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[Gaz]

Britain's upcoming "Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy" due for release on March 16 could spell major cuts for Her Majesty's Armed Forces, particularly the British Army and Royal Air Force. Under the plans, Britain's focus would shift towards unmanned systems and information warfare. These will be the review's major bullet points according to The Times:

Aircraft:

• The Sentinel R1 and Islander C2 aircraft are to be retired without replacement

Following this up from last year. A RAF Sentinel has now appeared on the US Civil register with a civilian company, presumably before it's rumoured sale to the US Army.

Unwanted British Sentinel Radar Planes To Be Picked Up By US Army: Report

The Sentinel Airborne Stand-Off Radar aircraft, controversially retired earlier this year, may now be headed to the United States.

www.thedrive.com

 

[muck]

Well, at least they're not just scrapping them but retrieving parts of the investment. However, isn't Sentinel R1 an asset they'd like to have flying on the Polish-Ukrainian border non-stop at this point? I would've expected all previous plannings to have come to a screeching halt on February 24.

 

[av405]

Does anybody have any updates on the talk of Eastern European nations that have donated Soviet origin gear to Ukraine getting NATO-compatible gear in return? Particularly from Germany?

 

[muck]

Officially, it's only known that talks are being held between Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. The rest is all rumors, for example that Poland rejected an offer for Leopard tanks. Here's the most "substantial" rumor I've heard:

A couple of days ago, Rheinmetall's CEO gave an interview to daily 'Sueddeutsche' where he said his company had been asked by the government to prepare deliveries of 100 refurbished Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles to an unnamed customer – which Mr. Pappberger implied would be either Ukraine or an unnamed other country presumably in Eastern Europe. Rheinmetall, he said, was working day and night to achieve this deadline, with the first delivery being possible in less than three weeks. He also said the final decision had not been made yet, though.

 

[av405]

Interesting, thanks for the info. I figured I'd ask since reports came out recently about the Czech Republic also asking for Leopard 2 tanks from Germany.

muck, what do you think the odds are of any of this happening? Is there even enough stock of IFVs/tanks in storage to provide to these Eastern NATO allies?

 

[muck]

My understanding is that in principle the exchange scheme is a done deal. Both the government and the leader of the opposition approve of it, not least since it's much less of a red rag to the powerful pacifist lobby in this country than the supplying of weapons into an active war zone.

What's debated now is what can be handed over. Surplus Marder IFVs, Fuchs APCs and various types of infantry mobility vehicles shouldn't be much of an issue. Defence firms bought a great many of them from the German Army during the reduction years in hopes of an eventual resale.

Anything else could prove problematic though – Leopard 2 MBTs in especial. The German Army is in the process of transitioning from the A6M to the A7 and as a consequence, has way too few active MBTs anyway. The ones left in storage are needed for conversion. It seems that in this regard, Berlin would rather Poland and Czechia simply donate their mothballed T-72s and order factory-fresh Leopard 2's at Germany's expense.

Obviously, deliveries of newly built vehicles would take much longer – a bit of a wrench thrown into these negotiations.

In the air, I don't see what Germany could spare other than JDAMs. There could be some Sidewinders as left-overs from the pre IRIS-T days; some were meant to be converted into a ground-attack missile. They'd be of the AIM-9L/I variety, essentially an 'L' with contemporary resistance to countermeasures. Tranche 1 Typhoons were also discussed at some point; that idea, however, has not resurfaced in recent weeks.

 

[av405]

Great insight, thank you. I'm also wondering if Germany will again expand its tank force - which I know they have already been in the process of doing since an expansion was announced a few years ago.

 

[muck]

A few weeks back, I mentioned a speech given by the Inspector of the German Army to parliamentarians and defence industry representatives where he shed some light on the planning process. According to that speech, the Heer will form as the bulk of its fighting forces three divisions – two medium divisions and a light division. They'll be put in charge of four heavy, four medium and three light brigades plus a number of independent regiments. Mais didn't go into any further details, especially whether or not those brigades will be uniformly structured (they aren't at the moment), but hinted at an increase in mechanised forces. Plus he wants a bigger fleet to form reserves. My best guess is we'll see further acquisitions.

 

[BravoZulu]

France:

L'Armée de terre receives new Serval IFV

The 4x4 vehicles, built by Nexter and Texelis under a temporary joint operation, are expected to replace the 1970s-era VAB armoured personnel carriers, ministry spokesman Herve Grandjean said during a Thursday press conference. Weighing between 15 and 17 tons, the Servals will be a lighter-armoured vehicle dedicated primarily to the Army’s 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade and the 11th Parachute Brigade, he said.

The ministry has ordered 364 Servals to date, and expects to buy 978 vehicles by 2030, per Grandjean. Seventy vehicles are scheduled for delivery in 2022. The contract was finalized in January 2021, via the French military’s procurement agency Direction generale de l’armement (DGA). French Defence Minister Florence Parly hailed the initial deliveries in a statement, saying that Serval production was moving “at a steady pace.” She first introduced the VBMR – and unveiled its feline name – at the 2018 Eurosatory conference in Paris, and said French forces were waiting “impatiently” for it to arrive. “In a rapidly changing strategic environment, as war returns to the European continent, the modernization of key equipment is essential for the credibility of the French armed forces,” Parly said in the Thursday statement. The VBMR is one of four next-generation vehicles being developed under France’s Scorpion program, alongside the larger, 24-ton Griffon armoured personnel carrier and its mortar carrier variant MEPAC, as well as the Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicle. France expects to procure 1,872 Griffons (including 54 MEPAC variants), 978 Servals, and 300 Jaguars by 2030.

 

[BravoZulu]

The Swiss Defense Ministry has signed a contract with GDELS-Mowag for the delivery of 60 engineering variants of the Piranha IV for the Swiss Army, as a replacement for the M113s that have been serving with the engineers in this role since 1963, Defense Brief reports. Switzerland expects to use this vehicle in the engineering vehicle role well into the 2050s.

According to the Swiss Defense ministry, the contract is worth 360 million Swiss francs (approx. US$364M). The first vehicles will be delivered from 2026, as the M113 in engineering will reach the end of its service life in 2030. The Piranha IV engineering vehicles will be equipped with a weapon station, while various other systems to be procured will include 60 clearance shields, 24 manipulator arms and 12 minesweepers. With this new procurement, the capabilities of the armored sappers will adapt to the current threats, in particular the changed conflict picture and the increasingly overbuilt terrain, the Defense Ministry said.

 

[muck]

Replacing tracked engineer vehicles with wheeled ones? Not a good idea.

 

[pigmode]

Finland and Sweden eye Israeli defense systems: Sources - Breaking Defense

The new talks come after a spate of other deals were already made public.

breakingdefense.com

 

[pigmode]

U.S. Army Could Use New Lend-Lease Act To Speed M1 Abrams Tanks to Poland

Poland wants modern replacements for the 240 older tanks it has donated to Ukraine, but won't currently get U.S. M1s until 2025.

www.thedrive.com

...DSCA also noted that “there will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”

Both Bush and Turner said the Lima Tank Plant can handle additional orders of tanks above what the Army is on contract to receive on current production timelines. The facility is currently churning out 15 Abrams tanks per month, Bush said. With its current workforce, the plant could ramp production to satisfy both U.S. and Polish demands for tanks, Bush said. He did not say how quickly the ramp-up could be achieved.

“That plant is a national treasure, one of a kind. It’s critical to everything the Army does,” Bush said. In terms of the industrial base itself, it's great to see the plant at 15 tanks a month. I remember when we were fighting to keep it at one tank a month. But I know it can do more, and I know that the workforce can do more. If the army continues to invest … that'll help the industrial base, broadly. Simply put, the more tanks going through there, the healthier the industrial base that feeds it.”

 

[BravoZulu]

Belgium:
On May 13, 2022, Belgian and French defence ministries signed a contract for an amount of €62 million to acquire nine CAESAR NG (New Generation) 155mmm 6x6 self-propelled howitzers. The new artillery howitzer is a modernized version of the French CAESAR manufactured by the French company Nexter.

This contract also includes Communication and Information Systems (CIS), equipment and software necessary to integrate the artillery howitzer into an interconnected network, tools, documentation, and training material, such as ammunition programming, additional independent hardware, and software to control firing equipment, etc.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/def...ar_ng_155mm_6x6_self-propelled_howitzers.html

 

[pigmode]

Poland requests six additional Patriot batteries from the United States

Poland wants a package of "omnidirectional radars, missile launchers, and a stock of missiles,” Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said.

www.defensenews.com

We are advancing the contract on the second phase of the Wisła air defense program. I have signed a letter of request related to an acquisition of three divisions, or six batteries of the Patriot system, which will include omnidirectional radars, missile launchers, and a stock of missiles,” Błaszczak said at the Defence24 Day conference in Warsaw, as quoted in a tweet released by the Ministry of National Defence.

 

[BravoZulu]

The deployment of the French state-of-the-art MAMBA weapons system and an air defence command post to Romania augments NATO's Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) since May 16. In a collective effort, several Allies are providing both fighter aircraft and missile systems for an increased defensive posture on the eastern flank following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

With the deployment of a surface-to-air missile defence system to Romania, France has further increased its forward footprint in support of NATO's enhanced vigilance towards potential threat from the East.

https://ac.nato.int/archive/2022/france-deploys-mamba-missile-defence-system

 

[BravoZulu]

The Danish Armed Forces are sending long-range anti-ship missiles to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters on Monday. The range of Denmark’s coastal defense Harpoons could put Russian ships at risk in the Northern Black Sea, a naval analyst told USNI News.

“I’m especially grateful to Denmark, which announced today that it will provide a Harpoon launcher and missiles to help Ukraine defend its coast,” Austin said in prepared remarks at the Pentagon following a meeting with an international coalition and Ukraine defense officials.

While Austin did not specify the type of Harpoon, the Danish military’s coastal anti-ship missile batteries field RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block IIs that are capable of not only hitting ships at sea, but also targets in port and on land with an upgrade from the Boeing Advanced Harpoon Weapon Control System.

“This expands Harpoon’s capability to attack coastal, in harbor and land targets such as shore defense sites, [surace to air missile] sites, exposed aircraft, port/industrial facilities and ships in port,” reads a 1999 press release from Boeing on the sale of the system to the Danish Naval Material Command.

Depending on where Ukrainian forces base the coastal battery, the missiles could extend the range Ukrainian Navy could target the Russian Navy’s Black Sea ships, open-source naval analyst and retired Navy Capt. Chris Carlson told USNI News on Monday.

https://news.usni.org/2022/05/23/de...issiles-to-take-on-russian-ships-in-black-sea

 

[BravoZulu]

The UK is set to become the first European nation to operate a Maritime Ballistic Missile Defence capability that can detect and destroy Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles as it commits to a significant upgrade of Britain’s fleet of Type 45 destroyers.

The upgraded defence system, using the ASTER 30 Block 1 missile previously used only in French and Italian land systems, will help UK forces combat the increasing threats posed by anti-ship ballistic missiles at sea by developing the missile into a maritime variant.

The Ministry of Defence has placed an initial contract for this work with MBDA which, when delivered, will be worth more than £300 million and support more than 100 jobs across the UK - including highly skilled technology roles in areas such as system design and software engineering in Stevenage, Cowes, Bristol and Bolton.

As we face global uncertainty, alliances and greater defensive capability are more important than ever. Joining our French and Italian counterparts will see us collectively improve the cutting-edge technology our armed forces possess.
It is another example of us delivering on the commitments from the Defence Command Paper, helping protect our service personnel when faced with the most severe threats.

Upgrading the defensive capability of the Type 45 fleet was committed to in the Defence Command Paper, as part of the Integrated Review last year. Being able to defend against anti-ship ballistic missiles will add to the current capability of the Destroyers to defeat threats from the air.

The signing of the tri-national agreement is the first formal step in the upgrade of the six vessels, which will include converting existing missiles to the ASTER 30 Block 1 standard, as well as updates to the SAMPSON multi-function radar (MFR) and Sea Viper command and control missile system, under the full Sea Viper Evolution programme.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...ence-upgrade-to-support-more-than-100-uk-jobs

 

[pigmode]

Making the Sea Change Real: What Germany and Allies Can Do - War on the Rocks

Not only is Germany’s heralded “sea change” — or Zeitenwende — on defense policy not the revolution it seemed back in early March, this isn’t even the

warontherocks.com

Not only is Germany’s heralded “sea change” — or Zeitenwende — on defense policy not the revolution it seemed back in early March, this isn’t even the first revolution that wasn’t. Despite recent claims to the contrary, it does not seem as though Germany’s security and defense policies are undergoing a revolution, but rather an evolution. At worst, Berlin’s words and deeds since Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ announcement of a Zeitenwende will turn into a post-Munich-Consensus déjà vu. That is to say, Germany has already promised once before to assume a greater responsibility in European, transatlantic, and international security matters in 2014 following the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea. In the years following this self-proclaimed interest in stepping up burden-sharing efforts, Germany efforts proved lackluster...

 

[muck]

Ukraine conflict: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn

Germany's new chancellor announces a massive increase in military spending as anti-war crowds gather.

www.bbc.com

$113 billion extra for Germany's armed forces. Money can't buy back time, but it does seem like a good thing. Any comments @muck , you've usually got some good insights into this.

The German government has reached an agreement with the opposition (the votes of which were needed for an amendment to the constitution), and parliament is expected to grant the additional funds prior to summer recess. All in all, the current administration intends to spend at least €300 billion on defence until 2025. 'Business Insider' has obtained the aforementioned "laundry list"; some items of which were public knowledge, others are appearing for the first time (source):

Aerospace domain: €40.9 billion

• development and procurement of the Eurofighter Typhoon ECR electronic attack aircraft
• procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35, replacing in part the Panavia Tornado
• replacement of the remainder of the Panavia Tornado fleet
• procurement of a heavy transport helicopter [Boeing CH-47F, muck]
• procurement of a light support helicopter [all sources point to about 60 Airbus H145M, muck]
• procurement of a cohesive ground-based air defence layer [Arrow 3, Patriot, IRIS-T SLM, muck]
• procurement of satellite-based early-warning system
• procurement of more maritime patrol aircraft
• introduction of the armed IAI Heron TP drone
• procurement of new stationary air defence radars
• procurement of a new aerospace situation management centre
• allocation of more funds to the Franco-German FCAS 6th generation fighter project

Maritime domain: €19.3 billion

• procurement of more K130 Class corvettes [5 more, muck]
• procurement of more F126 Class frigates [at least 2 more, muck]
• "procurement of U212 CD class submarines" [2 units have been ordered and already given financing, so I don't know what this bullet point entails]
• procurement of the Kongsberg Future Naval Strike Missile
• procurement of the submarine-launched IDAS missile
• procurement of extended sonar capabilities (Atlas SONIX)
• procurement of multi-role combat boats for the Marine Battalion [e.g. Combat Boat 90, muck]
• procurement of a replacement for the RHIB 1010

Land domain: €16.6 billion

• upgrade of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle fleet to the S1 standard
• "procurement of a replacement of the Marder infantry fighting vehicle" [unclear again, could mean the 2nd batch of Pumas or a replacement plan for the remaining 75 Marders that are undergoing upgrade these days]
• procurement of the Boxer fire support vehicle for the infantry
• procurement of a replacement for the BV 206 all-terrain vehicle
• procurement of the Dutch-German air assault vehicle platform
• replacement of the Fuchs armoured personnel carrier
• allocation of more funds to the Franco-German MGCS future main battle tank
• procurement of new mobile field hospitals (variants: Role 2b protected, air assault, special operations)

Multi-domain: in excess of €22 billion

• cross-sectional introduction of the DLBO digital communications infrastructure and battle management system
• procurement of L3Harris PRC-117G radios
• procurement of tactical wide area network infrastructure
• procurement of a new data centre infrastructure for all domains
• cross-sectional implementation of the SATCOMBw satellite communications system
• new field uniforms and personal protection equipment
• assorted research-and-development programmes

Please note that this list is explicitely subject to updates, and further programmes (i.e. expanded ammunition stocks, new artillery pieces, the replacing of the Wiesel weapons carrer) will draw on the regular defence budget instead.

Making the Sea Change Real: What Germany and Allies Can Do - War on the Rocks

Not only is Germany’s heralded “sea change” — or Zeitenwende — on defense policy not the revolution it seemed back in early March, this isn’t even the

warontherocks.com

In all fairness to Scholz and his party of cretins, clowns and ivory tower intellectuals, he never promised such a thing. I've always wondered why observers both at home and abroad have been putting so much emphasis on that wording – zeitenwende ("sea change") – as though it formed the very core of his speech, which it didn't. Maybe the wish was father to the thought there. The word only appeared in a subordinate clause, describing "Putin's aggression as a turning point [for European history]". It didn't strike me as more than a rhetorical device at the time.