Mil News Western Europe Military News

[Redav]

defense-aerospace.com

 

[Mike1976]

So, this is the portuguese ship that never was

View attachment 417886

just out of curiosity, in the 1930s there were plans for the PN to have a "hidroplane carrier" that also never left the paper
We are very good in dreaming, then reality kicks in

Haha the mere idea that some people believed €100m max could get you that ?

 

[Redav]

Haha the mere idea that some people believed €100m max could get you that ?

It was supposed to be supported by money from the EU Resiliance and Recuperation Plan , so it had to be cheap

Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência

O Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência português é um programa de aplicação nacional, com um período de execução até 2026.

recuperarportugal.gov.pt

 

[muck]

defense-aerospace.com

It confirms nothing – or something entirely else, to be precise:

The vehicles' onboard systems gave out 76 error messages, 44 of which turned out to be inconsequential. Of the remaining 32 error messages, 8 had already been entered into the logs, confirming previous reports that vehicles overdue for maintenance were used during the exercise against better knowledge, a source said. Only 12 error messages were generated during the exercise itself, virtually all of which caused by user error or lack of training. […] "Almost every error could have been fixed there and then if properly qualified maintainer and tools would've been available on site." (Source, translated from German)

1. Error messages are not to be equated with a broken down vehicle.
2. Only two vehicles were well and truly put out of action, one due to damages caused by an attempt to use the wrong type of fire extinguisher on a smouldering cable, the other due to an accident resulting in a damaged turret sprocket ring. A third vehicle could be considered as being rendered combat ineffective as the gunner's electronic display was damaged (but there's a back-up sight for this kind of situation).

And here's what's happened and how: The involved Pumas were all of the S1 full operational capability configuration and only delivered to front-line units over the course of 2022. They simply didn't have enough vehicles available to train a sufficient amount of maintainers. At the risk of sounding like a pompous prick, I think I even predicted as much back in the day when the contract for a first batch of 42 retrofitted vehicles was announced: the contract came too late to have an entire brigade outfitted and trained for a 2023 deployment.

The vehicle is still not as reliable as we'd hoped, but a lack of skills and parts on site exacerbated what could've been a managable situation still. And this situation only transformed from an (admittedly large) mole-hill into a proper mountain once Germany's incompetent minister of defence got wind of the criticism, as she'd been clamouring for months for an opportunity to come across as a resolute crisis-handler.

This whole situation is eerily reminiscent of the Austrian Typhoon situation. They made a mistake (of ordering a stripped-down version), and instead of owning up to their mistake the Austrian defence minister tries to make a name for herself by blaming the manufacturer.

 

[BravoZulu]

Netherland
The Royal Netherlands Air Force took delivery of two new AH-64E attack helicopters on December 13, 2022 at Robert Gray Army Air Field, Texas.

The new Apaches are the first two that will be operated by the unit at Fort Hood. The Dutch have had a long history with the Apache, operating D-model versions since 1998. The AH-64Es delivered are remanufactured AH-64Ds.

The U.S. Department of State approved the remanufacture of the 28 Apaches from Holland in February 2018. It was estimated to have cost the Netherlands $1.191 billion back then. The first remanufactured Apache from the Netherlands was rolled out by Boeing in October 2022.

https://www.army.mil/article/263091/dutch_aviators_receive_new_helicopters_at_fort_hood

 

[pigmode]

Wildcat gets a new eye in the sky

The British Army is testing out a new tactical data link (TDL) that will boost the capabilities of its Wildcat helicopters.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

 

[BravoZulu]

Ireland:
THE state has laid down a deposit on a new cargo aircraft for the Irish Air Corps, which would carry troops and vehicles to foreign military missions and rescue stranded Irish citizens.

Multiple sources have said that the deposit was paid on 23 December by the Department of Defence and the final cost could be in the region of €50 million.

It is understood that the Government was anxious to progress the procurement before the end of 2022, with an amendment made to an existing tender with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

The original contract was focused on two replacement Casa maritime patrol aircraft for the Air Corps. That tender is nearing completion as the delivery of these new aircraft is imminent.

They will be dedicated to patrolling the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone and monitoring fishing and other ship movements.

They have also provided, on occasion, radio relay for long distance search and rescue operations as well as occasional air ambulance flights.

One of the Casas was used to repatriate the body of Private Seán Rooney.

Sources have said that the decision to expedite the tendering process with an amendment followed anxious discussions about the need to see urgent progress in one of the key recommendations in the Commission on the Defence Forces.

A source said that the decision to opt for the Casa 295 cargo variant means that the Air Corps pilots will not require extensive training in “converting” their qualifications to flying the aircraft.

The final decision was made with the arrival of Tánaiste Micheál Martin to the Minister for Defence role. It is understood that he was informed of the decision following a meeting of the High Level Planning and Procurement Group.

This group is tasked with implementing key findings from the Commission on the Defence Forces, which recommended a major overhaul of the air capabilities of the Irish Air Corps.

Sources have said that the aircraft manufacturers indicated delivery is expected in 2025.

Those sources have also told The Journal that the Air Corps is still advocating for a separate long-range small jet, not just for ministerial air transportation but also for medical evacuations of soldiers and Irish civilians.

The issue of Ireland’s lack of large military transport aircraft was highlighted in the wake of the Kabul mission to rescue Irish citizens in 2021.

https://www.thejournal.ie/heavy-lift-aircraft-air-corps-5962345-Jan2023/?utm_source=shortlink&s=03

 

[pigmode]

The Royal Navy’s Astute class submarines: Part 1 – development and delivery | Navy Lookout

www.navylookout.com

 

[muck]

Weekly 'Wirtschaftswoche' reports on the Puma saga:

The final damage report compiled by the manufacturer and the HIL – the army's own maintenance department – contains 76 error messages. But only 13 of them arose during the exercise itself. Instead, 37 were false positives, 6 were related to damage reports pre-dating the exercise, 9 concerned ordinary wear and tear, and 11 were the result of operator error or operator-caused damage.

And even the 13 errors from the exercise are, in the opinion of the military's own experts, not the result of design flaws; nor are they fatal in nature or capable of leading to death or injury, as Minister Christine Lambrecht had later expressed it in her press briefing. 12 errors were completely harmless and concerned material defects. "All of them could've been immediatedly fixed, had the planners in charge of the exercise seen to it that spare parts and tools would be available, or if they had at least asked HIL technicians for advice", an inside source says.

Even the only grave issue highlighted by the ministry – a cable fire – was not considered by experts to be technical in nature. According to the report, it was the result of a maintainer's error as well as odd rules: Military regulations do not allow halon-based fire extinguishers for environmental reasons, so the crew used a conventional fire extinguisher to douse the flames, requiring an extensive clean-up effort in the crew's compartment.

Due to a lack of training opportunities, the crews apparently made many mistakes when operating their vehicles, government sources say, especially after they had been instructed to go to the limit. And when the soldiers began noticing error messages which they had never seen before, they apparently overestimated the gravity of the issue in their reports.

It's about time that dreadful woman retires. It's clear now she tried to blame the industry for the army's own shortcomings.

 

[BravoZulu]

Norway:
The government will order artillery ammunition from the Norwegian company Nammo for up to NOK 2.6 billion. This will give Nammo increased production capacity and guarantees for ordering raw materials for production.

The war in Ukraine has created a great need for ammunition and Norwegian Nammo plays a significant role for the NATO countries and in Western ammunition production. Ensuring the safety of the Norwegian population through good preparedness is one of the main tasks of the government. With this order, the government is contributing both to our national military preparedness, and to facilitating the maintenance of Western support for Ukraine by strengthening our own weapons production, says Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp).

The war has resulted in a strong international demand for weapon systems and ammunition. Several NATO countries have donated artillery ammunition to Ukraine, Norway included. The war has also had major consequences for delivery times, prices and access to raw materials in large parts of the world.

The order means that we are speeding up orders for ammunition for our national defence. It will help us to build up our emergency stocks faster, and at the same time give the Norwegian company Nammo better predictability to be able to make further investments in production capacity. We have had a good dialogue with Nammo about how the authorities can contribute to increasing production. It is absolutely essential that this happens quickly, and in the special situation we find ourselves in, we must be solution-oriented. It is important to contribute to Norwegian and other allied defense industries increasing the rate of production, says Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp).

Nammo is an important part of the Norwegian defense industry and one of relatively few Western ammunition producers. A business with 2,700 employees in 11 countries is managed from the head office at Raufoss.
https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/regjeringen-oker-norsk-ammunisjonsproduksjon/id2959178/

 

[muck]

At International Fighter Conference, for example, the German Air Force said that there will be no cuts to the F-35 order nor to the Typhoon ECR's.

And now, Germany has doubled the order for an upcoming electronic warfare variant of the Eurofighter Typhoon; 30 aircraft will be procured instead of only 15, representing a substantial increase over the 21 1990's technology Tornado ECR's currently in operation. (Source, German, Paywall)

 

[TheKiwi]

...

It's about time that dreadful woman retires. It's clear now she tried to blame the industry for the army's own shortcomings.

I see you got your wish....

Christine Lambrecht: German defence minister resigns after blunders

Christine Lambrecht's exit comes amid pressure to allow the delivery of German-built tanks to Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

 

[muck]

I see you got your wish....

Christine Lambrecht: German defence minister resigns after blunders

Christine Lambrecht's exit comes amid pressure to allow the delivery of German-built tanks to Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

Yup. The writing had been on the walls for a couple of days.

I know there's an argument to be made that there's a lot amiss in Germany going beyond a single government post, so just to be clear why Christine Lambrecht's resignation is so important: She's basically the worst symptom of what's going wrong right now.

Lambrecht is a lawyer, she was minister of justice for a while during the last Merkel administration. She's also a Scholz loyalist and left-winger of the Social Democrats. That's why Scholz brought her back upon taking over in 2021, who's position has actually been precarious. The Greens are almost as strong as his Social Democrats, and their junior partner – the Liberal Party – is centre-right. To preserve his position of power inside his left-leaning own party, Scholz crafted an intricate web of dependencies, which is why the the minister of defence "had" to be a left-leaning woman.

Lambrecht wasn't even the first or second choice, though. She didn't want the job and only took over once Scholz had promised her that she could become minister of the interior during the course of the term. She'd just sat there doing nothing, waiting for her preferred post to become empty. It's a disgrace, really, and indicative of the old saying: A fish rots from the head down.

 

[Redav]

"More than half of the 37 Portuguese Leopard A6s are in no condition to be used in combat, Expresso found out from Army sources. NATO uses a color classification system to assess the readiness of equipment to be committed and most of these cars that Portugal bought from the Netherlands in 2008 are at the “red level of operationalization”, explains a general officer.

Another Portuguese army officer also told the weekly newspaper that exercises with these means in Santa Margarida are also not usually carried out with more than one squadron, that is, with a maximum of 14 cars", later stressing that "in addition to the inoperative means, there are still around a dozen vehicles at the “yellow” level: in these cases, the tanks are not at 100% but can be used in a war context. At the “green” level — with maintenance up to date and ready to use — is a minority".

Portugal prometeu tanques à Ucrânia, mas a maioria está inoperacional

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmou que Portugal estava pronto para enviar tanques Leopard, mas a verdade é que o governo estará agora a avaliar situação....

24.sapo.pt

 

[Redav]

And now for something completly diferent

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tvi.io...rtugueses-navegam-ha-cinco-anos-sem-pecas-de- artillery/63d436650cf2665294d2e482

Perplexities: two Portuguese ships have been sailing for five years without artillery pieces

Video Yesterday at 21:25

There are two Portuguese ships that have been serving the Navy for years without their respective cannons. Portugal has four ocean patrol ships, but these two have been waiting for their main weapon since construction, a 30mm artillery piece

 

[muck]

Portugal prometeu tanques à Ucrânia, mas a maioria está inoperacional

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmou que Portugal estava pronto para enviar tanques Leopard, mas a verdade é que o governo estará agora a avaliar situação....

24.sapo.pt

Well, that's the "peace dividend" for you. Hopefully, Western European politicians will finally realise that these short-term cost cuts always incur great expenses at a later date. A man who doesn't want to spend a few quid on fresh motor oil every now and again shouldn't be surprised if he's at some point in the future presented with a fat bill for a new engine (that'll be many times as expensive as what he saved over the years). But try telling that to a politician whose ability of foresight stretches not beyond the next elections. What his successors have to pay extra in the future is none of his concern, especially if he gets pocket money for his own pet projects out of the bargain.

 

[Redav]

Well, that's the "peace dividend" for you. Hopefully, Western European politicians will finally realise that these short-term cost cuts always incur great expenses at a later date. A man who doesn't want to spend a few quid on fresh motor oil every now and again shouldn't be surprised if he's at some point in the future presented with a fat bill for a new engine (that'll be many times as expensive as what he saved over the years). But try telling that to a politician whose ability of foresight stretches not beyond the next elections. What his successors have to pay extra in the future is none of his concern, especially if he gets pocket money for his own pet projects out of the bargain.

They still don't care.
You know what they keep saying? "The war is far away"
That's the common thought of all politicians in here. That and filling their pockets with taxpayers money.

 

[BravoZulu]

Denmark:
After pledging all 19 of its French-made CAESAR howitzers to Ukraine, Denmark is in talks with Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems for new mobile artillery to plug a "critical gap".

The defence ministry said late Thursday that negotiations were on "with the manufacturer Elbit Systems for the delivery of ATMOS artillery
pieces and PULS rocket launcher systems as soon as possible".

The equipment could be delivered this year, the government said.
"The rocket launchers complement the new artillery systems," the ministry said.

Denmark had ordered 15 mobile long-range howitzers from French company Nexter in 2017, and four more in 2019.

But deliveries have been delayed and only a few have arrived. All of them have been pledged to Ukraine.
The system can carry 36 155 mm shells and reach targets at distances of up to 40 kilometres (24 miles). ATMOS can fire six shots per minute and can be mounted on most off-road 8X8 trucks.

The next acquisitions are "important for Denmark's defence and for Denmark to be able to meet its NATO commitments," Defence Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said.

"The donation to Ukraine leaves a critical capability gap in defence," he said.

According to Danish media, Nexter advised Denmark against changing suppliers, saying it could provide new artillery.
"Caesar has proven itself on the battlefield in Ukraine, Danish soldiers can use them and the parts are compatible with Danish military IT systems," a spokesman for the group said.

CAESAR

ATMOS

PULS

https://www.barrons.com/news/denmar...lace-howitzers-donated-to-ukraine-01674818408

 

[Redav]

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