In Nederland ‘de Adaptieve Krijgsmacht’ genoemd. Hierin presenteert de bewindsvrouw hoe zij de krijgsmacht nog flexibeler en duurzamer wil laten samenwerken met bedrijven en organisaties. De krijgsmacht heeft bijvoorbeeld niet meer alles zelf op de plank, maar kan over mens en materieel beschikken waar en wanneer dat nodig is.

Source: Defensie flexibeler met de Adaptieve Krijgsmacht | Nieuwsbericht | Defensie.nl

hier de kamerbrief

By employing personnel outside of defence and subcontracting jobs, they will work up to a more flexible model in 2020 in a “Total Force Concept”

Royal Navy to lose missiles and be left only with guns

Royal Navy warships will be left without anti-ship missiles and be forced to rely on naval guns because of cost-cutting, the Ministry of Defence has admitted.

The Navy’s Harpoon missiles will retire from the fleet’s frigates and destroyers in 2018 without a replacement, while there will also be a two year gap without helicopter-launched anti-shipping missiles.

Naval sources said the decision was “like Nelson deciding to get rid of his cannons and go back to muskets” and one senior former officer said warships would “no longer be able to go toe-to-toe with the Chinese or Russians”.

Source: Royal Navy to lose missiles and be left only with guns

Britain must send its F-35s to Italy for heavy overhauls, decrees US, engines overhauled in Turkey

Britain will have to send its supersonic F-35 fighter jets to Italy for heavy overhauls, the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed to The Register.

BAE Systems will maintain an airframe maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) capability at RAF Marham in Norfolk, according to a US announcement earlier this week.

However, that will only be used if Italy, the Americans’ designated airframe overhaul point in Europe, is unable to cope with demand.

“The F-35 programme is based on a global support solution concept. This is the most cost effective way to deliver the F-35 support solution and is based on economies of scale,” the MoD told The Register, adding: “The UK is establishing an F-35 airframe maintenance facility at RAF Marham to maintain UK aircraft. However, regional Airframe ‘Heavy’ MRO&U and Engine MRO&U will be undertaken in Italy and Turkey.”

In Europe, F-35 heavy maintenance will be carried out by the UK for the aircraft’s avionics, and as noted above, Italy for the airframes and Turkey for the jets’ F135 engines.

The MoD declined to answer questions as to why Britain’s carrier strike aircraft will have to be dismantled and shipped abroad for MRO&U work, when a perfectly good airframe overhaul facility exists over here, referring The Register to the Americans for an answer. This was said to be because the Americans have the lead on PR relating to F-35 maintenance arrangements and not because, as El Reg suggested, the US supplier tail is wagging the British customer dog.

Source: Britain must send its F-35s to Italy for heavy overhauls, decrees US

Being dependent on countries like Italy and Turkey sounds like a bad idea when it comes to maintaining your defence capabilities.

MOD orders UK-designed mini missile decoy for RAF

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has placed a £2.5 million order for UK-designed and built miniature decoys which will help to protect combat jets from missiles.

BriteCloud, which is similar in size and appearance to a beverage can, can be fired from an aircraft’s flare dispenser without the need for modification to the aircraft. Once deployed, it uses powerful radar emissions to disrupt systems within radar-guided air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.

Source: MOD orders UK-designed mini missile decoy for RAF – News stories – GOV.UK

​Australian government auditor slams Tiger attack helicopter

The 64-page report details a range of issues. It identifies 76 “capability deficiencies,” of which the Department of Defence (DoD) deems 60 to be “critical.”
[…]
On average, only 3.5 aircraft in the operational fleet of 16 helicopters were available on “any given day in 2015,” says ANAO. This is below targeted readiness of 12 aircraft.
[…]
Sustainment costs are also an issue. Initially, between 2004 and 2019 these were pegged at A$571 million ($431 million). This amount was eclipsed in 2014, and costs mounted to A$921 million in 2016. The cost per flight hour in June 2016 was A$30,335, compared with a target of A$20,000.
[…]
Weapons availability appears to be a challenge. In addition, there have been two incidents – one in Germany, one in Australia – where 70mm rocket pods were jettisoned with no command from the pilot. The cause of this problem has yet to be identified.

Source: ​Australian government auditor slams Tiger attack helicopter

UK To Outsource RAF aggressor training

The current service is provided by Cobham Aviation with its Dassault Falcon 20s and Fleet Air Arm-operated BAE Systems Hawk T1s flown by 736 NAS from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall and RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset. The unit’s Hawks will be retired in 2020.

A phased plan of introducing other capabilities will continue throughout the next decade, with the Royal Air Force’s 100 Sqn and its Hawk T1s to give up their current aggressor training role in 2027.

“We need to make sure it is replaced by a very open architecture [way of working], to simulate, network and integrate the training capabilities around us,” Murray says of the existing model.

The concept phase was co-run by DE&S and the Nightworx organisation for the initial industry engagement activity, when more than 10 companies showed interest. The scope of the current work on ASDOT has not been disclosed, but a competition will be launched during 2017, in order to meet the deadlines set by the armed services.

Source: FARNBOROUGH: MoD outlines scope of ASDOT aggressor project

I’ve been trying to convince people this is a good idea for some time, but for some reason they look at me like I’m mad!

Combined UK and French Joint Expeditionary Force is now reality

with more than 5,000 personnel from the two countries coming together for Exercise Griffin Strike.

The exercise, which involves a joint French/UK headquarters planning and executing military activity for the first time, will see the CJEF demonstrate ‘full validation of concept’. That means it will be available for bilateral, NATO, EU, UN or coalition operations.

Michael Fallon and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Exercise Griffin Strike today to witness land, sea and air elements operating as a rapidly deployable UK-France joint force.

The CJEF has been developed since 2010 as a product of the bilateral Lancaster House Treaty and is designed to operate for up to 90 days.

Source: Defence Secretary welcomes deployable UK-France joint force – News stories – GOV.UK

It’s joint, meaning it has land, sea and air components, but I couldn’t find an organisational structure anywhere.

Rafael unveils “Drone Dome” anti-UAV system

The all-weather Drone Dome has 360° circular coverage, and uses an electro-optical/infrared sensor and radar to detect a threat. The data is then combined and correlated and alerts the operator of the hostile UAV. The system initiates either an automatic interference operation – as per pre-defined rules – or it is carried out manually by the operator. The threat is neutralised by activation of directional GNSS and a radiofrequency inhibitor/jammer.

Source: Rafael unveils “Drone Dome” anti-UAV system

USMC leadership shows how stuck in the mud they are when they try to fling some at Secretary of the Navy

Old sad dickless USMC leadership who can’t handle working with equally competent gay men or women are trying to get rid of mr Mabus who has not only insisted on using them in combat roles if they meet the standards but also (shock! horror!) insisted on exploring alternative fuels.

One is the integration of women into Marine infantry, Navy SEALs and other direct-combat jobs by April.

“If you can meet the standards, why should it matter if you are male or female? Why should it matter if you are straight or gay?” Mabus told reporters.

The other issue was the secretary’s push toward deploying ships and planes powered by alternative fuels, including biofuels made from mustard seed, algae or animal fat.

Mabus was in Coronado on Wednesday to preside over the deployment of an aircraft carrier group that included some ships burning a 90-10 blend of petroleum and animal fat fuels.

The secretary’s biofuels initiative became controversial when it became known that a 2011 buy of biofuel cost $15 a gallon for a 50-50 blend — four times the price of regular Navy ship fuel.

“Every single time there were naysayers,” Mabus said during a speech at the launch of his “great green fleet” Wednesday.

He was describing the Navy’s long history of embracing new power sources, including oil and later nuclear energy for ships.

“They were wrong again this time.”

The tenure of Mabus, a former Democratic governor of Mississippi, has included major social changes for the U.S. military — all of which he supported.

They included the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on openly gay service members.

Source: Military.com

These old USMC dinosours will go extinct soon, no-one will know such retarded and scared mysogonists put up a fight in a few years time.