Exercise Southern Jackaroo : An Update

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07/04/2021

By Private Jacob Joseph

With more than seven live-fire traces open simultaneously, the culminating activity of Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held from June 15-24, took months to plan, and included forces from the US Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.

Private Brendan Hannam, from 5 Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5RAR), fired the first Javelin in the Mount Bundey Training Area.

“I didn’t realise I would actually get to fire a Javelin on this exercise,” Private Hannam said.

Private Hannam’s action involved a direct attack while the US Marines, just meters away, simultaneously fired a top down attack.

A coordinated fire mission from Australian MAG 58 and US .50cal machine guns followed against targets on the adjacent hillside.

Watching the heavy weapons at the support by fire position, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Officer In Charge bilateral exercises Major Mitsuo Matsuda observed a way to improve his soldier’s training with more barrel change drills.

“Japanese soldiers do not fire the same amount of ammunition on our live fire ranges so they do not get to change barrels very often,” Major Matsuda said.

Japanese forces also took advantage of the larger Australian ranges on day one, firing their Type 01 LMAT anti-tank missile at moving targets for the first time.

It was also the first time snipers from the three nations participated in a two-day, live-fire practice, which included moving targets travelling up to 40kmph and long-range shooting beyond 2km.

Australian and US gunners from 103 Battery and US Marine Corps Mike Battery used the exercise to test a digital link between gun detachments, according to Bravo Detachment Commander Bombardier Eduardo Osborne.

“There’s a digital radio inside the gun that can send trajectory and elevation information between computers,” Bombardier Osborne said.

While the exercise aimed to develop a combined arms relationship between militaries, there were also personnel exchanges, according to 5RAR Lance Corporal Joshua Young, who worked with Japanese and US forces at the urban training facility.

“We showed them how we did our individual up to section level SOPs, like quartering drills and signals, so they could operate without talking,” Lance Corporal Young said.

Soldiers practised urban clearances and explosive breaching serials, and received a visit from Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell who spoke about the importance of Australia’s strategic partnerships.

US Marine Rotational Force–Darwin Commanding Officer Colonel David Banning said Exercise Southern Jackaroo was a key exercise for the United States Marines based in Darwin with the rotational force.

“This is a critical building block in terms of our ability to gradually increase the complexity of what we’re doing with our partners,” Colonel Banning said.

“We’re focused on maintaining our tactical capability so we have the flexibility to respond to whatever situation we might encounter.”

The US Marines will participate in exercises Talisman Sabre and Koolendong in the coming months. The Japanese forces will return home in early July.

This article was published by the Australian Department of Defence on June 30, 2021.

Featured Photo: A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldier provides cover while a U.S. marine and an Australian soldier make entry during Exercise Southern Jackaroo. Photo: Sergeant Sheota Shirakawa

Australian Army soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Direct Fire Support Weapons Platoon fire a MAG 58 machine gun during a live-fire activity on Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held at the Mount Bundey Training Area, on June 23.
Australian Army soldier Private Harrison Smyth loads ammunition into a MAG 58 machinegun during a live-fire activity on Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held at the Mount Bundey Training Area, on June 23.
Australian Army linguist Lance Corporal Cameron Murdoch, from 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, talks with Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) soldier Sergeant First Class Shigeyuki Azuma during Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held at the Mount Bundey Training Area, on June 21.
A Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) soldier fires a Type 01 LMAT anti-tank missile during Exercise Southern Jackaroo, held at the Mount Bundey Training Area, on June 15.

Australian Sovereign Industrial Capability: Shaping a Post COVID-19 World

Posted on | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment on Australian Sovereign Industrial Capability: Shaping a Post COVID-19 World
07/02/2021

Our colleagues at the Institute for Integrated Economic Research Australia Ltd having been working with Global Access Partners Pty Ltd and Gravity iLabs, DMTC Limited 2021 on a series of workshops framing key issues for a way ahead for Australia in the post-COVID 19 world.

A key element of shaping a transition is the question of the scope and nature of Australian industrial sovereignty.

Their latest report is on this topic and was published in May 2021.

The executive summary for the report highlighted their findings.

This report reflects the discussions of the Institute for Integrated Economic Research Australia (IIER-A) Working Group on Australia’s Sovereign Industry Capability. The group included a broad range of experts and stakeholders with diverse interests and opinions, and so not every participant would endorse every idea outlined in this document.

The group argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-term deficiencies in Australia’s domestic productive capacity and that a reliance on overseas supply chains left the nation vulnerable to a range of future political, economic and environmental contingencies.

The report calls for a broad investigation of Australia’s manufacturing base to highlight areas of sovereign importance which could be strengthened and expanded through a range of government measures. This approach, which has already been embraced to some degree in the 2020-21 Federal Budget, could also generate a range of employment and environmental benefits, as well as support resilience efforts in human resources, social cohesion, disaster planning and other key sectors.

While Australia will continue to rely on mining, agriculture and services for most of its economic activity, lessons can be learned from Australia’s history, the domestic defence sector, and the approaches taken by international peers such as New Zealand and Scotland, to inform the creation of a coherent and effective industrial policy.

While the development of high-technology sectors, as outlined by the government in the 2020-21 Budget, is important, it must become part of a broader strategy to strengthen Australia’s manufacturing base, develop low-tech manufacturing industries, support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and create or protect strategically important manufacturing capacities.

A series of related steps to improve the resilience of Australia’s manufacturing sector, and therefore national resilience as a whole, should be undertaken as part of this broad approach, ranging from improved cyber-security and workforce training to city planning and the modernisation of energy supply.

The pursuit of an integrated resilience policy, in which economic policy plays a significant part, would help safeguard Australia from future threats. Viewing economic policy in isolation from international political issues, environmental threats and social consequences is no longer tenable, given a deteriorating international situation and the experience of COVID-19.

The creation of an independent National Resilience Institute would facilitate a thorough and ongoing examination of these issues, helping to inform the policy debate and ensure it remains on the political agenda beyond the current pandemic.

A revival of domestic manufacturing is a necessary, but not sufficient, part of improving national resilience, and so this report should be understood in concert with those produced by other IIER/GAP working parties.

The report is worthy of a close read and an e-book version of the report can be found at the end of this article.

But one issue which clearly is of interest not only to Australia is the question of shaping secure supply chains in the wake of dealing with the Chinese and their global approach.

This is how the authors of the report frame that issue:

Wuhan rose to international infamy as the epicentre of the global pandemic, but its role in international supply chains is equally instructive. The city produces a tenth of China’s fast-growing car industry and hosts over 100 parts suppliers to Honda alone. The lockdown belatedly imposed on Hubei province soon spread around the world, and the global supply chains which now dominate the world’s intertwined economy were significantly disrupted. Shortages of consumer goods, exacerbated by just-in-time ordering systems as well as panic buying, became commonplace, while a rush for scarce medical supplies revealed the world’s dependence on a handful of suppliers along chains of dubious provenance.

 No sensible commentator suggests that Australia could or should manufacture all the goods it needs. Many products are not vital to national functioning, while others could not be produced at reasonable cost. Even an expanded manufacturing sector would rely on a plethora of raw materials or components from abroad. Regional and global supply chains have undeniably helped fuel an unprecedented rise in the planet’s prosperity over the last 30 years, but the concentration of lowest-cost products from dubious sources have quietly increased the risks faced by consumers, businesses, workers and the nation, and taking action to rebalance the ledger is clearly both possible and desirable, given current and likely future circumstances.

Improved domestic capacity in essential manufactured goods and diversified supply chains would seem a prudent combination. A national policy to strengthen trading ties to longstanding allies, for example, will not only encourage mutual economic recovery while lessening the leverage of China but reinforce the cultural and security relationships required to contain China’s growth and ambitions.

Other nations are already adopting this approach. As early as May, the Japanese government devoted ¥243.5 billion (A$3.6 billion) of its COVID-19 support to shift supply chains from China to Japan or Southeast Asia. The USA’s admittedly chaotic response has included executive orders and cross-party bills to reduce its reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, while senior members of the Australian Government have at least acknowledged the need to look at domestic economic sovereignty.

Australia will stay in step with its allies, if it develops supply chains with trusted partners and steps up domestic industrial production, rather than divorce itself from them. The election of Donald Trump, Britain’s exit from the EU, widespread concerns over immigration and fear of China’s tightening grip were already pushing a more sceptical agenda in many Western democracies. COVID-19 has accelerated the trend away from unfettered globalisation and the divorce of private profit from any other considerations towards a new balance of national capability and mutually supportive political and trade alliances in the democratic world.

Every nation would still build on its strengths under this new scenario. Australia could develop its potentially lucrative rare earths industry to exploit its mining expertise, while British engineering, American productive capacity and Southeast Asian pharmaceuticals could reduce the need for Chinese goods. Scandinavia could retake the lead on mobile communications, while Germany could continue to develop its advanced manufacturing sector. Such specialisation would reap the benefits of comparative economic advantage while reducing the political and security risks of relying on China, although government support might be required to counter Chinese firms subsidised by the state.

Efforts to diversify Australia’s supply chains and build verifiable and trusted networks around the world would therefore complement, rather than contradict, an expansion of domestic manufacturing. European and other nations might be hard-pressed to identify the contribution Australia makes to global trade beyond coal, iron ore and wheat and a sunny destination for a foreign holiday, and so the development of manufacturing capacity and closer trading ties with nations which will actually buy from us may help increase the volume of foreign trade, rather than diminish it.

The Latest Member of the F-35 Global Enterprise: Switzerland Picks the Sensor-Fusion Wolfpack Flying Combat System

Posted on | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment on The Latest Member of the F-35 Global Enterprise: Switzerland Picks the Sensor-Fusion Wolfpack Flying Combat System
06/30/2021

Paris – Switzerland has picked the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet and Raytheon Patriot surface-to-air missiles, as these offered highest benefits at lowest cost, the Swiss government said in a June 30 statement.

“The Federal Council is set to propose that parliament approve the procurement of 36 F-35A fighter aircraft from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin and five Patriot fire units from US manufacturer Raytheon,” the council said.

“An evaluation has revealed that these two systems offer the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost.”

The F-35A Lightning II beat rival offers of the Airbus Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, and Dassault Aviation Rafale.

Raytheon won against a competing offer of the SAMP/T missile based on the Aster weapon from Eurosam, a Franco-Italian joint venture of MBDA and Thales.

The government had a budget of six billion Swiss francs ($6.5 billion) for the fighters and two billion Swiss francs for a longer range air defense missile, the council said.

Lockheed Martin beat by some two billion Swiss francs the price of the nearest competitor, the council said, offering total costs of 15.5 billion Swiss francs comprising procurement and operating costs over 30 years.

The pick of the F-35 was backed by an independent review by a Zurich-based law firm.

“Homburger AG concluded that armasuisse’s cost-benefit analysis and ranking of bidders is plausible,” the council said.

An independent review was seen by a French executive as needed to quash talk of US political pressure for selection of the F-35.

The Rafale had been seen as likely to win until the Swiss media reported a couple of weeks ago the F-35 was winning approvals in the competition.

Media reports pointed up the significance of U.S. president Joe Biden’s visit to Geneva a couple of weeks ago and his support for US aircraft, when he was there for a summit meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

“I am very surprised indeed,” said Sash Tusa, analyst at equity research firm Agency Partners, with the prospect that Switzerland will be “lumbered with very high operating costs.”

Operating cost was a key element to be considered rather than just the acquisition cost, as the UK has found with its F-35 fleet, he said.

It also looked like Lockheed Martin had been very aggressive in its price, he said.

The government pick of the F-35 will likely be challenged by a referendum, he said, though a Swiss public campaign to make it compulsory for a pick of a European fighter could be complicated by poor relations between Switzerland and the European Union.

On the pick of the Patriot, that was consistent with other competitions which showed  preference of the Raytheon missile over the SAMP/T, he said, raising questions over whether there was a problem on the industrial structure or the product.

“It never wins over Patriot,” he said.

The Swiss government pointed up the network capability of the F-35 and how that distinguished the fighter from competing aircraft.

“It includes entirely new, extremely powerful and comprehensively networked systems for protecting and monitoring airspace,” the government said.

“The F-35A is able to ensure information superiority; this means pilots benefit from a higher situational awareness in all task areas when compared with the other candidates.”

Cooperation with other aircraft was seen as a winning factor, with the council pointing up “extensive opportunities for operational collaboration and broad access to data and technical resources.”

Neighboring Italy flies the F-35, as do other European air forces.

In direct offset, the F-35 fell short of the best offer, said the government, which placed an obligation on Lockheed Martin to invest in Switzerland 60 percent of the order within four years after delivery of the last aircraft.

Airbus had offered to build the Eurofighter Typhoon in Switzerland if that fighter were selected.

The Social Democrats and Green party prefer selection of a European fighter over a U.S. offer, with a campaign expected easily to raise 10,000 signatures for  call of a parliamentary vote against the F-35, Reuters reported.

A referendum led to cancellation of a previous government pick of the Saab Gripen in a fighter competition. The latest competition is intended to replace an aging fleet of F-18 and F-5 fighters.

Lockheed Martin welcomed the Swiss selection.

“The F-35 selection will deliver economic and technical advantages to the nation for decades to come,” the company said in a statement. “Swiss industry will have the opportunity to participate in research and development, production and sustainment opportunities that will extend their capabilities into the future.”

The pick of the Patriot missile was “amazing,” a French executive said. The present SAMP/T system met Swiss requirements of the missile exceeding an altitude of 20,000 meters and a range of 50 km, while a next-generation SAMP/T system would boost operational capabilities.

The public call for acquisition of a European system meant “the deal is not over,” the executive said.

French armed forces minister Florence Parly took note of the sovereignty of the decisions, which had opted for “non-European” equipment, the ministry said in a statement.

Parly insisted she was confident in the quality of the weapons pitched by French industry.

“Their performance is shown every day in operations, particularly by our armed forces, and they have been selected by an increasing number of partners,” the ministry said.

Finland is expected to make a selection in its fighter competition by the end of the year, while Indonesia is reported to have selected the Rafale and its finance ministry is looking for ways to raising the funding for an order.

Editor’s Note: As General Hostage pointed out in an interview we did with him when he was the ACC Commander in 2014:

People focus on stealth as the determining factor or delineator of the fifth generation, it isn’t, it’s fusion. 

Fusion is what makes that platform so fundamentally different than anything else. And that’s why if anybody tries to tell you hey, I got a 4.5 airplane, a 4.8 airplane, don’t believe them. 

All that they’re talking about is RCS (Radar Cross Section).

Fusion is the fundamental delineator. 

And you’re not going to put fusion into a fourth gen airplane because their avionic suites are not set up to be a fused platform.  And fusion changes how you use the platform.

And at the cost point that the F-35 has reached, it is hardly a boutique high end aircraft.

Why would Switzerland choose this aircraft over its fourth generation rivals?

The Swiss spent time discussing this with the Italians as well, and the Italians have used their aircraft in ways the Swiss will use as well for enhanced ISR/C2 capabilities for expanded homeland defense.

The aircraft has demonstrated superior operational capabilities in a number of recent engagements as well.

With the Block IV software, eight F-35s can operate as a wolfpack, and such a capability provides a significant 360 degree defense capability for Switzerland which lives in a neighborhood where spill over from crises can well affect its interests and security.

And as far as European sovereignty goes, how European really is Rafale as opposed to being French?

And for the Eurofighter, it is built by a European consortia, but there is no common fleet even today.

With key European nations operating and supporting the aircraft, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, and Italy can certainly work with Switzerland to provide for European operational and support solutions to the most advanced combat aircraft operated in Europe today by the Europeans.

The photo shows the Italian Air Force operating in Iceland during their 2019 Iceland Air Patrol duties.

Maritime Aircraft Control: HMAS Ballarat

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06/28/2021

Safely directing aircraft operating with HMAS Ballarat is the responsibility of the Anzac Class Frigate’s two Anti-Surface, Anti-Submarine Tactical Air Controllers.

Leading Seaman Combat Systems Operator, Joshua Fordham has used the bilateral activity between the Royal Australian Navy, the United States Navy, and the Royal Australian Air Force in the South China Sea to hone his skills in maritime aircraft control.

HMAS Ballarat is currently on a three-month deployment to Southeast and Northeast Asia as part of Australia’s commitment to working with partners to address shared challenges, including maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

Australian Department of Defence

June 21, 2021

Sea Breeze 21: Exercising in a Challenging Geo-Political Context

Posted on | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment on Sea Breeze 21: Exercising in a Challenging Geo-Political Context
06/27/2021

On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Sixth Fleet announced the coming of Sea Breeze 21.

U.S. Sixth Fleet formally announces participation in the upcoming annually held Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21) cohosted with the Ukrainian Navy, June 21, 2021.

The exercise is taking place from June 28 to July 10 in the Black Sea region and will focus on multiple warfare areas including amphibious warfare, land maneuver warfare, diving operations, maritime interdiction operations, air defense, special operations integration, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue operations. 

This year’s iteration has the largest number of participating nations in the exercise’s history with 32 countries from six continents providing 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft, and 18 special operations and dive teams scheduled to participate.

“The United States is proud to partner with Ukraine in co-hosting the multinational maritime exercise Sea Breeze, which will help enhance interoperability and capabilities among participating nations,” said Chargé d’affaires Kristina Kvien, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. “We are committed to maintaining the safety and security of the Black Sea.”

Beginning in 1997, Exercise Sea Breeze brings most Black Sea nations and NATO Allies and partners together to train and operate with NATO members in the pursuit of building increased capability.

SB21 provides the opportunity for personnel of participating nations to engage in realistic maritime training to build experience and teamwork and strengthen our interoperability as we work toward mutual goals.

Ukraine and U.S. are cohosting the exercise in the Black Sea with participation and support coming from 32 countries in total: Albania, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Black Sea nations, in concert with NATO Allies and partners, improve their ability to conduct the full range of naval and land operations by participating in exercises like Sea Breeze 2021.

Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 is an annual multinational maritime exercise, involving sea, land, and air components, and is co-hosted by the United States and Ukraine to enhance interoperability and capability among participating forces in the Black Sea region.

U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with joint, allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

This exercise will unfold in a challenging geo-political region.

The broad background with regard to operating in the region was laid out in a 2014 article by Ed Timperlake.

The Black Sea, Area is 168,496 sq. miles ringed by the following countries:

  • Bulgaria, Size of Tennessee with 6.9 million people
  • Romania, slightly larger than Oregon with almost 22 Million People
  • Ukraine, slightly smaller than Texas with 44 million people
  • Russia largest country in the world (1.8 times size of US) 142 Million people
  • Georgia (Remember them from 2008?), slightly smaller than South Carolina with population of 4.9 Million
  • Turkey, larger than Texas with a population of 81 million

(Compiled information with CIA fact book population estimates 2014)

The Black Sea as an enclosed body of water and narrow passages of sea can rapidly become a “Beaten Zone” for surface ships.

Such a constrained operating area reminds one of the importance of no platform fights alone; no ship should be sent along without a clear understanding of the threats it might face, and notably, the specific character of threats in constrained operating areas.

There is a blunt direct use of words in ground combat that can signify the possibility of a military disaster, it is up to commanders to determine through their actions that the words mean a battle field defeat or a challenge to be fought through on the way to a victory. The words are “The Beaten Zone” and it is defined in the US military dictionary as “the area on the ground upon which the cone of fire falls.”  From Infantry Squad leaders up the Chain-of-Command all engaged must never allow the enemy to establish a “beaten zone” and if trapped in one rapid action is required to evacuate the area while trying to  destroy the enemies weapons it is the difference between life and death.

It is a ground term but can also be employed at sea because of the increasing accuracy and lethality of modern weapons.

There are several high traffic strategic waterways and confined seas around the globe that an enemy can create a “beaten zone” for surface ships.

Ships going through the Dardanelles into the Black Sea give us a lesson from history on this very point of what a Beaten Zone can look like for the surface navy.

And with Russia having seized the Crimea, and a significant part of Georgia, and now building up Eastern Med capabilities, as well as operating ships in the Caspian as mobile missile bases, the Russians are enhancing the challenges of operating in the region as well.

Notably, the Russians recently highlighted the growing threat envelope by going after a British warship operating in international waters in the region. And the Russians certainly did not step back from their actions. In the wake of their attack on HMS Defender, this is what the London Times reported the Russians did next.

Russian fighter jets, warships and submarines launched military exercises in the Mediterranean today while tracking Britain’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The drills came days after Moscow said that one of its patrol ships had fired warning shots and a jet dropped bombs in the path of the Royal Navy’s HMS Defender as it sailed about 12 miles (19km) off the coast of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia.

Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister, warned today that Russia could bomb British ships in the Black Sea if there were more such “provocative” incidents. “We can appeal to common sense, demand respect for international law, and if that doesn’t work, we can bomb,” he said.

MiG-31K fighters were being deployed in Syria for the first time in the war games in the Mediterranean, and Tu-22M3 bombers for the second time.

MiG-31K aircraft are capable of carrying the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, one of the new-era Russia weapons lauded by President Putin. The exercises also featured the Moskva guided missile cruiser, the Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov frigates, and two submarines.

 A very good sense of how the military geography of combat is changing in the entire Mediterranean region has been provided by a retired U.S. Navy intelligence analyst.

According to J.E. Dyer in an article published on June 26, 2021: Russia has logged some major firsts in their Eastern Med exercise underway.

On Friday, after the series of untoward events in the Black Sea over the past week, Russia began a maritime exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean featuring – according to Russian reporting – “several” warships, two submarines, Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers, and MiG-31BM Foxhound fighters said (by Russia) to be armed with Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 1,000 nautical miles (1,250 statute miles) ….

The base of operations for the aircraft is Hmeimim airfield on Syria’s coast, from which Russia has been operating fixed-wing combat aircraft since 2015. The reason is simple.  Russia can now put combat aircraft, including heavy bombers, in Syria and hold the Eastern Med at risk without having to run a NATO gauntlet to get there. That’s something the former Soviet Union could never do during the Cold War…

Now, for the first time ever, Russia has heavy bombers menacing NATO out of Syria, along with modified fighters armed with one of her newest nuclear-capable missiles, all without prior vulnerability to NATO interdiction on the route to the theater.

Russia lost Ukraine in the breakup in 1991-92, and has made only partial progress regaining control of territory there.  Yugoslavia is gone.  Several former-Yugoslav nations, along with Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania, are NATO allies today.  The path through Iran and Iraq depends on Russian relations with Iran and Iraq.  But the latter path, the one Russia never had before, is beyond the ready combat reach of NATO.  We’re in a new century now.

For a look at the history of national participation in the Sea Breeze exercises, see the following:

210621-N-NO901-0001.JPG

For a look at J.E. Dyer’s illustration of the new Russian template for operations, see the following:

The Eastern route to Syria, well east of NATO’s organized alliance defenses.  Russia has deployed her air force assets into Syria by this route since 2015.  The first Tu-22M3 deployment to a Syrian base from the East began in May 2021, although Backfires used this route earlier to operate in Syria from the Russia bomber base at Mozdok.  The shaded area indicates where Russian aircraft must pass through Iranian and Iraqi air space.  They have had permission for that from Baghdad since late 2015.  Google map; J.E. Dyer’s annotation

 

The Bundestag Budget Committee’s Green Light on FCAS

Posted on | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment on The Bundestag Budget Committee’s Green Light on FCAS
06/25/2021

Paris – The German parliament approved Berlin’s share of a budget worth €4.5 billion ($5.4 billion) for development work on a European Future Combat Air System, an industry source said June 24.

That long awaited June 23 vote by the Bundestag budget committee authorized funding for the German share of work on phase 1B of a technology demonstrator for FCAS, and funding for additional national work, the source said.

French and German defense ministers welcomed the parliamentary approval, along with the outgoing chief executive of Airbus Defense and Space, and the chief executive of MBDA, a European missile maker.

That parliamentary approval came with conditions which signalled a determination for close political control by the powerful Bundestag.

France, Germany and Spain are partner nations on FCAS and its Next Generation Weapon System, a core element comprising a next generation fighter and remote carrier drones.

FCAS includes a command and control network dubbed combat cloud, to link up manned and unmanned aircraft, and hook up aircraft including a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV, A400M transports and MRTT inflight tankers.

The exact nature of the funding appeared to be rather complicated, as there was €1 billion beyond the €3.5 billion expected to be authorized. The three partner nations had been expected to contribute roughly a third of the core €3.5 billion.

The funding will apply to development work between 2021 and 2024. The industrial partners, Airbus for Germany, Dassault Aviation for France, and Indra for Spain were expected to sign contracts in the coming weeks.

The parliamentarians attached conditions for budgetary approval, a source close to the German side said, including insisting that intellectual property rights on key German technology be maintained.

That was intended as “a strong political signal to industry” in the integration of European defense industry, the source said.

Dassault has made French headlines, insisting on protecting IPR on the planned fighter jet. The family controlled company, which will be prime contractor on the  fighter jet, has said it would share technology on the new program but has resisted calls from Airbus to share know-how on previous programs.

The parliamentarians called for work on FCAS and NGWS to be kept in close parallel lines and for industrial partners to speed up agreement on the program structure.

There are estimates the overall budget for FCAS could be some €100 billion.

A further condition was for parliament to review industrial proposals before granting funds for phase 2, which will allow production of a technology demonstrator of the new fighter. That phase 2 is due to run 2024 to 2027, with the demonstrator fighter jet expected to fly in 2027.

There was relief for the German government, which had negotiated last minute revisions with the Social Democrats to win parliamentary backing.

France welcomed the German parliamentary approval.

“The Bundestag has just approved a crucial step for the construction of the FCAS and our future European fighter aircraft,” French armed forces minister Florence Parly said on a social platform. “Together, we continue to build a strong and concrete European defense.”

Airbus Defense and Space said on a social platform, “Big milestone achieved!” and tipped its hat in tribute to its outgoing chief executive, Dirk Hoke: “Chapeau, Dirk!”

Hoke is leaving Airbus DS July 1 and will pursue opportunities outside the aerospace company.

That Bundestag backing was “a key step towards contract award for a seamless and on-time continuation of this important European program,” Hoke said on his social platform account.

The FCAS project would boost “European operational and technological sovereignty,” he said.

“With our partners, we are committed to build the Future Combat Air System that will contribute to the European defencs and its sovereignty,” said Eric Béranger, MBDA chief executive.

Dassault declined comment.

The armed drones and nuclear weapon capability of FCAS presented problems for the Greens party, said a March 19 research note from European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.  The ecology party is expected to hold a position in the next German government coalition,

“For the Greens, as for the Social Democrats (SPD), autonomous weapons are a big ‘no,’” the note said. “Both see today’s remotely piloted armed drones as only one step removed from tomorrow’s fully autonomous weapon systems.”

The German air force flies the Tornado fighter, which carries US built atomic gravity bombs, and if Berlin dropped out of sharing a Nato nuclear capability with the retirement of the Tornado, there would be no need for a new fighter to carry nuclear weapons, the note said.

Even financing development of a nuclear capable system would jar with the treaty for prohibition of nuclear weapons, which the Greens have called for Germany to sign, said the note, titled “How Germany’s Greens could spell the end for the Franco-German fighter jet.”

There is a young “realistic” part of the Greens party, said the source close to the German side, indicating there would be backing for the FCAS.

Germany goes to the polls in September. The parliament closing for the summer break meant there was urgency for the Bundestag approving funding for FCAS.

Editor’s Note

The Airbus Defence team published comments highlighting the importance of this vote and understandably so.

This was good news to fund the next phase of the program.

Most of the press has highlighted the challenge of getting as one commentator has put it: “to get the nations to fly in formation.”

But there is an even larger problem, which has been largely ignored but which U.S. procurement history provides warning signs. 

The most relevant of which is the fate of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater program. 

This program launched a plan for an integrated, connected Coast Guard force to replace the legacy stove piped one. 

Sound familiar.

Yet it failed. 

It failed in part because of the challenge of being able to provide demonstrable progress in the overall system of systems versus progress with regard to individual platforms or capabilities.

The program was making clear progress understood from the standpoint of the program indicators themselves; but system of systems programs are complicated when it comes to briefing industrial committees in a legislature let alone the more ambitious goals of FCAS to show national gains within an overall program described as one providing “European sovereignty.”

DH26

Exercise Phoenix Strike

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Sappers from 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment’s (3 CER) 16th Combat Engineer Squadron developed their demolitions proficiencies on Exercise Phoenix Strike.

Experimenting with a variety of explosive and mechanical breaching methods enabled sappers to build their demolition skills and knowledge, including urban breaching, obstacle reduction, and cutting charges in a safe and controlled environment.

16 CE SQN provides the 3rd Brigade with a wide variety of unique military effects, with demolitions a key combat engineering function employed regularly within the Brigade.

Australian Department of Defence

June 17, 2021

Exercise Barce

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06/23/2021

The 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, conducted live fire serials in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland, during Exercise Barce 2021.

Honing their skills and sending rounds down range to provide offensive support to troops of the 7th Combat Brigade, the regiment practiced team work on the gun line with their Howitzer M777 Guns.

Exercise Barce 2021 represented the first time the 1st Regiment has conducted fire missions as a full regiment, since being deployed throughout 2020 on Operation COVID-19 Assist.

Australian Department of Defence

May 23, 2021