Robbin Laird, Author at Second Line of Defense

From Marine to Artist and Poet: The Journey of the Life of Ted Pellegatta, Jr.

Posted on March 14, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

03/14/2020

By Ed Timperlake

In 1958 the Marines went ashore in Lebanon to save lives.

In backing up that Presidential mission a young Marine, Ted Pellegatta, was part of the security detachment for Admiral Holloway who served as the Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic and Med Forces.

“Land the landing party” was ordered by President Eisenhower to bring some stability in the formerly peaceful nation of Lebanon.

Ike who retired as a five star General of the Army as President knew how to marshal the appropriate forces to bring regional stability.

The operation was called Blue Bat

President Eisenhower of the United States answered Camille’s request by forming Operation Blue Bat to intervene in the crisis.

The aim of the operation was to protect the regime against the Muslim rebellion and any intended threats from Lebanese rivals.

The strategy was to take charge of the Beirut International Airport, the port of Beirut and the areas surrounding the city.

Operation Blue Bat included about 14,000 men made up of 8,500 US Army forces and 5,670 US Marine Corps

Ted Pellegatta in leaving the Corps and becoming a civilian watched a generation of American wars that flowed through our history; Vietnam, Desert Storm, and US combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

All during that march of history, Pellegatta demonstrated and shaped his artistic photographic and poetic gifts in order to bring beauty and prophetic insights into the world.

He can be considered as “A warrior poet”

In his life’s journey, he has highlighted the beauty of Rappahannock County Virginia. It is a land of remarkable beauty on the eastern side of the mountains known as “the sunny side” of the Blue Ride.

He has produced two books of note which celebrate the beauty of the region.

The first is a collection of photographs reproduced in his book Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

The second is a recently published volume of poetry.

This book is entitled: Lyrics on a Page.

Ted Pellegatta, using his exceptional eye, has captured the beautiful visual images one of the most serene and scenic locales in America in his book, Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

From the introduction to his book, he highlights the focus of the book:

We Look but do not see

Here are a few glimpses

I would like to share with you.

His photographs have local captains like town roads, rivers and hollows: Woodville, Shade, Fodderstack Road, Jordon River, Jenkins Hollow, “Tally-Ho” (Hunt), Sperryville, and several shots of the most visual physical land mark “Old Rag” Mountain.

They are thoughtful insightful depictions of nature and of human endeavors: farms, cabins, cattle fences, and horse riders and hounds.

These images are symbolically connected to the dignity of being committed to the land.

The power of his work is lasting such that generations yet to come will have a pictorial legacy of what to always protect.

As inevitable development encroaches on the sunny side of the Blue Ridge perhaps someone someday will use Ted’s images in Virginia’s Blue Ridge and say please pause to think a little and do not destroy such beauty.

The young Marine who very early made a commitment to stand for something greater then himself in his most recent work is also a talented poet and song writer.

As mentioned above, his book of poetry Lyrics On A Page has just been published and some of the poems will be set to music.

One example of his poem being set to music is a profound almost Shelly’s “Ozymandias” warning set to his voice and poetry:

“Place to Be Rappahannock”

“Old Rag Mountain

“Here a Billion years hike to the top look around

“See what’s here

Before it’s gone”

America is blessed to have such people like Lance Corporal Pellegatta USMC 0311 (rifleman) who made his life’s journey from being part of a Presidential mission bringing peace and stability to the Middle East to sitting at the Headmasters Pub in the town of Sperryville, Virginia holding court on the pure joy of life.

Visiting HMAS Rankin: The Collins Class Shapes a Way Ahead for the Next Generation Australian Submarine

Posted on March 14, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

By Robbin Laird

On March 12, 2020 I had a chance to visit HMAS Sterling and to visit the HMAS Rankin, one of the Collins class submarines homeported at HMAS Sterling on Garden Island. When I informed a senior U.S. Navy Admiral that I was going to visit the Royal Australian Navy at Garden Island, he wrote:

“Awesome, say hello to the fellas down south, incredible team! And absolutely critical in/out of a fight.”

That kind of joint respect can be found throughout the submarine community which the US Navy has with the Aussies, the Brits, the French and the Japanese navies. In fact, cross learning among the key navies is a key path to driving innovation as new threats are faced and new technologies provide opportunities for significant innovation.

I was privileged to have as the host one of Australia’s most experienced submariners and the CO of HMAS Rankin, CDR Robin Dainty. And that kind of mutual respect and cross learning was highlighted throughout our time together.

We discussed a wide range of issues, but I am going to focus on a core one facing the transition in the Australian submarine force: how will the “living” and “evolving” legacy of the Collins class shape the new attack submarine coming a decade out into the Royal Australian Navy?

It is important to realize that the demand side and the concepts of operations side of innovation affecting the naval forces will be very significant in the decade ahead. This will be a very innovative decade, one which I have characterized as building the distributed integrated force or the integrated distributed force.

What this means for the submarine side of the house and for ASW is working new ways to cooperate both within national navies and across the air-naval-land enterprise of the allied forces. The decade will see new ways to link up distributed assets to deliver appropriate effects at the point of interest in a crisis. It will involve working new weapon and targeting solution sets; it will see an expansion of the multi-mission responsibilities for platforms working in the distributed force.

And the Collins class will be participating in this path of innovation and lessons learned as well as technologies evolved both on the ship or the extended battlespace enabling the evolution of an integrated distributed force.

I asked CDR Dainty how he looked at this period ahead and he highlighted the importance of the innovation which Collins was going through for shaping the capabilities which the new class of submarines would be expected to continue and to extend.

He noted throughout the tour, how technology had evolved onboard the Collins class and his expectation that a considerable amount of the ship’s digital and electronic infrastructure would be refreshed on the new build submarine, but that the core competencies being demonstrated in the evolution of Collins would remain central to the new build submarine.

The evolution between platforms and systems can clearly be seen onboard Collins. The Collins which was originally procured is vastly different from the Collins class today.

A key part of this is the Australian submarine sharing common combat systems with the US Navy, and having state of the art sonar systems onboard and demonstrated skill sets by the crew in key naval combat areas.

Because the US Navy is a nuclear navy, the diesel class submarines like Collins have very complimentary capabilities to those of the US Navy. A diesel submarine like Collins can maneuver rapidly in ways a nuclear attack submarine will not. It can operate in littorals in ways a nuclear attack submarine will not.

And of course, the nuclear attack submarine’s concepts of operations being quite different from that of a diesel submarine provides complimentary capabilities to those of a diesel fleet as well.

These complimentary skills will be enhanced as the evolution of the combat systems, notably the communications capabilities, evolve and allow for greater transparency for air and sea assets to work together in distributed operations.

The collaboration with the U.S. in weapons is another key aspect of cross-learning as well. The rapid evolution of the strike weapons and the evolving capabilities to support special forces or to envisage the coming of TLAMS to the Australian navy is part of the innovation which can be anticipated in the decade ahead.

CDR Dainty highlighted throughout our discussion a wide variety of ways innovation was ongoing with regard to the Collins class and how important he saw this innovation as shaping the way ahead for the new build submarine.

The Collins class may become a legacy class with the introduction of the new build submarine; but its legacy will be a living one as the concepts of operations, the collaborative skill sets, and the combat innovations of the decade ahead shape the legacy going forward.

In effect, as the shaping and evolution of the distributed integrated force matures, the concept of a submarine wolfpack will emerge but very differently from the World War II concept. That wolfpack will include a variety of task force assets being directed at the point of concern the crisis management or combat area. And will include not simply maritime assets, but air and land assets, such as ADA as well.

The integrated distributed force is being driven initialty with a reshaping the wolfpack for the air combat force driven by fifth generation aircraft but over time will encompass the entire joint and coalition force.

CDR Robin Dainty

Robin Dainty was born in Grimsby, England in 1967. His father had previously served in the Royal Navy on Minesweepers and Submarines from 1953-1963 and it had always been Dainty’s intention to follow his father’s lead. Towards the end of his schooling, Dainty applied to join the RN as an Able Seaman.

He joined HMS RALEIGH, the recruit training school in June 1983 and whilst there applied for submarine training as a direct entry submariner. Having completed his submarine training the following year, his first posting was to HMS Hermes (Aircraft Carrier) which came as a shock to both he and his family.

Shortly afterwards he joined his first submarine, HMS Revenge (SSBN) and was awarded his Dolphins in November 1984. Promoted to Leading Seaman in 1987 and then Petty Officer in 1990, Dainty served in HMS Ocelot (SSK), HMS Torbay (SSN) and HMS Talent (SSN). Having been promoted to Chief Petty Officer in 1998 he was then selected for Commissioned Rank and joined Britannia Naval College in 1999.

Dainty returned to the submarine service after a short period in HMS Leeds Castle (FPV), enjoying periods in HMS Triumph (SSGN) and two tours in HMS Turbulent (SSGN), the first as the Navigating Officer and the second as the Operations Officer. These postings allowed him to witness the full range of submarine operations, including service during both Gulf War One and Gulf War Two.

He successfully completed Submarine Command Course (Perisher) in 2007 and then joined HMS Vengeance(SSBN) as the Executive Officer. He had the honour to Command Vengeance for a short period and Vengeance was to be his last appointment in the Royal Navy, joining the Royal Australian Navy in May 2011.

Initial service was in HMAS Dechaineux, followed by two years as the Executive Officer of HMAS Waller. He returned to HMAS Dechaineux in November 2014 as the Commanding Officer, departing her in January 2017 for an overseas posting at COMSUBPAC, Hawaii. Having returned to WA in February 2019, Dainty was selected to Command HMAS Collins.

Commander Dainty assumed command of HMAS Rankin in January 2020.

HMAS Rankin

Based at Fleet Base West in Western Australia, HMAS Rankin is the final of the six Collins class submarines to enter service in the Royal Australian Navy. These submarines are a formidable element in Australia’s defence capability.

Rankin was launched in Adelaide, South Australia by Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin’s daughter, Ms Patricia Rankin (on behalf of her mother, Mrs Molly McLean) on 7 November 2001 and commissioned at Fleet Base West, Western Australia on 29 March 2003.

HMAS Rankin’s operational characteristics and range have been tailored specifically for its defence and two-ocean surveillance role in the Royal Australian Navy. Designed to be as quiet as advanced technology can achieve, Collins class submarines have been developed from five generations of submarines designed and built by the Swedish Navy.

One of the first submarines to be totally designed by computers, HMAS Rankin boasts a vast range of features. They include a high-performance hull form, highly automated controls, low indiscretion rates, high shock resistance, optimal noise suppression and an efficient weapons handling and discharge system.

The submarine moves silently on electric power supplied to the propulsion motor by banks of new technology lead-free batteries. The batteries are charged by three onboard diesel generator sets.

The sophisticated combat system gathers its intelligence from its sensors, computes the input and then launches and directs weapons.

Since commissioning, HMAS Rankin has successfully conducted a range of activities throughout the region in support of Australian Defence Force exercises, operations and the government’s strategic directives.

HMAS Rankin is named after Lieutenant Commander Robert William ‘Oscar’ Rankin, RAN who distinguished himself in action during World War II. He commanded the sloop HMAS Yarra (II) and was conducting convoy escort duties in the Northern Indian Ocean when attacked by a Japanese force in February 1942. Facing a far superior force of three heavy cruisers and two destroyers, Rankin gallantly positioned his ship between the Japanese and the scattering convoy vessels. Rankin fought his ship to the very last in an intense exchange. He was killed when an eight inch salvo hit the bridge shortly after passing the order to abandon ship.

HMAS Rankin’s motto “Defend The Weak” is testimony to Lieutenant Commander Rankin and Yarra’s determination to defend the unarmed convoy ships.

The featured photo: Submariners pass berthing lines as HMAS Rankin comes alongside Diamantina Pier, Fleet Base West, returning home after the submarine completed a nine month deployment.

HMAS_Rankin_datasheet

Also, see the following:

The USAF Thinks About the Wolfpack: The Renorming of Airpower

Commander Robin Dainty, Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Rankin at sea.

HMAS Rankin at the completion of the formation exercise in Cockburn Sound.

725 Squadron's MH-60R 'Romeo' helicopter conducts an Anti-Submarine exercise with HMAS Rankin in the Eastern Australian Exercise Area.

A 723 Squadron Bell 429 helicopter transferring personnel to HMAS Rankin in Jervis Bay.

A HMAS Stirling Port Services member assists in bringing HMAS Rankin alongside Diamantina Pier after being away on deployment for four months.

New Government: New Defense Industrial Review of the UK

Posted on March 14, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

In a March 5, 2020 article published on the UK Ministry of Defence website, it was announced that “a review that will revitalize the UK’s defence and security industrial sectors and improve productivity has been launched.”

The review will identify how the government can take a more strategic approach to ensure competitive, innovative and world-class defence and security industries. It will also suggest how defence in particular might better drive investment and prosperity across the UK.

The Ministry of Defence will lead a cross-government team, engaging closely with industry, Parliament, and other stakeholders over the course of the review. The findings will feed into the broader Integrated review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development that the government is currently conducting.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

“Our relationship with industry is crucial to maintaining the UK’s position as a Tier 1 military power. The review will ensure we are in the best position to support industry whilst guaranteeing the most advanced, world-leading capabilities for our armed forces.”

Many of the UK’s defence and security companies are going from strength to strength, but there are a range of challenges for the future. The review will examine the way industry is being impacted by the pace of technological change, the need for innovation and partnership, and increased competition from abroad, alongside the difficulty of ensuring that we have the necessary skills. The review will then consider how these challenges are addressed and how the government can maximise potential opportunities.

The defence and security industry employs hundreds of thousands of people, including thousands of apprentices, across the UK. From building warships in Scotland and armoured vehicles in Wales, to manufacturing aircraft in England and satellites in Northern Ireland. The MOD invested £19.2-billion into industry, commerce and employment in the last year.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said:

“The UK defence and security industries play a crucial role in maintaining our global influence and relationships with allies, as well as supporting employment and economic growth across the country.

“The review will explore the role of the defence and security sectors in ensuring that we have the right capabilities for safeguarding our national security whilst driving prosperity and innovation across all parts of the United Kingdom.

“Our industries are also at the forefront of technology development in creating new ways to prevent and defend against terrorism and serious organised crime. On the international stage, UK defence and security companies play a crucial role in maintaining the UK’s global influence, underpinning our strategic partnerships with key allies.”

The analysis undertaken as part of the review will inform findings of the broader Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy which will be taking place in parallel.

This review will face a number of challenges, including Brexit and its impact on its relationships with European industries, notably for Thales, Airbus, Leonardo and MBDA.

And with non-European states, the relationships with Canada, Australia and the United States are crucial as well with key challenges facing those various partnerships as seen in the F-35, new frigate, loyal wingman and other key programs.

A recent piece published by RUSI by three former senior UK defense officials raised their concerns about the review.

Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s Chief Special Adviser, is planning a full review of defence procurement. This is welcome if, unlike recent reviews, it is thorough and does not shirk politically embarrassing issues. Over 90 percent of defence programmes are brought in on time and budget, and many by excellent agile small and medium-sized enterprises, so Cummings – or more appropriately those who will execute the review – will need to focus on large, high-risk programmes.

Almost all major public sector procurement is bedevilled by cost escalation. Just look at the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor programme (up from an estimate of £16 to over £20 billion), Crossrail (up 1½ times to £18 billion) or the HS2 high speed railway project, which was initially estimated to cost £34 billion, but may yet end up costing £88 billion). Cost overruns, serious delay, poor delivery and lack of political consistency are not problems confined to the Ministry of Defence. So a thorough review could yield benefits right across government.

The principal procurement failings include over-specification, over-optimistic initial cost forecasting (which our bidding process encourages), poor contracting, political and ideological interference, inappropriate use of public–private partnerships, delay and change in specification, inadequate examination of through-life costs, lack of adequate programme control, and political reprogramming caused by budget cuts. All these lead to avoidable cost increases.

In a recent letter to the Times, David Gould, a much respected senior civil servant, contrasted his experience in defence procurement in UK with his new employer in Australia: ‘Striving to execute UK strategic programmes without knowing how much money would be available in any year (sometimes monthly) [compared] with Australia where I was given clear and simple objectives by a Government willing consistently to fund them’.

For the complete RUSI article, see the following:

https://rusi.org/commentary/spotlight-britain’s-impending-defence-procurement-review

HMAS Toowoomba Operating in the Middle East

Posted on March 14, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

HMAS Toowoomba is currently providing support to the United States led International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) in the Middle East Region as part of the ship’s six month deployment on Operation MANITOU.

Toowoomba’s Ship’s Company of 190 will support both the IMSC and the Combined Maritime Force 150 as part of the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to support international efforts to promote security, stability and prosperity in the region.

This is the 68th rotation of a Royal Australian Navy unit in the Middle East Region since 1990 and is Toowoomba’s sixth deployment to the region and second as part of Operation MANITOU.

Credit: Australian Department of Defence

March 4, 2020.

The New Build Australian Attack Submarine: Convergent Forces and Expectations

Posted on March 14, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

By Robbin Laird

This week I have had the opportunity to visit Western Australia.

I visited both the Henderson shipyard and HMAS Stirling, the Collins submarine base.

I will write in detail about those visits and discussions at the two facilities in the near future.

These visits when combined with earlier visits with the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney and in Adelaide have provided an opportunity to look at the real-world aspect of reshaping the Australian Navy as part of the ADF’s transformation.

In various visits to Canberra over the past six years, I have had the chance to talk with many civilians and uniformed military about the launch of the new “continuous shipbuilding” approach.

This approach is how the Commonwealth is shaping its way ahead in building the three new classes of ships, the Offshore Patrol Vessels, the ASW frigates, and the new attack submarine.

In all three cases, the Australians are working with European primes to build the new class of ships, but with American combat systems as the integrative force throughout the entire fleet.

The Aegis system is a key thread throughout the surface fleet.

And the OPV will use a Saab 9LV derivative which will be the Australian tactical interface that will allow it to talk to the Aegis based combat management system in the major surface combatants.

There clearly is significant debate about the way ahead with the new build attack submarine.

But this article is not about the political debate.

My focus here is upon what I see as the convergent expectations, pressures, and forces that shape Commonwealth and Royal Australian Navy expectations about what the new attack submarine will deliver in the future.

The first is obvious at Henderson shipyard.

The OPV is establishing a template for what the Aussies mean by continuous shipbuilding.

The digital build process coupled with industry 4.0 management and integration processes are clearly being put in place by the LUERSSEN Australian team.

And the template being shaped in this program lays down the foundation of what is expected or the launch point from which shipbuilding in Australia needs to look like going forward.

I will deal with this template in more detail based on my visits to Henderson in a future piece, but the template being shaped by OPV will evolve with the ASW Frigate and further evolve with the new build attack submarine.

This means that the Naval Group team needs to pay close attention to what the OPV build process will deliver.

The second key aspect is the evolution of Collins operations and capabilities over the next decade and a half.

Although this is a legacy platform, the combat capabilities and experience are not. The Collins submarine force with its combat systems which allow for integration with the US Navy and other key allies is part of the evolving distributed maritime force being shaped for full spectrum crisis management in the Pacific.

Lessons to be learned will be taken forward to the new class of attack submarines, with an expectation that the capabilities onboard the evolving Collins will be enhanced by new shipboard infrastructure onboard the new short fin Barracuda.

To give one example, U.S. nuclear submarines have different capabilities and con-ops from the Collins, but the Collins delivers a number of capabilities which a nuclear attack submarine is not optimized to perform.

In an era where new C2 capabilities are being shaped to better integrate the undersea force into an integrated air-sea naval force, these capabilities which will be shaped in the decade ahead will require skill sets on Collins which will be transferred to the new build attack submarine.

A third key aspect is infrastructure.

A challenge which Collins posed for the Royal Australian Navy clearly has been to build the appropriate infrastructure, including training, to unlock the potential of the fleet.

As Vice Admiral (Retired) Barrett highlighted with regard to the strategic focus by the Navy on shaping a submarine enterprise and its importance going ahead:

“In the last ten years of Collins capability management Navy has embraced the outcomes of the Coles Review that prompted an enterprise approach and fundamentally changed how the submarine force looked at Collins maintenance and availability.

“The result has been resounding turnaround in capability which has allowed much greater engagement with allied submarine forces and a more meaningful contribution to theatre ASW.”

As Australia focuses on building up to 12 new submarines, new infrastructure clearly will have to be built, perhaps as well in the Eastern part of the country, and this build will be almost certainly largely Australian.

So when one is discussing % of Australian content in the new submarine, it would make sense to expand the discussion to embrace the overall submarine enterprise.

The visit to Henderson was notable in terms of seeing what the joint venture partner of Lurseen, CIVMEC, has done from an infrastructure point of view.

I will highlight this in a future article, but the infrastructure being built for the OPV is impressive, and clearly, something of this scale will happen as infrastructure is built for the new class of submarines as well.

A fourth key aspect is evolving approaches to fleet management.

It is clear from several discussions which I have had with the Royal Australian Navy and Department of Defence officials, that a significant effort is underway to establish much more effective fleet management situational awareness and tools for determining both platform availability as well combat effectiveness.

This requires the Australian Navy to shape data which flows from distinct platforms to be managed in ways that allow for much more effective common force would evaluations and determinations.

This means that by the time the new build submarine enters the force, there will be a clear expectation that its logistical and operational parameters will flow into a common management data base.

Or put another way, the short fin Barracuda is NOT a replacement for the Collins class.

It will enter the force as a key asset in the evolving integrated distribute force in which Collins may be a legacy platform, but not the skill sets and systems which will have evolved over the next decade or more in front of the operation of the submarine.

And the decade ahead will be a very demanding one, in terms both of how the threat evolves as well as the expectations of how to integrate distribute assets into an effective combat force tailored for crisis management.

For submarines, this means more multi-mission capabilities will built into the fleet, along with the evolution of the types of weapons which will be operated form the fleet or targeting determinations for other platforms to perform strike missions.

This experience will precede the first deployments of the new build submarine but will form a clear set of expectations from the Royal Australian Navy concerning what the new class of submarines will need to deliver in terms of capability for the ADF as an integrated distributed force.

Northern Viper 2020

Posted on March 13, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

03/13/2020

U.S. Marines and members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conduct a Heliborne insert at Hokudaien Training Area, Hokkaido, Japan, Feb. 5, 2020.

Northern Viper is a regularly scheduled training exercise that is designed to enhance the interoperability of the U.S. and Japan Alliance by allowing Marine Air-Ground Task Forces from III Marine Expeditionary Force to maintain their lethality and proficiency in MAGTF Combined Arms Operations in cold weather environments.

HOKUDAIEN TRAINING AREA, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

02.05.2020

Video by Lance Cpl. Dylan Hess

3rd Marine Division

Political Will Is Key To European MALE UAV

Posted on March 11, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

03/11/2020

By Pierre Tran

Paris – Political support has been vital for a European medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, and even with that backing, years have passed before a program contract appears to be in reach, analysts said.

France expects to green light a deal by mid year, which would clear way for a long awaited European MALE program, seen by the government as a strategic asset, but not one to be pursued at any price.

It will have taken some six or seven years since the Direction Générale de l’Armement, the French procurement office, decided to back a European project for a MALE UAV, said François Lureau, a former DGA chief.

“Political will is a necessity,” said Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of Institut des Relations Internationales et Strategique, a think tank.

Industrial rigor in mitigating risk is also critical, with much depending on the technology proposed.

With that political backing, the authorities will insist the MALE UAV will at the very least match similar platforms on the market and that the expense is justified.

France is in close talks with the prime contractor, Airbus, in an effort to narrow program risk on the prospective MALE UAV project.

Occar, the European procurement agency, will oversee the program for the partner nations France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

It has taken years for industry to draw up an acceptable design and cost for a European MALE UAV program, which has taken on the elusiveness of the Holy Grail.

“As long as it has not been signed, it is under negotiation,” Lureau said.

No Blank Check

“Sovereignty comes at a price, but not any price” armed forces minister Florence Parly told Dec. 2 the French senate.

Europe has lagged behind Israel and the U.S., and the question has been whether there was really a will to catch up.

There have been many announcements which have led to nothing.

The choice in 2013-14 was whether that type of UAV should be bought off the shelf — either from Israel or the US — or built in Europe, Lureau said.

Back then, Jean-Yves Le Drian was defense minister, with François Hollande in the Elysées presidential office after winning the 2012 election and heading a socialist administration.

The political impact could be seen in Le Drian’s decision to reverse the pick of the previous Nicolas Sarkozy administration of the Heron TP drone offered by Dassault and Israel Aerospace Industries. Dassault had rebranded that drone Voltigeur, or tightrope walker.

That Israeli drone fell — or was pushed off the tightrope — and in its place, Le Drian opted for the General Atomics Reaper, offered by Airbus. French interest in the Reaper included a signals intelligence pod, in addition to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Purchase of the Reaper, an interim solution, moved the French preference to the U.S. and away from Israel, which had supplied the Harfang, a French interim drone based on Heron and supported by Airbus.

A Harfang flew the first test flight on Sept. 9 2006 from Istres air base, the first mission over Afghanistan in February 2009, and was retired from service Jan. 8 2018.

Political Backing

Backing a European MALE drone was essentially a political decision, one which carried large expenditure and required long term commitment to industry, Lureau said.

“Does Europe have the will to assign the status of sovereignty to a drone for long distance observation?” he said.

“It is a policy decision of strategy, a decision which restructures industry.”

Le Drian, backed by the Elysées, gave that political approval, he said.

An estimated budget of some €7 billion ($8 billion) is “not negligible and requires a commitment which assigns sovereignty status to MALE UAVs,” he said.

The twin engines on the drone account for 10-15 percent of that estimated budget.

On the industrial side, there is concern to safeguard engineering expertise in the drone sector.

Airbus is channeling know-how from its Talarion MALE UAV into studies for remote carriers in a planned Future Combat Air System, a source said.

There is a deadly sidelight on Turkish work on the cancelled Talarion project.

Turkey had signed up to join the Talarion and when that project was closed, Ankara recalled some 35 engineers who had worked in the Airbus office at Manching, Germany, the source said.

TheTurkish staff were able to draw on that know-how to build Turkey’s own armed MALE drone, intended by Ankara “to give it an edge.”

Turkey has flown combat drones against Syrian forces around Idlib province, northwestern Syria, including hitting a Russian-built air defense system, according to media reports.

Lessons from A400M

Airbus, in its negotiations on the European MALE UAV, is seeking to avoid a repetition of the heavy financial hit taken on the A400M airlifter program.

For Maulny, one of the lessons learnt on the A400M was the need for industry to select sufficiently mature technology and measure the mitigation of risk.

The technology risk on A400M should have been resolved before its development phase, so avoiding excessive expense, he said.

That approach should have applied in other arms programs such as the US F-35 fighter and British Astute attack submarine.

When Airbus was selected to build the A400M, it was seen as unusual for a company which built civil airliners to manufacture a military cargo plane.

The rejoinder to that was Airbus would apply its experience in building commercial aircraft to the military program.

Airbus has reported charges of some €10 billion on the A400M program.

A Long Search

The European pursuit of its own UAV has spanned some 20 years, Maulny said.

A Feb. 25 report from the National Audit Office pointed up stalled efforts to the 2004 announcement of a French-led EuroMALE drone.

Paris failed to find consensus among partner nations on strategy and operational requirements, while industrial partners bickered.

In 2006 Airbus pitched its Advanced UAV, dubbed Talarion, to France, Germany, Italy and Spain, but that also failed to fly, due to a hefty price tag.

Talarion was seen as the Rolls-Royce of UAVs, an executive said.

There was also competition from Telemos, an Anglo-French project, backed by BAE Systems and Dassault and which stemmed from the 2010 Lancaster House defense cooperation treaty.

That joint bid also crashed and burned, as did a cross-Channel project for an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

Part of the lack of progress between Berlin and Paris over those years stemmed from reluctance in certain parts of the DGA to work with Germany, Maulny said.

A European MALE UAV contract appears to be in reach, if political will and industrial rigor are delivered.

“A lot of patience is needed,” Lureau said.

The featured graphic is credited to Airbus Defence and Space.

Also, see the following:

Loyal Wingman: Part of the Next Generation Autonomous Systems to be Examined at the Next Williams Foundation Seminar

Audit Office Calls on France to Boost UAV Fleet – With Caution

Dassault: Looking Forward to a European MALE UAV as FCAS Building Block

Abandoning Pegasus?

Testing EMALS

Posted on March 11, 2020 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

A C-2A Greyhound, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20, lands aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) flight deck. Ford is currently conducting Aircraft Compatibility Testing to further test its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG).

01.16.2020

Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ruben Reed

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)