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Paris – France and other European nations should work together in military programs to allow Europe to reach “critical mass,” Guillaume Faury, chairman of GIFAS, the aerospace trade association, said Jan. 6, 2022.
It was important there was a “European dimension,” he said at the new year’s press conference held by the Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales.
Faury was answering in general terms questions concerning a clutch of European projects taking longer than expected to come to contract, or likely to be scaled back, or abandoned because of a lack of cooperation.
Faury is chief executive of Airbus, the airliner manufacturer based in Toulouse, southern France.
President Emmanuel Macron took up the rotating six-month presidency of the European Council of the European Union on Jan. 1. Macron has promoted a stronger role for the EU in defense and security, and it remains to be seen whether the German socialist-led coalition will back that call for greater European sovereignty in military matters.
Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence and Space are locked in contract negotiations on a technology demonstrator for a future combat air system. Germany is reported to be reluctant to work with France on upgrading the Tiger attack helicopter to standard 3. Berlin is also reported to be likely to drop out of a planned cooperation for new maritime patrol aircraft, dubbed maritime airborne warfare system (MAWS).
Faury said he was optimistic on the European drone project, while the other projects would follow their own flight paths.
On the European project to build a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone, it only remained for Spain to grant approval, as partner nations France, Germany, and Italy have authorized the deal, reported to be worth some €7 billion ($8 billion).
Germany issued in early 2020 a request for information to the US on the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, specialist publication Janes reported Nov. 24, quoting a Boeing defense, space and security executive.
A low availability of the German Tiger, French media reported, was among the reasons Berlin was reluctant to modernize the combat helicopter, launched as a Franco-German program in the Cold War, intended to counter the Soviet and Warsaw Pact tanks that might one day advance through the Fulda Gap.
France was in partnership talks with Spain on upgrading the Tiger, but the lack of German cooperation would drive up modernization costs and cut the number of French army Tiger helicopters to be upgraded.
Germany last year acquired five Boeing P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to replace the German navy’s fleet of Orions. Although German procurement of U.S. kit was billed as an interim measure, the French concern was that Poseidon would be a permanent feature, leaving the cooperative MAWS project dead in the water.
In the absence of German cooperation, a French alternative was reported to be a military adaptation of the Falcon 10X business jet, with the prime contractor Dassault working with Thales, an electronics company.
Meanwhile, Dassault last year won orders for 49 Rafales, comprising 37 for export and 12 for France, the company said Jan. 6 in a statement.
Those orders did not include the 80 Rafales acquired Dec. 3 by the United Arab Emirates, as the contracts were signed but had yet to enter into effect. That UAE deal was expected to be entered into the company accounts this year.
Dassault delivered 25 Rafale fighter jets to export clients in 2021, in line with company guidance, compared to 13 in the previous year, the company said.
The order book rose to 86 Rafales compared to 62 in 2020.
There were no Rafale orders in 2020, the first year of the Covid pandemic, which hit nations around the world.
The financial details would be released on March 4 with its 2021 results, the company said.
As part of the re-set of the Australian Army to support the evolving Australian defence strategy focused on the Indo-Pacific region, the Army has established a new army aviation command.
In an article published on the Australian Department of Defence website on December 2, 2021, this development was highlighted.
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, today announced the establishment of a new Army Aviation Command, at a ceremonial parade and helicopter flyover at Blamey Square, Canberra.
Lieutenant General Burr said the formation of the Army Aviation Command was a significant achievement for the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.
“The alignment of Army’s aviation capability under its own command optimises Army Aviation to better support land, amphibious and special operations,” Lieutenant General Burr said.
“The Command will improve resilience and adaptability and ensure Army’s training system is agile and contemporary.
“The unity, sense of purpose and focus in a single command will support our land forces to achieve more tasks, in more difficult environments.
“The command also represents the delivery of another key milestone set out in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2020 Force Structure Plan.”
Commanded by Major General Stephen Jobson, Aviation Command will deliver aviation capability to support Army’s land power to enable the Joint Force.
“Aviation Command will coordinate the introduction into service of new helicopters and unmanned aerial systems, and enhance and assure the safety, effectiveness and sustainability of current aircraft,” Major General Jobson said.
“The changes to Army’s aviation command and control structure will simplify the management of Army’s helicopters—one of the most multifaceted and resource-intensive platforms used by the land forces.”
As of today, 16th Aviation Brigade and the Army Aviation Training Centre will transfer from Army Forces Command to Aviation Command.
Army’s aviation capability provides aviation reconnaissance, firepower support, air assault, and battlefield support and surveillance, in combined, joint and interagency environments.
Army operates various types of aircraft including the Boeing CH-47F Chinook, Eurocopter Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter, NH Industries MRH90 Taipan multi-role helicopter and leased civil light utility helicopter.
The flag of the newly established Army Aviation Command flies over Blamey Square at Russell Offices, Canberra. Credit: Australian Department of Defence.
Members from the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Personnel Recovery Task Force and U.S. Africa Command contract Personnel Recovery conducted a complex, multi-day rescue at sea of a U.K. civilian mariner in distress, Nov. 13-14 2021.
Members of the WRN received an urgent request for a mariner experiencing symptoms of a heart attack aboard the U.S. flagged cargo ship Liberty Grace located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 500 nautical miles east of Kenya.
United States Air Force F-22 Raptors from the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndal Air Force Base, Florida and Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs landed in Norway on Aug. 15, 2018.
With the current focus on finding ways for the USMC to better support the joint force, a key opportunity might be overlooked.
How might the joint and coalition force reshape themselves to be capable of either doing or leveraging mobile basing?
The Marines with their triad of the Osprey-F-35-CH-53K operating off of sea bases can provide a significant launch point for the USAF, the US Navy and the US Army to learn how to weave multi-domain air-sea-land integration into a force leveraging mobile basing.
This is critical no matter where one finds oneself on the spectrum of warfare.
For the limited wars we are engaged in with the 21st century authoritarian powers, it is crucial to be present at the point of interest.
It is necessary as well to be persistent in your presence with reachback to other capabilities to ensure escalation control.
Mobile basing with kill web reach is a key element for escalation control and a key enabler for distributed integrated operations when needed to provide for a force able to enhance its survivability.
With the Osprey-F35-CH-53K triad and a reimagining of how to use and develop the amphibious task force capabilities, the joint and coalition force can evolve much more effectively in the near to mid term.
It is crucial to deliver integrated rather than dissipated combat capability which can be generated by so called-disruptive change rather than leveraging real capabilities at hand and expanding the strategic imagination of how to use such capabilities.
It is crucial to leverage what the U.S. forces already have at hand.
There is a strategic opportunity to expand significantly how to think about mobile basing within the evolution of the joint and coalition force,.
The next round of articles on mobile basing will focus on how to do this.
For the first round of articles on mobile basing which provide the foundation for the next round of analysis on this key subject, see the following:
The featured image highlights my forthcoming book on USMC transformation.
A key element of the presentations and discussions at the 1 December 2021 Williams Foundation seminar on building out sovereign capabilities was how Defence could best position itself to nurture, leverage and work with the evolving Australia space industrial eco-systsem.
AIRCDRE Terry van Haren (Retd.), former air attaché to the United States, provided a very clear focus on how he thought the ADF can best leverage an Australian space enterprise.
His focus was upon the emergence of “new” space which he had observed in the United States and the significant opportunities which such a strategic shift in the space business provided for Australia.
In his briefing, he presented a slide which nicely captured much of his argument:
As he put it at the seminar: There is a significant opportunity for Australia with the emergence of new space. At the delivery level, there are now a lot of options now available as a service launch, as a service, for example. Data has become a service; software has become a service. It means that government now could be a customer, and they can move with the speed of the industry. You don’t need to lock yourself in. You can change who you are using as new systems develop and emerge from new space. Sorry to the old primes here, you’re in the other column.
“But I think you probably need to actually adapt to this new space of environment as well.”
The major presentation at the seminar which provided answers to shaping a way ahead for defence with regard to the space sector was provided by Professor Tanya Monro, the Chief Defence Scientist (seen presenting at the seminar as featured photo for this article).
Notably, Defence is investing in space to improve the resilience and self-reliance of Defence’s space capabilities. Space has been recognized by the government as a Defence Sovereign Industry Capability Priority (SICP) in its own right.
She argued along the lines of van Haren that space is being disrupted by rapid technological change with the emergence of ‘New Space.’
This development has lowered the barriers to entry for all, including Australia companies.
The Government goal is to substantially increase our national space economy. And they are doing so in part by supporting a broader policy for Innovation, science and technology (IS&T) and seeing this effort as providing enablers for building a robust national space economy.
She argued that Defence space IS&T is a key Defence enabler for building a sovereign Defence space capability. “We are seeking to help create a sovereign industrial capability to provide increased space capability for Australia. To do that, we need to partner with great minds across our nation.”
She highlighted the importance of the defence innovation hub which can provided a way ahead for mission-directed research. And in the space domain by partnering with the national space sector can “deliver impacts through streamlined, agile and secure innovation pathways for our future space capabilities.”
In her presentation, she highlighted how she saw the way ahead with regard to Defence IS and To programs in the space domain area.
She noted that the “Defence Innovation Hub undertakes collaborative innovation activities with the potential to enhance Defence capabilities, including for space.” In other words, the re-set of how defence is looking to tap into Australian industry to generate greater defence capability is to be leveraged to provide for specific space capabilities, rather than the other way around.
She underscored the importance of the “Defence Rapid Prototyping Initiative (RPI) aims to increase use of innovative technologies to solve critical Defence problems with a Defence Capability Assurance Fund (CAF) to be introduced in the middle of the decade.”
In this effort, she highlighted the STaR Shots approach.
This is how the DS and T web page describes this approach:
“STaR Shots will be established to focus strategic research and drive the development of leap-ahead Defence capabilities. This strategy introduces a new concept – STaR Shots – that will concentrate strategic research efforts on a smaller number of bigger, specific and challenging problems of the scale and impact of JORN. An ambitious schedule will be set, with the aim of demonstrating leap-ahead capability within 10 years.
‘STaR Shots will be challenging, inspirational and aspirational, and will generate competitive capability best achieved through Australian investment. They will align with Defence strategic guidance, address future Force Structure priorities and be sponsored by at least one Defence 3-star leader. Crucially, they will have clearly defined transition pathways to take innovative ideas out of the laboratory and deliver real impact into the hands of the warfighter.
“STaR Shots will focus the strategic research investment program but with an increase in scale and intensity that will be supported by investment from other innovation initiatives and partner co-investment.
“The initial eight STaR Shots will be established to collectively support Defence’s ability to prevail in contested environments. Aligning with capability needs across each of the warfighting domains, they will enable Defence to get to the fight, shape how the ADF operates and generate new military effects.
“STaR Shots will be supported though investment in modelling and simulation, wargaming, prototyping, experimentation and trials. They will culminate in technology demonstrations during ADF exercises.
“The STaR Shots are deliberately ambitious and reflect Defence’s enduring commitment to invest in science and technology. As our strategic context evolves, new STaR Shots could be established to ensure that leap-ahead capabilities which align with Defence’s needs continue to be delivered.”[1]
The particular space-focused Star Shot program within the overall effort is to focus on “resilient multi-mission space.” The DS and T web page identifies this effort as follows:
“Providing resilient space-based services direct to the warfighter to enable the Australian Defence Force to prevail in increasingly contested operating environments.
“Context:
“Space-based systems play a vital role in all ADF and coalition operations, wherever they occur around the world. From providing precise location information and situational understanding of the operating environment to enabling personnel and platforms to stay connected, assured access to satellite services and the freedom to operate in space are critical to the ADF’s ability to protect and defend Australia’s national interests.
“Space is now a warfighting domain. Some countries are developing anti-satellite systems and denial-of-service measures that threaten space-based capabilities. Satellites and space systems used by Defence are becoming more vulnerable as the space domain changes from a benign environment into one that is increasingly congested and contested, where adversaries seek to limit the military advantage provided by space.
“An agile and potent future force will rely on assured access to resilient and responsive space services. Seamless interoperability with coalition partners will also be necessary to support diverse missions across multiple locations around the globe.
“Opportunities:
Advanced space-based surveillance capabilities to provide comprehensive situational awareness for superior decision-making.
Secure and resilient communications delivered from space for a highly networked force.
Resilient satellite services providing accurate position and timing information to enable precision effects in contested environments.
Advanced space domain awareness and control for sovereign space operations.
Autonomous space systems and processing capabilities to dynamically reconfigure and deliver space cloud services at speed and scale direct to the warfighter.
Space systems hardened against anti-satellite and denial-of-service measures.”[2]
Professor Monro provided a slide in her presentation which captured some of the key elements of the space-focuses STaR shot effort:
There is also a very helpful video which was released on 3 May 2020 which highlights key elements of this effort as well.
According to the narrator of that video, the heart of the effort is to shape a small satellite network that can deliver various data to ADF warfighters operating worldwide.
The focus is to leverage the innovations in LEO systems to be able to do so. Communications, imagery, position, navigation, and timing capabilities are envisaged for the ADF user. To do this, a focus is upon developing and testing new technologies and capabilities with SmartSat CR and to work small satellite integration.
In the interview which she did with the Williams Foundation she summarized how she saw the target goals and the way ahead:
“I don’t think it’s ever reasonable to expect that Australia will have a purely sovereign space capability, but we certainly need a much more sovereign one than we have now. We’re very dependent on access to foreign space assets. I don’t think Australia will ever have a purely independent sovereign space capability.
“And I don’t think we need one, but I do think we need a much more sovereign space capability than we have now. We need to know that when push comes a shove, we can rely on space assets to support our nation and its protection of its own interests, that our ADF can rely on having access to space when needed.
“We need to build very significant Australian sovereign industry capability to support that. And I think that that helps us be a better international partner. What we absolutely must do is work with our allies to make really clear where Australia has niche advantage, so that we can create opportunities for our companies to export to the world in those areas and that we can buy other complimentary areas of capability and technology from allies.
“For me, a future Australian sovereign space capability means assured access to the things we need when we need them under pressure. But it doesn’t mean every space asset that we use is sovereign. Defence has a range of innovation programs that are designed to help foster, support, and invest in new space technologies and capabilities.
“This includes the Defence Innovation Hub, which can accept great ideas from industry and really pull them up the technology readiness levels to the point where they could be demonstrated and tested in a defence context and then pulled through to acquisition programs.
“And it’s really exciting to see how many of these projects are now maturing to the point where they are serious acquisition prospects, and indeed a number are pulling through into capability. We also have things like The Next Generation Technologies Fund which can take earlier staged ideas to get them to the point where we could put them through that innovation pipeline.
“There are increasingly a range of different ways that companies, big and small can interact with defence. I think what we’re increasingly focusing on over the next couple of years is getting engaged with industry earlier. Hearing your good ideas and working out how we can reduce the barriers for you to be able to develop new technologies in a defence context.”
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker with the 927th Air Refueling Wing, Florida refuels a U.S. Air Force F-35 Lighting II with the 33rd Fighter Wing, Florida.
Sovereign Australian space requires an Australian industrial space eco-system to be shaped and enhanced.
How might this be done?
Crafting, shaping, and building out an Australian space industry able to provide for sovereign capabilities for the Australian government decision makers is based on the enhanced opportunities in commercial space.
Nick Leake, head of satellite and space systems Optus, provided a comprehensive look back at the company’s experience in the space business. Optus is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Australia. It has operated satellites as part of its business since 1985. Currently, the company operates 10 satellites with Optus 10 being the latest of their satellites.
As noted by the company: “In 2003, Optus successfully launched the world’s largest hybrid commercial and military communications satellite Optus C1, together with the Australian Defence Forces. Optus C1 is the Australian hotbird with twenty four commercial Ku-band transponders operating in beams covering Australia, New Zealand, the nearby offshore islands, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii and South East Asia. Optus C1 carries subscription TV services and Aurora Free-to-Air radio and television services to remote areas in Australia.”[1]
All of this means that Leake spoke from the standpoint of several years of operating experience as an Australian firm with real-world experience in working a commercial telecoms satellite fleet. His discussion focused on the challenges of operating a satellite network in the growing presence of space junk and in the face of powers that believed they had the right through ASAT systems to place deliberate “junk” to disrupt or destroy a perceived adversary’s satellites.
Nick Leake addressing the Williams Foundation Space seminar, December 1,. 2021.
Leake underscored a number of key points about the interaction between commercial space and the need for government to focus on maintain some kind of order for space operations.
“We are looking towards the future. We are looking for some cohesion within Australia with Defence and the Australian Space Agency to develop tools to give us better safety in operating our geostationary spacecraft.
“The C1 spacecraft is 18 years old. We operate that satellite in what they call inclined orbit. So we operate spacecraft at 36,000 kilometers in a 70-kilometer box. We fly it in a figure of eight because it has the pull of the earth, pull of the moon, pull of the sun, so it is never static. We try to keep it in this box, pointing at earth and if you don’t have a spectrum filing, you’ve got nowhere to put your spacecraft. It’s incredibly important that you keep your spacecraft, at your orbital slots and that you maintain those spacecrafts.
“If you move a spacecraft away, you’ve got three years to put that spacecraft back to keep your finding in use, so it’s called bringing into use. That’s an important part of a commercial operator, but it’s even more important for our Defence forces that they maintain their orbital filings across the orbital arcs that they want to use their spacecraft.”
The impact of evolving commercial space for defence and security operations could not be more clear than in the domain of ISR.
In his presentation to the seminar, AIRCDRE Richard Keir (Retd.) Strategic Advisor for National Security and Intelligence to Geospatial Intelligence Pty. Ltd, provided a targeted presentation on how the ISR demands for the civil, security and military sectors can benefit from commercial geospatial efforts.
There are a number of conclusions one can draw from the emergence of a robust commercial space enabling ISR Market.
Notably, since 2002, the commercial space-based earth observation market has become very dynamic and global. Essentially, Australia is involved in this market and there are clear opportunities for the Australian government to get better value out of this market for it national security requirements. In effect, commercial imagery and data from that imagery can be used along with classified sources and methods and thereby enhance the scope and quality of the data collected.
By taking advantage of the growing number of commercial satellite capabilities and constellations, the Australian government can enable a whole of government strategy in defence and security. Because commercial space based ISR data and information is unclassified, it can form a solid foundation for information sharing with a wider array of allies and partners than highly classified imagery. This can prove very useful in terms of crisis management and escalation control, notably as information war is a core reality today.
For example. in discussions I had during my past visits with the Maritime Border Command, it is very clear that such capabilities fit right into their evolving approach to working from maritime domain awareness shared with partners and allies.
AIRCDRE Richard Keir (Retd.) speaking at the Williams Foundation space seminar December 1, 2021.
The Maritime Domain Awareness dynamic is an arena where shared information s crucial for both whole of government and working with partners and allies. In the recently released White Paper which Keir referenced in his presentation which his company just released, the nature of the MDA market for commercial space is explained in the following terms:
“MDA is enhanced by space-based Earth observation as it has unique capabilities to image large swathes of the ocean and complex littoral environments using a mix of EO, IR and SAR imaging sensors – fused with AIS – and increasingly assisted by RF sensors. The latter assistance provided by RF sensors is especially useful in cases where a vessel has not enabled its AIS or has deliberately mis-characterised itself. RF sensors may provide enough of a clue to tip and cue an all-weather SAR capability or a good weather/daylight hours EO capability to classify or identify the vessel.
“The use of more novel sensors can also prove valuable in MDA. For example, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a sensor on board the Suomi National PolarOrbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NOAA-20 weather satellites. The sensor has the capability to detect lights on vessels at sea that are often used to attract fish.15
“Because MDA is an international issue that transcends national borders and spans issues of national security through to economic interests, information sharing is often fundamental to its success. No nation can sustain 24/7/365 full situational awareness of the oceans in isolation, so the most efficient way to achieve the desired level of knowledge is to share information with partner nations. Indeed, counterintuitively, national sovereignty frequently depends on the sharing of data, information, and intelligence between likeminded nations to achieve MDA.
“Commercial space-based ISR data is unclassified, has high resolution, and is capable of 24/7/365 availability across the gamut of EO, IR, SAR, AIS and RF. It is therefore of great value to nations such as Australia in its efforts to facilitate the MDA of developing nations because it will generally have fewer constraints on its use.”[2]
The main presentation outlining the current state of the Australian space eco-system and the projected way ahead was provided by Anthony Murfett. Deputy Head of the Australian Space Agency, which was launched in 2018.
The purpose of the Space Agency is “ to transform and grow a globally respected Australian space industry that lifts the broader economy, inspires and improves the lives of Australians – underpinned by strong national and international engagement.” And “the Australian Space Agency aims to triple the size of the Australian space economy (from A$3.9B to $12B) and create an additional 20,000 space jobs by 2030.”
The current situation finds the Australian space business operating at a level of AU$4.6 billion with 11,560 jobs existing across the Australian space industry. The investment in space capability growth is AU$7 billion with AU$800+ coming from investment by the Australian government in civil space and AU$2 billion coming from a pipeline of investment across all the Australian federal states and territories.
Growing civil space provides a significant opportunity to expand the capabilities for the Australian defence sector as there are a number of key areas alignment between the two sectors. Murfett identified four key areas: satellite-based capability and services, Space Domain awareness, Position, Navigation and Timing and Earth Observation.
In the following slide from Murfett’s presentation, the extant capacity in adjacent industries within the Australian space industry eco system were identified:
He highlighted as well key infrastructure investments being made in Australia which can be leveraged as well to enhance the evolving Australian space industrial eco system. This includes the AU$1.3 billion in the modern manufacturing initiative of the Australian government, the establishment of a robotics, automation and AI command control centre (Fugro Marine), a space data analysis facility (Pawsey supercomputing Centre) and a missional control at Lot Fourteen (Saber Astronautics).
There is an agreement with NASA which is part of the way ahead for Australian space as well. The agreement with NASA means that Australia is part of the Trailblazer program of the Moon to Mars initiative. A semi-autonomous, Australian-made rover is to be included in future NASA mission to the Moon. This effort draws on Australia’s world-leading remote operations capability and the Rover will collect lunar regolith and NASA will extract oxygen from this.
Shaping a way ahead for Australian space launch capability is a key part of the way ahead. And in this slide from his presentation, Murfett highlighted the perceived way ahead:
A number of international agreements are being worked to open the doors internationally for the Australian space sector. The first is a technology safeguard agreement with the United States which is establishing principles under which U.S. spaceflight technology can be licensed for export to Australia for use in spaceflight activities. The Australians are working with India on India’s first human spaceflight program where the Australian Government and ISRO are working together to track the Gaganyaan mission from Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CKI). And finally, there is an Australian-UK space bridge framework arrangement which Increases connection, exchange, and investment across AU-UK space sectors.
Murfett concluded his presentation by identifying what he saw as the next phase for the Australian civil space effort: Deliver the remaining technical roadmaps to highlight opportunities for investment; support industry to scale; connect across government to highlight how space can support growth, safety, and security; connect with the Australian community and show the value of space to our everyday lives and to inspire the nation and support the future workforce.
This last point was underscored in other presentations as well, for example, in the presentation by David Ball, regional director, Australia/New Zealand for Lockheed Martin Space.
“The young folks these days aren’t coming into space as we would need them to. In numbers, the Space Agency has some very aggressive numbers from government in terms of the numbers of jobs they need to create. To do that we need to inspire our younger generation and give them the path and show them there are real, tangible jobs in the space sector in this country.”
Murfett provided a fitting comment to highlight the way ahead for defence working with the evolving Australian space industrial eco system: “There is an Australian industry here that can actually deliver on Defence’s future ambitions.”
I would add that the challenge is to ensure that this happens in the way which fits as well into the evolution of the ADF, its forces, its strategy and its concepts of operations.
The featured phot is Anthony Murfett, Deputy Head of the Australian Space Agency speaking the Williams Foundation seminar on space.
