(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Dec. 17, 2012)
It is the Disposal Services Authority (DSA) intention to invite expressions of interest in tendering for the Type 22 Frigates (HMS Chatham, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Cumberland and HMS Cornwall) for the following: •Further Use •Sinking for an Artificial reef •Recycling
At this stage the DSA does not require interested parties to specify which Vessel/s they wish to bid for.
It is the DSA intention to award at least one vessel to a UK Ship Recycler; this is in part to secure detailed knowledge of the UK’s capacity to recycle vessels. Any decision to award to a UK Ship Recycling company will be made in accordance with transparent and objective evaluation criteria which will be issued at the Invitation to Tender stage.
All interested parties should note that only Bidders that have completed and passed a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the vessels and allowed access to view the vessel.
The vessels are moored at Portsmouth and will be sold from there.
The DSA are planning on hosting viewings 25th February - 15th March 2013.
As previously requested all bidders intending to undertake inspection of the vessels will be required to wear the correct PPE clothing i.e. steel toecap boots, high vis jackets (overalls optional). Please be assured that if you do not have steel toecap boots on arrival you will be refused access to the vessels.
Only Bidders that have received a copy of the ITT will be allowed access to inspect the vessels.
Bidders should not book travel until they have received a copy of the ITT and understood the requirements.
A copy of the PQQ can be down loaded from the bottom of this page or you can e-mail the DSA’s Commercial section requesting a copy at deslcsls-dsa-comrcl-3b@mod.uk
The closing date for returning the PQQ to the DSA and expression of interest is 17.00 GMT Wednesday 23rd January 2013.
-- HMS CUMBERLAND formally a Warship Frigate F85 was built at Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow UK in 1988 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 23rd September 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CAMPBELTOWN formally a Warship Frigate F86 was built at Cammell Laird ship yard Birkenhead UK in 1987 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 7th July 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CHATHAM formally a Warship Frigate F87 was built at Swan Hunters Shipbuilders in Wallsend UK in 1989, and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 20th October 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CORNWALL formally a Warship, Frigate F99 was built at Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow UK in 1988 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 20th October 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
Not complete, but first RN Officer gets feel of how new aircraft carrier will be in 2014...
The first Royal Navy officer to be in charge of HMS Queen Elizabeth – one of two brand new aircraft carriers – has stepped foot on the bridge for the first time in Portsmouth dockyard.
Despite being surrounded by construction materials as this section of the gigantic ship takes shape, Captain Simon Petitt said it was an iconic moment to see how it will look in 2014.
Huge at 280 metres in length, 65,000 tonnes and capable of embarking 40 aircraft – twice the capacity of HMS Illustrious - the aircraft carrier is being constructed at shipyards across the country and will be assembled at Rosyth.
As the Senior Naval Officer, Capt Petitt is not the first Commanding Officer who will take the carrier to sea through her trials, but he is the Navy’s man in charge throughout the construction period.
“It is hugely exciting to be able to stand on the bridge of HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time,” said Capt Petitt.
“It really brings home the amazing ship that is being gradually revealed to my team in Rosyth.
“This forward island will be positioned on the ship early next year and then everyone will be able to identify her as an aircraft carrier.
"For now, however, it is wonderful to be able to stand where captains for the next 50 years will stand and steer the ship into operations that will protect our interests around the globe.”
All sections of the hull are now complete and focus is turning to the construction of the two islands – one for commanding the ship and the other for controlling the flying operations (Flyco). These sections will be shipped up to Rosyth from Portsmouth and Scotstoun where workers will then piece the carrier together.
The Portsmouth section, of which Capt Petitt was given a guided tour, is known as Upper Block 07 (UB07) and is the remaining part of HMS Queen Elizabeth under construction in the naval base.
It consists of the main ship's bridge, the observation bridge, the Commanding Officer's day cabin and Navigator's accommodation, with a total of 100 compartments across six decks.
The 850 tonne section will be taken to Rosyth in February after being loaded out from the Portsmouth Production Hall and secured to a barge for a five day transportation.
Paul Bowsher, QE Class Project Leader for BAE Systems in Portsmouth, said:
"The load out of UB07 will be a really proud moment for our team in Portsmouth as this is an iconic section of the Queen Elizabeth Carrier.
"We are looking forward to UB07 coming back into Portsmouth as part of the completed ship.”
Capt Petitt added:
“UB07 will be installed onto HMS Queen Elizabeth in March 2013; an event which will transform the overall appearance of the vessel and make it clearly identifiable as an aircraft carrier and fighting ship.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be handed over to the Ministry of Defence in 2014, with sea trials starting in 2017. Production of the second carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, has also started at Govan and Portsmouth dockyards.
Source: Royal Navy
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
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Londres va réduire sa présence militaire en Afghanistan de plus d’un tiers 19 décembre 2012 – 15:45 Actuellement, et avec 9.000 militaires, le Royaume-Uni est le deuxième pays contributeur en termes d’effectifs à la Force internationale d’assistance à la sécurité (ISAF), déployée en Afghanistan sous l’autorité de l’Otan.
Cela étant, les effectifs britanniques, principalement stationnés dans la province méridionale du Helmand, vont baisser de plus d’un tiers en 2013. Le Premier ministre du pays, David Cameron, en a fait l’annnonce ce 19 décembre.
“En raison du succès de nos troupes et des forces afghanes de sécurité (…), nous serons en mesure de voir nos hommes revenir chez eux en deux temps relativement égaux, en 2013 et 2014, ce qui laissera probablement 5.200 d’entre eux après la fin de cette année” a-t-il en effet affirmé.
Pour autant, le locataire du 10 Downing Street n’a pas donné de précisions quant au niveau des troupes que le Royaume-Uni entend laisser sur place en 2015, c’est à dire après la fin de la mission de combat de l’Otan, si ce n’est que Londres “honorera son engagement à aider à la mise en place d’un centre d’entraînement militaire pour les Afghans.”
Depuis 2001, les forces britanniques ont perdu 438 soldats en Afghanistan, dont au moins 395 au combat http://www.opex360.fr/
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AgustaWestland To Maintain U.K. Sea King Helicopters Dec. 20, 2012 - 09:57AM | By ANDREW CHUTER
LONDON — AgustaWestland has secured a 258-million-pound ($419 million) deal with the Defence Ministry to keep Britain’s nearly 90-strong fleet of Sea King helicopters flying until 2016.
The contract is the final part of the Sea King Integrated Operational Support program. The U.K. arm of AgustaWestland and the MoD agreed to the program in 2007. The deal will provide maintenance for the helicopters, which have been in service with the British military for more than 40 years. AgustaWestland is owned by Italy’s Finmeccanica.
The helicopters provide civilian search and rescue, airborne surveillance, and Royal Marine troop movement.
The Sea King will be replaced by refurbished former Royal Air Force Merlin helicopters.
Search-and-rescue duties will be outsourced to a contractor by April 2016.
The Department of Transport is running a competition to select the winning contractor. http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121220/DEFREG01/312200006/AgustaWestland-Maintain-U-K-Sea-King-Helicopters?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
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LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Britain's Disposal Services Authority has put up four Type-22 frigates for commercial sale.
The ships on auction for further use, sinking for an artificial reef or recycling are HMS Chatham, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Cumberland and HMS Cornwall.
Viewing of the ships, which are moored in Portsmouth, by pre-qualified potential bidders will take place Feb. 25-March 15, the agency said.
The Disposal Services Authority, an offshoot of the Ministry of Defense, said it intends to award at least one vessel to a U.K. ship recycler "in part to secure detailed knowledge of the U.K.'s capacity to recycle vessels."
"Any decision to award to a U.K. Ship Recycling company will be made in accordance with transparent and objective evaluation criteria which will be issued at the Invitation to Tender stage," it said.
HMS Cumberland was built in 1988 and was withdrawn from service in September of last year. HMS Campbeltown was built in 1987 and was retired from service last July. HMS Chatham, built in 1989, ceased service in October 2011, as did HMS Cornwall.
Options narrow for UK maritime UAS By Richard Scott 12/24/2012 The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will choose between rival unmanned air system (UAS) solutions from Boeing and Cassidian to meet its Maritime UAS (MarUAS) urgent operational requirement (UOR).
Responses to an invitation to tender (ITT) released in mid-November were submitted to the Defence Equipment and Support organisation's UAS project team on 18 December 2012. While Lockheed Martin UK and QinetiQ were also shortlisted to bid for the contract-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) MarUAS service provision, it is understood that only Boeing and Cassidian chose to submit proposals.
The COCO MarUAS programme calls for the delivery of a commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) solution to provide organic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support run up until the end of May 2015. Based initially on a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) platform, and subsequently from a Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigate, the system is required to operate alongside an existing aviation detachment.
Due to the tight timescales of the UOR, the UAS project team has specified a commercial off-the-shelf solution that will meet Military Aviation Authority regulations. A contract award is planned for early February 2013.
An image leaked on the internet shows what appears to be the first RC-135 Rivet Joint destined for the U.K. Royal Air Force.
The RAF has three RC-135s on order, making the U.K. the first export customer for the RC-135V/W Sigint jets. The aircraft have been converted from a trio of 1964-vintage Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers which had been sitting in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB.
The three aircraft were ordered by the Ministry of Defence in March 2010 and the first aircraft is expected to roll out early next year. Once in service, the aircraft will be operated by No. 51 Sqn which famously operated the Nimrod R1, an aircraft which for many years the RAF refused to disclose as being in operation because of the type’s intelligence gathering capabilities. In preparation for the Rivet Joint’s arrival, 51 Sqn crews have been flying missions with the 55th Wing to gain experience on the type. It is understood that the aircraft will be christened Airseeker in RAF service.
Sharp-eyed readers of this blog will notice the aircraft distinctly lacks an air-to-air refuelling probe and given the RAF has not ordered a boom for its Voyager tankers, the new Airseekers will end up being dependent on USAF or tankers from other nations for refuelling. www.aviationweek.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
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We're learning from Astute submarine flaws, admiral promises
MoD should not have boasted about 'classified' top speed of hunter-killer boats
Astute sailing up the Clyde estuary into her home port of Faslane, Scotland, for the first time after the journey from Barrow-in-Furness shipyard. Photograph: J Massey/Royal Navy/EPA
The head of the Royal Navy's submarine programme has told the Guardian that his team discovered design faults, technical problems and flaws in the construction of the multibillion-pound Astute class boats, but said he was still confident it would enter service on time next year.
In a frank interview in which he spoke in detail for the first time about the challenges of launching the submarines, Admiral Simon Lister also admitted the military should not have boasted about the boats' top speed.
It was not unusual, he said, for the first of a class to be "a difficult birth", but he added that the Astute was now the most tested boat in the navy. Lister insisted that lessons were being learned and that changes were already being made to Astute's sister boats, which are due to come into service over the next decade.
He said he was feeding these modifications into the blueprints now on the drawing board for the submarines, dubbed Successor, to carry the Trident replacement.
Lister said he wished none of the problems on the Astute had occurred, but they were being dealt with and safety had not been compromised. "I wish none of them had happened. I wish I could buy a submarine as if it was a Mercedes-Benz coming off the production line after 10 years of product development. It isn't that.
"What I would say is that the speed and the quality of the activity to put things right is second to none. The ambition to bring Astute into service in perfect order so that she is able to enter service within three months of exiting the shipyard, if anyone thinks that's possible, they would be mistaken. A nuclear submarine is a complex beast. It has many different disciplines. It is one of the most complex things man produces."
Lister said it would be wrong for the military to claim the difficulties were just "stuff and nonsense and teething troubles", but he said it would also be wrong for critics to write off what is the navy's most technically advanced boat.
The Ministry of Defence has ordered seven Astute hunter-killer submarines that will cost up to £10bn and expects them to become the backbone of the fleet.
The programme has been hindered by delays and overspends since it was commissioned 15 years ago, and suffered embarrassment in 2010 when Astute was grounded off Scotland – a calamity that led to the commander being removed.
Last month, the Guardian revealed that Astute, which is coming to the end of three years of sea trials, was forced into an emergency surfacing when it sprang a leak, suffered from internal corrosion, and been fitted with equipment and materials of the wrong quality.
Since then the Guardian has discovered new issues. The MoD has admitted to problems with the trays that carry important cables controlling Astute's sonar, which has led some of them to fray badly. During a recent test, Ambush – the second of the class and also built at BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria – flew its "Not Under Command" flag – which denotes that due to exceptional circumstances it is unable to manoeuvre properly.
Both boats are having to be equipped with an electronic chart system, after a report into the grounding of the Astute in 2010 ordered the upgrade.
Significantly, both have also suffered propulsion problems that have prevented them from reaching or exceeding the speed published by the MoD – 30 knots.
The Guardian has been told that the design is likely to restrict the top speed of all the boats, but the navy will not be drawn on the issue, saying it is a confidential matter. However, Lister insisted the Astute did not have to be a fast boat, and admitted the MoD should have been more cautious about discussing speed when the fleet was first commissioned.
"Is Astute a high-speed submarine? No sir. We have emphasised stealth over outright speed. That is an operational decision we have made, a trade-off, to achieve other capabilities. We haven't designed this submarine to be quick, we have designed it to be quick enough. Whoever [in the MoD] put 'this submarine goes at 30 knots' didn't understand that the top speed of a submarine is a classified matter and missed out 'up to' which is traditionally the formula.
"Because you have poked us, we want to say it [will go] more than 20 knots, which we can say with certainty without giving too much away to the enemy. We don't reveal the top speed because it would give a potential enemy an advantage. It is a classified number."
Lister said he had identified three sorts of problems with the Astute: flaws in design that only became apparent when testing started; equipment that broke down too easily; and some problems relating to poor construction at the shipyard.
"In the programme of testing over three years we have identified issues in all of those categories. And got on and fixed them. Is this normal? Where is this on the spectrum of scandalous waste of taxpayers' money? Is this what we could expect, is this the normal endeavour of dragging any ship out of the dockyard? You will have to make your own mind up. [But] the programme of testing is on track and the submarine will enter service this coming year.
"Every aspect of that submarine has been tested to the limit. It is the most thoroughly tested submarine in the navy today. Point me to any submarine building yard that produces a first of class and I will show you a process that is extraordinarily challenging. The level of challenge in Astute I don't think has been any more than in the level of challenge in the first of class in other submarines."
He said he had not and would not compromise on safety, even if that meant further delays to the programme. "I buy these things, I set the pace, I place the demand on the company, I judge whether the product is right enough and good enough.
"My rule is the thing that gives is not safety, the thing that gives is time. Where the shipyard needs to learn to do something it is the schedule that is relaxed to enable that learning to take place. What gives? It is the schedule, which is why Ambush emerged from the dockyard later than planned."
He added: "The first child has been a difficult birth. We have learned those lessons and every engineering development that we put into Astute has gone into or is going into Ambush. Astute as she emerged from the dockyard will be very different from the seventh one because we learn from Astute."
Lister said he had 800 people on his Astute team and 1,000 working on the replacement for the Trident-carrying Vanguard class submarines. He said the navy was using the lessons from Astute to refine plans for Successor.
"My policy is to take every lesson I can from every quarter I can find it into the design of Successor and its manufacturing plan. I am having meetings about Successor and attempting to learn the lessons from other areas of the programme – including Astute. You would expect me to. That is what we do.
"I am not sitting down saying 'Astute has been a failure we are not doing that again'. I am saying what must we learn from our experience on a daily basis in how we put Successor together. Astute is a superb submarine and is going to be the backbone of the fleet, the submarine flotilla, when she enters into service."
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
Thousands of British soldiers will be told next month that their jobs are at risk as the next wave of Army redundancies is announced. Around 9,500 posts – one in 10 soldiers – will be cut over the next two years in an attempt to reduce manpower from 97,000 troops to 82,000 by 2015. A further 6,000 soldiers will be lost through natural wastage and recruiting restrictions. The cost of the redundancy plan – one of the largest ever undertaken – could approach £1 billion – far more than had ever been envisaged.
Details were only finalised at last week’s meeting of the National Security Council, when the Prime Minister was briefed by defence chiefs. Soldiers will be told next month which sections of the Army will be affected, and which age groups and ranks. Figures show that the cost for the first 2,835 redundancies in the Armed Forces was £102 million. The cost of the next 9,500 Army redundancies in 2014 and 2015 is expected to be far higher, given that many of those being axed are officers of the rank of lieutenant colonel and above.
Millions will also be spent on “resettlement courses”, which every member of the Armed Forces is encouraged to attend – at a cost of £6,500 to help prepare them for civilian life. The fees for such courses could increase the overall cost by £100 million. Many soldiers who will be made redundant or who will volunteer for redundancy will leave with a lump sum, as well as a full pension.
For a lieutenant colonel, this could amount to a tax-free lump sum of more than £150,000 plus an annual pension of £24,000. The plan for redundancies will target areas where there are surplus troops, such as the infantry, where the number of battalions is being reduced from 36 to 31.
Members of the Royal Artillery and the cavalry will be cut and large numbers of troops from the Royal Logistic Corps and the Corps of Royal Engineers are being axed. Soldiers who have been wounded on operations but have recovered also face redundancy, though troops still in recovery will be spared the axe. Only signals, intelligence and the special forces are likely to be safe.
Also exempt from the 2013 cuts will be soldiers who are preparing to go or are serving in Afghanistan, though they could be axed in 2014. Civil servants will also be affected as the Ministry of Defence cuts 25,000 posts. The redundancies are due to coincide with Britain’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which the Prime Minister is keen to accelerate, provided that he can win the support of Gen Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff. The MoD plans to bolster the size of the Army with 30,000 reservists by 2020. Individual territorial soldiers have performed well in Afghanistan and Iraq, but senior officers doubt that whole units of part-timers could achieve similar success.
The impact of the cuts, which has reduced the Army to a size not seen for more than 100 years, has also affected morale. One officer said: “There are soldiers returning from risking their lives in Afghanistan who will be out of a job in a year’s time. "They would have seen their best friends killed and injured, and their reward is effectively the sack. Little wonder that many of them feel embittered and angry.”
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mer 2 Jan 2013 - 19:16
Apparement les futur portes avions de sa gracieuse majestée sont pas top................... http://www.corlobe.tk/article31364.html
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mar 8 Jan 2013 - 15:12
Citation :
Afghanistan: un soldat britannique tué par un tir de l'intérieur
KABOUL - Un soldat britannique de la force armée de l'Otan a été tué par un homme portant l'uniforme de l'armée afghane, première victime en 2013 des attaques de l'intérieur en Afghanistan, ont indiqué mardi des responsables.
Un individu portant l'uniforme de l'armée afghane a retourné son arme contre des membres de la force armée de l'Otan dans le sud de l'Afghanistan hier, tuant l'un d'eux, a indiqué dans un communiqué la coalition, qui ne donne pas de détails sur la victime.
Les autorités britanniques ont confirmé la mort d'un de leurs soldats par un membre présumé de l'armée nationale afghane dans le district de Nahr-e-Saraj de la province du Helmand, en proie à l'insurrection des talibans, mais sans dévoiler son identité.
L'agresseur a lui aussi été tué lors de l'attaque, a par ailleurs indiqué une porte-parole de la mission de l'Otan.
Cette nouvelle attaque de l'intérieur intervient alors que le président afghan Hamid Karzaï est à Washington pour des entretiens avec de hauts responsables américains sur la stabilité de son pays après la mission de combat des 100.000 soldats de l'Otan à la fin de 2014.
Après cette échéance, les forces afghanes assureront seules la protection du territoire contre les insurgés talibans, qui refusent actuellement de se joindre à un processus de paix visant à éviter une nouvelle guerre civile dans le pays.
Depuis un an, plus de 60 soldats de l'Otan ont été tués par des hommes portant l'uniforme afghan, un phénomène inédit qui inquiète la coalition. La multiplication de ces attaques de l'intérieur a instauré un climat de méfiance entre soldats étrangers et leurs alliés afghans.
L'Otan attribue une grande partie de ces attaques à des différences culturelles ou des conflits personnels, mais reconnaît aussi que le quart d'entre elles sont dues à des infiltrations des forces de sécurité afghanes par les insurgés talibans.
Les forces occidentales ont accéléré au cours des derniers mois le recrutement de soldats et policiers afghans sans être en mesure de faire une enquête de sécurité approfondie sur les recrues, ce qui a facilité l'infiltration de talibans, estiment certains analystes.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mer 9 Jan 2013 - 9:51
Citation :
U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 5, 2013) The British Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment oiler RFA Fort Victoria (A387) operates in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deven B. King/Released)
.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 5, 2013) Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) stand by as the ship approaches the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment oiler RFA Fort Victoria (A387) for a replenishment-at-sea. Jason Dunham is deployed with the John C. Stennis Strike Group to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deven B. King/Released)
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 10 Jan 2013 - 13:46
Citation :
British army has ordered the French-made anti-sniper system Cilas SLD 500 to help protect troops in Afghanistan, even as spending on military equipment to defeat the Taliban is in decline as the drawdown of combat troops gathers pace.
Thursday, January 10, 2013, 09:56 AM http://www.armyrecognition.com/january_2013_army_military_defense_industry_news/index.php
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 10 Jan 2013 - 19:24
Citation :
Meteor : les Typhoon anglais attendront
Le 10/01/2013 à 14:45 | Par Guillaume Steuer
Le Meteor ne sera pleinement opérationnel sur Typhoon qu'en 2017
Nouveau retard pour l'intégration du missile Meteor de MBDA sur les Eurofighter Typhoon britanniques. Le rapport annuel du NAO sur les programmes d'armement en cours précise en effet que la date de mise en service complète de cet armement ("In-Service Date 2") a glissé de 23 mois, suite à des délais dans la mise au point d'une nouvelle version logicielle de l'avion dans le cadre du programme "Typhoon Future Capability Programme 1".
Résultat : le Meteor, développé par MBDA, ne devrait pas être totalement opérationnel dans la Royal Air Force avant juin 2017, selon le NAO. Soit un an seulement avant la date annoncée par Paris pour la mise en service du même missile sur ses Rafale. Jusqu'alors, le consortium Eurofighter et Londres tablaient sur une possible mise en service dès juillet 2015.
La situation est d'autant plus paradoxale que le Royaume-Uni va etre le premier pays à prendre réception de ses missiles Meteor, dont les livraisons à Londres doivent commencer dès cette année. Ces engins seront stockés en attendant de pouvoir être mis en oeuvre par les Typhoon.
Le programme d'intégration du Meteor sur Eurofighter avait passé un cap symbolique le mois dernier, avec le premier tir propulsé d'un missile de test depuis un Typhoon banc d'essais.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Ven 11 Jan 2013 - 18:08
Citation :
MBDA : Londres attend toujours l'ANL
Le 10/01/2013 à 18:00 | Par Guillaume Steuer
C'est le dernier rapport du National Audit Office, équivalent britannique de la Cour des comptes, qui révèle l'information : Londres étudierait actuellement une extension de la vie du missile Sea Skua afin de pallier les retards de la mise en service de l'Anti-navire léger (ANL), qui doit faire l'objet d'un développement en commun avec la France.
Faute d'avoir pu sécuriser un contrat, "il y a maintenant un trou capacitaire d'au moins 19 mois entre le retrait de service de la capacité existante et la disponibilité du nouveau missile", note le NAO. Alors que le lancement était prévu en 2012, Paris avait en effet décidé de décaler la notification d'un contrat dans le cadre des réorientations budgétaires préalables au nouveau Livre blanc.
Ce faisant, la France laissait donc les Britanniques "sur la paille". Le NAO souligne qu'une "extension de vie du missile actuel" est à l'étude afin d'atténuer ce trou capacitaire. Ce qui voudrait dire que le Sea Skua et les hélicoptères Lynx qui le mettent en oeuvre seraient amenés à rester plus longtemps en service, en attendant que le nouvel AW159 Wildcat puisse emporter l'ANL.
Côté français, l'urgence capacitaire est évidemment moins importante qu'à Londres. Pour la Marine nationale, il ne s'agit en effet pas de remplacer un armement existant, mais bien d'ajouter une nouvelle capacité pour ses hélicoptères embarqués : Panther Mk2, dans un premier temps, puis Caïman Marine.
A Paris, le ministère de la Défense ne devrait prendre aucune décision à ce sujet avant la fin des travaux du Livre Blanc et de la future Loi de programmation militaire. Mais la France pourrait trouver une base de négociations avec Londres en proposant aux Britanniques de financer seuls le lancement de l'ANL et sa mise au point pendant une période donnée, qui serait ensuite "rattrapée" par des crédits français dans les dernières phases du programme. Affaire à suivre.
Mali : deux C17 britanniques embarquent du matériel français à Evreux
Des Boeing C17 de l'armée britannique débutent ce lundi leurs premiers vols à destination du Mali. Ils sont stationnés à la base aérienne 105 d'Evreux et viennent soutenir l'opération des forces françaises. Sur ce cliché (AFP), le premier avion britannique à atterrir dimanche sur la piste de la BA 105.
La Grande-Bretagne assure une aide logistique à la demande de la France mais a déjà prévenu qu'elle ne dépêcherait pas d'unités combattantes au sol.
Deux C17 britanniques, capables de transporter des véhicules blindés type VAB (ici un véhicule blindé sanitaire, photo AFP), doivent participer à cette mission. Outre des véhicules, ces avions transporteront des paquetages et du matériel.
La base d'Evreux servira de " plate-forme d'appui en France pour acheminer le fret ", a précisé à l'AFP le colonel, Jean-Pascal Breton, chef du Sirpa Air. Un premier C17 s'était posé dimanche à Evreux pour préparer l'arrimage des différents matériels.
Cette collaboration inédite est le signe de la solidité des accords de Lancaster House en 2010, signés entre nos deux pays, et de l'interopérabilité des armées britannique et française. Ne nous le cachons pas, c'est aussi en raison de la faiblesse dans ce secteur de l'armée française en attendant l'A400 M.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mar 15 Jan 2013 - 12:57
Citation :
RAAF reforms 35 Squadron for new aircraft
THE RAAF has re-established 35 Squadron, the original "wallaby airlines" which transported Australian personnel during the Vietnam War.
The new 35 Squadron will be equipped with the Caribou replacement, the new C-27J Spartan transport aircraft which will start entering service from 2015.
RAAF chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown said the 35 Squadron had provided combat airlift for Australian personnel in several conflicts.
"The C-27J is ideally suited to continue this legacy of support for personnel deployed on combat, peacekeeping or disaster relief operations," he said in a statement on Monday.
The squadron will be based at RAAF Base Richmond, outside Sydney, commanded by Wing Commander Brad Clarke, initially with 25 personnel but growing to around 250 as the C-27Js start to arrive.
"Our first tasks are to work with the Battlefield Airlift Transition Office to map the required workforce structure, operating procedures and introduction plan for the C-27J Spartan," he said in a statement.
"35 Squadron will send the first aircrew and maintenance personnel to train on the C-27J in the United States in 2014."
The last of the Vietnam-era Caribou battlefield transport aircraft retired in 2009 with the government announcing last May it would buy 10 new Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft as their replacement.
Wing Commander Clarke said the C-27Js, with their capability to land on short rough strips, would greatly increase the number of airfields the Australian Defence FOrce could use.
Number 35 Squadron was formed in Western Australia in March 1942 to provide air transport around Australia and New Guinea.
It was disbanded in 1946 then reformed in July 1966 to operate the Caribou aircraft in Vietnam.
The unit was christened Wallaby Airlines after its call sign "wallaby", carrying some 677,000 passengers and 36 million kilograms of freight without a single fatality.
The unit returned to Richmond in 1972 and relocated to RAAF Base Townsville in 1974, supporting defence operations and participating in a wide range disaster relief missions. It was disbanded again in 2000.
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_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mer 16 Jan 2013 - 12:13
Citation :
U.K. Set To Order Brimstone Missiles, Replenish RAF Stocks
LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defence is set to order a new batch of Brimstone precision-guided missiles from maker MBDA as the Royal Air Force continues to rebuild weapon stocks in the wake of the Libyan conflict.
A new order for the Dual Mode Brimstone air-to-surface weapon, possibly worth tens of millions of pounds, could be announced within days, said sources with knowledge of the program.
The missiles will also fill a gap in RAF inventories caused by a 28-month delay in development of a new Brimstone 2 version of the weapon, scheduled to have been in service in October 2012.
An MoD spokesman confirmed a Brimstone order was in the pipeline. MBDA declined to comment.
The Dual Mode variant entered service with the RAF in 2008 as an urgent operational requirement. The weapon is currently deployed only on Tornado GR4s.
Dual Mode Brimstone, which uses a millimetric radar and a laser-guided, man-in-the-loop system, has been widely used in Afghanistan and more recently Libya.
About 230 of the missiles were fired in Libya. The upcoming order is the first replenishment deal since the conflict ended, although the British struck a deal with MBDA as the NATO mission was drawing to a close in 2011.
An earlier contract just before the Libyan conflict got underway helped MBDA surge production at its U.K. production site to keep pace with demand. The December 2010 order involved 150 weapons, but numbers nor value of the 2011 Brimstone deal has not been released.
The missiles are taken from existing weapons fitted with just the original millimetric radar and updated with the addition of a laser guidance system to give Brimstone its dual-mode capability.
The RAF had planned to be inducting the new Brimstone 2 version of the weapon by now to meet a requirement called Selected Precision Effects at Range Capability 2 Block 1.
The National Audit Office, the government’s spending watchdog, reported last week that the program’s in-service date had been put back to February 2015 as a result of technical problems with insensitive munitions-compliant rocket motor and warhead. The new weapon will also incorporate new sensors.
MBDA said last week that the warhead issues had been resolved, and the recovery program on the Roxel-made motor is “progressing well.”
The Brimstone order follows hard on the heels of the MoD’s deal with Raytheon UK for delivery of its Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. With about 900 Paveway IVs fired during the campaign, the weapon was the biggest single type used by the Royal Air Force. That’s reflected in three orders, together worth more than 100 million pounds ($161.3 million), awarded to Raytheon’s UK arm over the last eight months to replenish stocks.
The last order, announced Dec. 3, brings the total number of the bombs purchased to around 1,600, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement Dec 13.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 17 Jan 2013 - 13:49
Citation :
The Glock 17 Gen 4 pistol will replace the old Browning pistol in the British army The British Ministry of Defence has signed a £9m contract to provide the British Armed Forces with more than 25,000 new Glock sidearms. The Glock 17 Gen 4 pistol is much lighter than the current Browning pistol, and more accurate. The Glock 17 also has an increased magazine capacity of 17 9mm rounds, compared to 13 rounds for the Browning. Monday, January 14, 2013, 09:01 AM
Mar 18 Déc 2012 - 14:24
Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
