French Ministry of Defence Launches Next-Gen Aircraft Carrier Study

Posted on October 26, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

10/26/2018

By Pierre Tran

France has launched 18-month studies for a next-generation aircraft carrier to replace its Charles de Gaulle capital ship, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said.

“This step, which is being launched today, is the study step,” Parly said at the Oct. 23 opening of the Euronaval trade show. “It is to decide together what we want and how we want it for our future aircraft carrier.

“We give ourselves 18 months,” she said. The total cost of the studies was €40 million, she later added.

Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Naval Group and Technicatome will conduct the major part of the studies, with contributions from Dassault Aviation, Thales, MBDA, and other companies, government and industry sources said.

Total spending on the carrier program is estimated at €5 billion-€7 billion, business magazine Challenges reported. That cost estimate did not come from the ministry, a government official said.

An aircraft carrier is seen as a highly valued capability, with nations including China, India and Brazil keen to rachet up military power and prestige.

“An aircraft carrier is a symbol of power,” said François Lureau of consultancy EuroFLconsult and a former head of arms procurement. “It is highly visible. It is a political decision.”

The studies for the carrier would address issues such as what threats will be engaged and missions for the future carrier, Parly said. Responses to those questions would allow decisions on operational use, requirements for combat systems and the escort fleet. A second aspect is what technology will be available in 2030, she said. France has launched cooperation with Germany on the Future Combat Air System and the carrier will need to accommodate all capabilities of the planned fighter jet.

The ship’s propulsion, whether nuclear or conventional, will be considered, she said. Disruptive technology, such as electromagnetic aircraft catapults, should also be taken into account.

Cooperation with allies is another key factor, both in working on the vessel and the carrier receiving European partners’ aircraft, she said.

“This aircraft carrier could operate to the last decades of the 21st century, we cannot allow ourselves to design with a limited horizon,” she said. Innovation was vital, and the carrier could be “a true forward base for the Navy, a spur to our innovation,” she added.

Parly also said 18 Atlantique 2 would be modernized, three more units than previously planned, with all the upgraded maritime patrol aircraft delivered by 2025.

The Direction Générale de l’Armement procurement office signed Oct. 11 a contract with Dassault and Thales for modernization of six ATL2 aircraft. That deal follows a previous contract for upgrade of 12 MPA, the ministry said Oct. 23. The upgrade aims to boost the Navy’s capability against submarine threats, which are increasing around the world, particularly in areas of French strategic interest.

The upgrade includes fitting the Thales Searchmaster radar based on an active electronic array developed for the Rafale, as well as onboard tactical computer, electro-optical and acoustic sensors. The modernization is expected to extend the ATL2 life beyond 2030. The first two upgraded ATL2 are due to be delivered next year.

Parly also announced the planned construction of four fleet auxiliary tankers in cooperation with Italy, based on the Italian Vulcano vessels.

“This fleet is decisive,” she said, adding that the choice of Italy as partner reflected the will to boost Franco-Italian cooperation in surface ships.

The unit price for the four tankers was €430 million, a government official said.Naval Group and Chantiers de l’Atlantique will build the new tanker fleet, based on the Italian design, with the first two delivered to the French Navy by 2025, the ministry said in an Oct. 24 statement.

France, in cooperating with Italy, will join the Logistic Support Ship naval program managed by the OCCAR European arms procurement agency, the ministry said.

The French vessels will be modified to allow the tankers to support the Charles de Gaulle carrier task force and fitted with a Naval Group combat system. Fincantieri will build in Italy the hull sections with the refuelling system. The four double-hulled ships will replace the present three-strong tanker fleet, which have single hulls.

This article is republished with the permission of our partner, Operationnels SLDS.

The article was first published by OPS on October 25, 2018.

The featured photo shows President Macron at the Palace of Versailles in July 2017 to address both houses of the French parliament

ETIENNE LAURENT/GETTY IMAGES

Editor’s Note: Some Key Considerations Which Flow From Developing a New French Aircraft Carrier

The US and the UK have launched new aircraft carriers which are either in operation or about to be.

A key question will be the relationship of the French effort to those of the US and the UK?

Also, there are other countries building carriers of various sorts, including India, and in the case of Spain and Italy smaller ships which carry currently Harriers but will need a vertical lift aircraft, notably the F-35B, to operate as aircraft carriers.

What will be the relationship of the French approach to these other carrier nations?

A key question will be the development of the aircraft, rotorcraft and weapons among other things for any new French aircraft carrier.

The proposed Franc0-German joint new fighter would be affected as well by the need to operate that aircraft off of a carrier, something which the French have in mind, but not something the Germans are considering.

The Rafale was built initially to fly off of the Charles de Gaulle and was designed in part with this in mind, and joint Air Force and Navy operations of the same aircraft, albeit of different variants has been important to French military operations.

How would this legacy for Dassault affect the proposed working relationship with European industry to shape a next generation European combat aircraft?

In other words, if carrier aviation is considered important for France, how will they develop and fund such a capability?

Would this be done within or outside of the proposed Franc-German project?

The First Shipborne Rolling Vertical F-35B Landing onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth

Posted on October 26, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

The first shipborne rolling vertical landing by the F-35B on HMS Queen Elizabeth

October 13, 2018

Credit: UK Ministry of Defence

An update on HMS Queen Elizabeth initial testing with the F-35 was provided in an article by Jeff Newman, Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs published on October 19, 2018.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS)

On Oct. 16, British sailors and members of the F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, completed a successful opening phase of the First of Class Flight Trials (FOCFT) being conducted this fall aboard the United Kingdom’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, near the U.S. eastern seaboard.

The first of three such phases to be held on the ship, the developmental testing (DT-1), aimed to generate enough flight test data to certify the F-35B Lightning II as ready for future operational testing aboard the ship.

The two F-35Bs involved were vertically landed aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time Sept. 25, piloted by Royal Navy Commander Nathan Gray and Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, both test pilots with the Pax River ITF. By Oct. 8, the ITF had collected enough data to support operational test.

“It has been a superb effort by everyone across the ITF and HMS Queen Elizabeth so far in the UK’s F-35B sea trials,” said Royal Navy Capt. Jerry Kyd, the ship’s commanding officer. “I could not be more pleased with the team spirit and dynamism from all that has delivered a volume of quality data which has put us well ahead of where we expected to be at this stage. I am very grateful to all the ITF folk who have been focused, professional and willing to go the extra mile – more to come!”

Within days of the first landing, Gray, Edgell and two other ITF test pilots on the First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) – Marine Corps Maj. Michael Lippert and Peter Wilson – qualified for daytime flight operations aboard the carrier. Nighttime flight operations began the next day, and Edgell and Wilson soon became qualified for nighttime operations.

On Oct. 2, with winds over the deck exceeding 40 knots, the test team worked on wind envelope expansion conducting short takeoffs from the carrier’s ski jump along with vertical landings on the deck, which comprises a tower for the bridge and a second tower for FLYCO (flight control). The team conducted the same maneuvers nine days later, but with winds on deck above 50 knots.

The first-ever shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) of an F-35B came Oct. 13, a movement the UK plans to use that allows the jets to land onboard with heavier loads, meaning they won’t need to jettison fuel or weapons before landing. Vertical landings on the ship were made by the jet coming to a hover to the side of the ship, translating sideways over the deck, and then lowering to land. The SRVL uses a more conventional landing pattern by approaching the ship from the aft end at speed and then using the thrust from the nozzle and lift created by air over the wings to touch down and come to a stop as soon as possible.

Three days after the first SRVL was made, DT-1 testing wrapped up and the aircraft returned to NAS Patuxent River. In all, across 38 total flights, the team conducted 98 short-takeoffs from the ski jump, 96 vertical landings and two SRVLs.

“It is humbling to be involved in setting the foundation operating envelopes that the Lightning will use to operate from the UK carriers for the next 40-plus years,” said Royal Navy Commander Stephen Crockatt, team leader of UK personnel embedded within the ITF at both Pax River and Edwards Air Force Base, California. “With this combination, the UK will have a formidable capability with true global reach.”

The test team – comprising nearly 175 ITF members aboard the ship – completed several needed parameters during DT-1, including day and night short-takeoffs and vertical landings with minimal deck motion, in varying wind conditions and with and without internal stores.

“I’m very proud of the test accomplishments by the combined team of the 1,500 personnel comprised of the ITF, the carrier strike group and the crew of HMS Queen Elizabeth with her embarked 820 and 845 squadrons,” said Andrew Maack, the F-35 Pax River ITF’s chief test engineer. “It was impressive to see the excellent teamwork at all levels of the organizations.”

Crockatt agreed.

“It was great to see the ship and the ITF working in harmony to efficiently get the best data possible,” he said. “Watching the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Lightning come together as a single capability has been remarkable.”

Beyond the completed DT-1 test requirements, which were performed within the same flight envelope as will be used in the first operational test phase, the ITF also conducted about half of the testing that falls under the DT-2 threshold, or the flight envelope needed to reach initial operational capability (maritime).

The ITF returns to the ship in late October for DT-2, which will concentrate on external stores testing, minimum performance short-takeoffs and SRVLs, and night operations.

A third developmental test for First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing), followed by operational testing, is scheduled for 2019. Together, the tests will help the U.K. Ministry of Defence reach F-35B IOC(M) in 2020.

Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) lead test pilot with the F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force, continues FOCFT(FW) developmental test flights aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on Oct. 12, 2018.

Peter Wilson, test pilot with the F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force, continues First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) developmental test flights aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on Oct. 12, 2018.

U.S. Marine Corps Michael Lippert, F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force test pilot, continues First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) developmental test flights aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on Oct. 11, 2018.

Royal Navy Commander Nathan Gray, F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force test pilot, continues First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) developmental test flights aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on Oct. 10, 2018.

F-35B on HMS Queen Elizabeth for First of Class Flight Trials (Fixed Wing) on Oct. 10, 2018.

HMS Queen Elizabeth Concludes Initial F-35B Integration Tests

Posted on October 26, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

Second Line of Defense has followed the UK thinking, construction, and initial trials and preparation for operations by the new UK carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth throughout its life to date.

The carrier will have a major impact on UK defense and how the forces will evolve over the next decade.

It is a major shift not just the acquisition of a new platform.

The new carrier is itself a trigger or magnet to a UK force transformation process.

In the recent update published this year by the UK government of its earlier 2015 defense review, the carrier was highlighted a centerpiece of joint force transformation.

“The Joint Force that we are building will need to be versatile and agile. It will need to be effective in the full range of environments and across all five domains – land, sea, air, space and cyber.

“It will be international by design, routinely exercising and operating with allies and partners.

“It will be credible and capable of addressing state and non-state threats both alongside other nations and on our own.”

“Notably, the report then identified the major elements of defense modernization designed for Joint Force 2025 to meet these criteria and with little surprise the first one identified was as follows:

“A maritime task group centered on a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier with F-35 Lightning combat aircraft.”

Most of the analysis of the new carrier really focuses on the platform and what is necessary to get that platform operational but that is far too narrow an approach.

The carrier is a centerpiece, trigger or magnet for broader UK defense transformation within a unique historical context, namely, the broader strategic shift to dealing with higher end operations and the coming of Brexit.

From a force structure transformation piece, the focus on the carrier can be approached in several ways.

The first way is to look at the workups and training associated with getting the carrier ready for its 2021 maiden deployment.

This is a significant challenge and the focus of attention of the Royal Navy and its industrial partners and a major element of my discussions while at Portsmouth.

From this point of view, the integration of the aircraft to fly on the carrier is a major challenge as well, and includes three new aircraft, the F-35, Commando Merlin, and the Crow’s Nest.

The second way is to look at the impact of the new carrier on the Royal Navy as it shifts from a single ship deployment focus to reshaping the Navy as a maritime task force navy.

And given how different the new UK carrier is from the US large deck carriers, this maritime task force will draw upon US experience but shape a new approach as well.

The shift to a maritime task force requires other changes as well with new shapes and capabilities coming to the fleet, new aircraft, new missiles and ultimately directed energy as well to the force.

The third way to look at the carrier is how the coming of the F-35 to the RAF and Royal Navy will intersect with the global partners also flying the aircraft, and notably the partners within Europe.

With the UK flying the same aircraft as the Northern Europeans, including the Dutch, this shapes new opportunities and capabilities as well.

And the close working relationship with the US Navy and Marine Corps will be evident as the HMS Queen Elizabeth comes this summer for F-35 integration training off of the Virginia Coast and when the Marines operate off of the ship, including next year during further ship trials off of the British coast as well.

The fourth way to look at the carrier is the impact of distributed decision-making, distributed operations and mobile basing upon the concepts of operations which the carrier will enable and participate in.

Put in another way, the concepts of operations being shaped 21^stcentury combat forces are in transformation, a transformation which is built around distributed capabilities, distributed C2 and flexible or agile basing.

The new carrier both supports and interacts with all of these trends.

How will the carrier both contribute to and learn from these broader macro allied military transformation dynamics?

The fifth way to look at the coming of the carrier is to examine its intersection with and contribution to the transformation of airpower more generally.

The F-35 is a multi-domain flying combat system, rather than being a legacy multi-mission aircraft.

This provides an opportunity to both leverage and reshape multi-domain capabilities, as other aircraft are modernized or new assets added to the air combat force.

Clearly, the modernization of Typhoon is being done in close alignment with the coming of the F-35 and provides a significant plus up of the overall air combat force.

The coming of the P-8 to RAF Lossiemouth will provide as well a maritime domain awareness strike aircraft, which will provide a significant capability, which will be part of the operational envelope of the new maritime task force navy being forged around carrier.

In short, one can take a picture of the carrier.

But what one is not seeing is the tissue of relationships being reshaped by what you see in that picture.

It is a multi-domain warfare asset, which can only be understood as a driver for change within an overall UK defense transformation process and the new strategic setting.

An update on HMS Queen Elizabeth initial testing with the F-35 was provided in an article by Jeff Newman, Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs published on October 19, 2018.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS)

First Landings of F-35B onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth from SldInfo.com on Vimeo.

Crockatt agreed.

The ITF returns to the ship in late October for DT-2, which will concentrate on external stores testing, minimum performance short-takeoffs and SRVLs, and night operations.

5th Gen Enablement and the Evolution of Airpower: The Perspective of Major General Anders Rex

Posted on October 25, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

10/25/2018

By Robbin Laird

During my most recent visit to Denmark, I had a chance to visit Royal Danish Air Force bases in the Jutland area.

This provided an opportunity to discuss the transition from an F-16 to an F-35 force as well as other changes involving connectivity and decision-making systems and approaches.

But prior to those visits, I had a chance to visit with the head of the Royal Danish Air Force, Major General Anders Rex. In past discussions, we focused on coalition issues as well as fifth generation transition issues.

And in our most recent discussion, both came together in terms of the kinds of innovations which an all fifth-generation force like Denmark will need to make in terms of building its own capability and working those capabilities with Air Forces flying older aircraft as well.

Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia will become all fifth-generation fighter forces; which provides opportunities as well as challenges in working with older generation fighter aircraft and more generally working connectivity with other air, ground and sea assets to deliver what might be called a fifth generation enabled force.

The Australians have been more forward leaning than most in terms of trying to think through the impact of building a fifth-generation force understood not simply in terms of adding the F-35 but transforming the force to become a lethal and effective integrated multi-domain force.

In fact, I last met Major General Rex in Australia last March where he attended the Airpower Conference and he clearly has worked with and has high regards for the RAAF and its Plan Jericho approach. One aspect of the F-35 global enterprise is precisely coalition partners cross learning from one another as they stand up their F-35 squadrons.

According to Major General Rex: “The goal for our coalition and our alliance is to get the best out of what we have as a coalition force. During Red Flag, the experiences we have been briefed on, fifth-generation aircraft make fourth-generation more lethal and survivable, and more effective.

“We could focus on the significant kill ratios which a fifth-generation aircraft can deliver. But that is not the sole focus. It is about how fifth generation aircraft lift the whole force so that the kill ratio for the entire force goes up exponentially.”

He emphasized the importance of combat learning associated with the new aircraft.

“When we were running our competition for a new fighter aircraft, I witnessed the operation of a Super Hornet F-squadron on the USS Nimitz carrier off the coast of San Diego.

“This was the latest variant of the Super Hornet which had just received a new AESA radar on it.

“And when we talked to the pilots, they made the point that there was no way they could have thought up or analyzed what they can use this radar for. Every single day they learned new things.

“That is how I see the kind of learning we are going to have operating the F-35 and more broadly the kind of co-learning which other platforms in the air, ground and naval forces will need to have as well to leverage what a fifth generation enabled force can bring to the fight.”

In effect, what Major General Rex was discussing was the opening of a significant aperture of co-learning, for example, in Danish terms, how the frigates can use their future SM-2s and SM-6s in conjunction with the SA and targeting capabilities which the F-35 would bring to the Danish force.

“Co-learning across the forces and the F-35 to the legacy platforms is a major challenge but a task which we need to master to get where we need to go as a Danish force, but even more significantly at the coalition level.”

And working with coalition partners who are not going to buy the F-35, Major General Rex underscored that the challenge was then “how do we elevate the effectiveness of those coalition partners?

“We need to focus on the broad co-learning challenge and how to elevate the combat force as a whole as the F-35 becomes a key force for change.”

Major General Rex underscored that this needed to become a core focus of exercises and training objectives within exercises, namely, co-learning between the F-35 and ground, air and naval elements both within F-35 nations as well as working with forces which do not have F-35.

A key example is the cross-border training the Norwegians do with the Finns and the Swedes.

The point of the cross training currently is that Norwegian F-16s work with Finnish F-18s and Swedish Gripens.

The Norwegians are shifting to F-35 and perhaps the Finns will as well. The challenge then is to make sure that the Gripens can work more effectively as a result of the upswing in multi-domain capabilities which the F-35 brings to a force.

In short, it is less about fourth-fifth generation aircraft integration and much more driving an air force forward in terms of the capabilities which F-35 multi-domain aircraft can provide and as that is done shape co-learning with legacy aircraft as well as with key ground and naval systems.

It is about innovations in concepts of operation and the co-learning process unleashed by a fifth generation enabled force.

The featured photo shows U.S. F-15C Eagles from the 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron peeling away from a formation with Royal Danish F-16’s to signify the transfer of the NATO Baltic Air Police mission at Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania Jan. 8.

NATO Air Policing is a peacetime collective defense mission, safeguarding the integrity of the NATO Alliance member’s airspace. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew)

SIAULIAI, LITHUANIA
01.08.2018
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew
48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Rapid Integration as the Core Challenge: The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group Works the Challenge

Posted on October 24, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

10/24/2018

Recently, the head of the USAF, General Goldfein, underscored the importance of force integration to delivering effective results.

Speaking at this year’s Air Force Association Air Warfare symposium, General Goldfein argued:

“In today’s complex global security environment, it is not the best ideas but who can act on these ideas and bring them to the front-line” that will win out.

Victory “goes not to the innovator but to the rapid integrator of ideas that outpaces our adversaries.”

In this spirit, the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group conducted a large force training exercise with their Operational Test and Evaluation weapons systems on the Nevada Test and Training Range last month.

According to a story written by Airman 1st Class Andrew Sarver, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs and published on October 22, 2018, the exercise was highlighted.

Although it wasn’t the first of its kind, the exercise was one of the largest and most organized in the group’s history and consisted of aircraft and aircrew from multiple OT&E Squadrons from around the Air Force.

“This is the second LFTE we have conducted and we are very happy with the results,” said Capt. Scott Portue, 53rd TEG chief weapons and tactics officer. “With each iteration of the LFTE, we are integrating more players, learning new lessons in terms of planning and execution, and establishing new partnerships to further the LFTE mission.”

LFTEs are similar to Red Flag and other large force exercises where it takes a similar cross-section of units and assets to solve a problem, but by using un-fielded equipment, weapons and tactics.

“This requires an additional level of preparation and highly experienced aircrews and support teams. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group is unique in its ability to conduct such an event because of our aircrew and test teams are some of the most experienced in the Air Force,” said Lt. Col. Mark Donahue, 53rd TEG deputy commander. “While we want to solve the scenario presented during each test event, we are more concerned with why we did or did not solve the problem we faced using the new equipment or tactics that we are trying to develop.”

Utilizing the LFTE construct, the 53rd TEG has been able to prove two new cutting edge tactics while disproving a third.

“The LFTE is a cornerstone in advancing squadron readiness,” said Col. Brian Schafer, 53rd TEG commander. “One of our finished products is vetted and proven tactics for the Combat Air Forces. Our subject matter experts then publish tactics bulletins and provide roadshows for our CAF squadrons. This ensures our USAF is combat ready.”

Another focus of the LFTE is the integrated testing of weapons systems that the Air Force is planning to acquire. Rather than utilize battle-proven weapons systems to complete a mission, the event is designed to integrate new weapons systems, capabilities, and tactics while allowing crew members to quickly identify shortfalls and necessary tactic improvements.

“Integration is absolutely mandatory in order to counter the current and future threats our near-peer adversaries are fielding,” said Donahue. “When OT&E is conducted, there is always an attempt made to test an aircraft, munition, tactic or piece of equipment in a variety of conditions. However, due to resource and budget constraints, what is usually lacking is the integration piece. The LFTE allows us to bring all of our major weapons systems together to create an operationally representative environment with some of the latest and greatest technology on the cutting edge of the Air Force acquisitions process.”

Donahue said although it’s near impossible to test every tactic and system in every scenario, the LFTE allows the group to test new systems in a high-end combat environment with a wide variety of assets that otherwise would not be available.

“The result we see is the potential issues are identified earlier in the process and fixed before being released to combat units,” said Donohue. “This is a key aspect of OT&E, and we are able to identify and resolve more issues than with traditional stovepiped operational test methods.”

The wide arsenal of OT&E assets here and the close proximity of the Nevada Test and Training Range were vital to the success of the LFTE.

“The 53rd Wing is very much the tip of the spear when it comes to bringing the future faster,” said Col. Schafer. “Our personnel are not only executing tests; they are constantly innovating ways to improve the test process itself in order to bring the future faster.”

Although the outcome of the event isn’t known instantaneously, the team is satisfied with how the event turned out.

“Over the next few weeks, analysts will pour over all the data collected from the air and ground systems and spend countless hours ensuring whether systems worked as they should have or where they failed and how we can improve upon them,” said Donohue. “It’s a huge team effort between our operators, maintainers, engineers, analysts and countless others.”

The results will play an important role in how key influencers are educated about the impact OT&E has on today’s warfighter.

“Ultimately, we are trying to get the word out across not only our wing, but multiple other joint and civilian test entities that are involved,” said Donohue. “It is gaining momentum rapidly and we are very excited to publish the findings from this LFTE, even as we prepare for the next LFTE in the spring.”

The featured photo shows an F-15 Eagle fighter jet taking off from the flightline on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 26, 2018.

A Large Force Test Event was performed by the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group to train pilots in an environment that has a higher level of combat training with a multitude of different resources.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bryan T. Guthrie)

UK in Trident Juncture 2018

Posted on October 24, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

Hundreds of British Army troops have successfully completed an epic road move to Norway, where they will now begin training with allies ahead of NATO Exercise Trident Juncture.

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster:

“With the Arctic and Far North becoming increasingly militarised, it is now more important than ever for the UK and our NATO Allies to train across a range of challenging environments.

“This exercise will truly test our ability to deter any aggression we may face in an era of intensifying threats.”

Over the course of the next 10 days Army personnel will integrate with fellow troops from Denmark and Poland – sharing equipment, drills and personnel to form a multinational, combat-ready brigade.

Once complete British infantry and armoured reconnaissance vehicles, Danish main battle tanks and Polish armoured fighting vehicles will then conduct a week-long live exercise alongside brigades led by Germany and Italy against a fictitious invading enemy in defensive and offensive operations.

In total there will be 2,700 UK Armed Forces personnel as well as six Royal Navy ships, 480 vehicles and Royal Air Force Hawk aircraft.

With some 150 aircraft, 40,000 participants and 10,000 vehicles, Exercise Trident Juncture is the largest collective defence exercise NATO has seen in over a decade.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-troops-touch-down-in-norway-following-epic-road-move

Published on October 19, 2018 by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The featured photo shows a Foxhound protected patrol vehicle leading a convoy past a Norwegian lake as they head to the training area for Exercise Trident Juncture 2018. Credit Photo: UK MoD

Direct Defense of Norway and the Role of NATO: The Norwegian MoD Explains to the Norwegian People

Posted on October 21, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

10/21/2018

Recently, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence created a web page and posted a video explaining to the Norwegian population about the coming Trident Juncture exercise and what the core focus of Norwegian defense unfolding in the current period.

What follows is our translation (with apologies to our Norwegian friends) of the webpage and of the video.

Why Should Norway Have a Defense Force?

Why is Norway a member of NATO?

Norway is a small country with just over five million inhabitants. We have never had and will never have our own defense that is big enough to resist a major attack by a powerful external enemy for a long time.

NATO membership is therefore crucial for Norway’s security because the NATO Treaty establishes that an attack on a member state should be regarded as an attack on all. “One for all, all for one” has therefore been the foundation of Norwegian security policy ever since 1949.

Why will 50,000 NATO soldiers come to Norway for an exercise?

NATO is a defense alliance that, in its size and power, will have a deterrent effect on any attackers. A NATO exercise can in many ways be compared to a fire prevention exercise. The few of us experience a fire close up during life, but if the worst happens, it’s a good idea to have tested all the routines in advance.

Trident Juncture is the fire preparation exercise of the Armed Forces. Here we shall practice receiving soldiers and equipment from all over NATO. And with 30 other countries, we will try to defend our country by any attack.

Why does Norway need a new fighter?

Fighter aircraft are one of the most important capabilities in a modern and efficient defense, and F-35 is the world’s best combat aircraft.

F-35 can defeat other aircraft and targets on the ground and the sea. In addition, combat aircraft operate electronic warfare and provide their own forces at sea and land with valuable information. The aircraft’s ability to collect information also becomes crucial for Norway’s role as NATO’s eyes and ears in the north.

Why does Norway need a new submarine?

Norway has the second longest coastline in the world and rages across major ocean areas in the north. So we have a lot of sea to watch.

Submarines can operate hidden over large areas for a long time and they have great impact. This means that an opponent must spend a lot of time and effort to safeguard our submarines.

The Government has therefore decided that Norway will buy four new submarines to help ensure Norway’s maritime interests and its own borders.

Why are many any of our best young people being sent out in the woods or into the mountains for a whole year?

In Norway, we have universal service, which means that women and men have the same duty and the right to serve our country. The duty of consecration ensures that Norway has a solid defense at all times, consisting of our most suitable people.

We want as many as possible to be motivated to do something for their country and to serve in the Armed Forces.

It is a duty, but also an outstanding opportunity for you.

What do we want to happen?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

We would like to acknowledge a Danish colleague who pointed out this video to us during a recent visit to Denmark, namely, Captain Simon Throso “SON” Pedersen.

And the Second Line of Defense team might add the following to highlight a key aspect of why Norway and the Nordics are modernizing their forces as well:

And for recent Dutch videos with a direct message as well about the new strategic environment, see the following:

The Role of the Dutch Navy

The Dutch Re-Focus on National Defense

Trident Juncture 2018: The Marines and the Initial Phase

Posted on October 21, 2018 | by Robbin Laird | Leave a Comment

Around 90 US Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit landed at Keflavík on Wednesday (17 October 2018), marking the initial phase of NATO’s Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 in Iceland.

The main phase of Trident Juncture will start in Norway on October 25. Arriving by MV-22 Osprey and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters from the USS Iwo Jima, the Marines practised securing the airfield and key infrastructure, in cooperation with the Icelandic Police.

The US Navy has also deployed two cutting-edge P-8A Poseidon aircraft to Keflavík from their current home in Sigonella, Italy.

In remarks at the Vardberg Association on Tuesday, Admiral James G. Foggo, Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, as well as US Naval Forces in Europe and Africa, highlighted the P-8A’s key role in anti-submarine operations. He stressed the aircraft’s world-class surveillance and intelligence capabilities, which are important for NATO in the North Atlantic.

Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson and Admiral Foggo showcased Iceland’s vital role in the NATO Alliance.

Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic aboard the Icelandic Coast Guard Vessel THOR, Minister Thordarson highlighted the “crucial” importance of “unimpeded shipping routes over the Atlantic”. Admiral Foggo also noted Iceland’s strategic location, and thanked the country for an “unwavering commitment” to its Allies.

Trident Juncture 2018 is NATO’s largest exercise in many years, bringing together around 50,000 personnel from all 29 Allies, plus partners Finland and Sweden. Around 65 vessels, 150 aircraft and 10,000 vehicles will participate.

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The featured photo shows a USMC Osprey landing at Keflavik with a Canadian c-17 on the tarmac.

During a visit to Norway earlier this year, in our interview with a senior Norwegian military officer involved in shaping the exercise, the focus of the Norwegian effort was highlighted. That interview published in May 2018 follows:

Seen from a Nordic perspective, the exercise is coming at a time when Norway is modernizing its defense force, working ever more closely with the other Nordics, including cross-border training with Sweden and Finland, and re-invigorating its total defense approach.

Indeed, with the return of conscription in Sweden, with the continued commitment to a national mobilized armed forces in Finland and to a re-emphasis on the total defense concept, the Nordics are leading the way within Europe on a wider societal commitment to defense.

With the importance of crisis management in the region, an ability to work effectively with allied forces operating on NATO territory supported by a total defense approach within Norway, is part of the effort to calibrate force capabilities appropriate to deal with regional crises.

As Norway reworks its air basing structure, and modernizes its air force, army and navy, along with changes in the broader North Atlantic, working deterrence in depth is underway as well.

For example, the UK will add a new F-35-enabled carrier able to operate in the region as a mobile base able to work with other F-35s in the region to shape a wider combat grid to support moves on the strategic and tactical chessboard necessary to deal with regional crises.

But to shape such capabilities will require an effective exercise regime, one in which Norway works to support allied forces appropriate to meeting effectively specific regional crisis situations.

It is not just about being reassured by importing allied capability, more generally; it is about integrating Norwegian with appropriate allied forces to meet specific crisis management challenges and military threats in the region.

Col Lars Lervik at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence is working the preparation for the Trident Juncture 2018 exercise and according to him:

“A key focus of the exercise from the NATO side is exercising our ability to conduct high intensity operations in a multi-national environment.

“What we’re looking at here is confronting an opponent who has the whole arsenal available.

“We need to be able to function not only as individuals and individual nations, but actually function together.

“This is a key focus of the exercise.”

Trident Juncture 2018 is also a command post exercise as well and given that Norway is reworking its C2 capabilities as part of defense modernization, the exercise provides an opportunity to input multinational operational training as well into the transformation process.

Col Lars Lervik highlighted that “It is very important to ensure that we have the procedures in place necessary to operate an integrated force on Norwegian territory in a higher intensity operational environment.

“We are starting really to be serious about C2 again.

“We are working to shape an effective C2 template going forward.

“We need to make sure that all our structures are integratable with NATO.”

“It is not a coincidence that Norway volunteered to be the host for this exercise.

“We’ve been focused on getting NATO to focus back on collective defense for quite a while.”

The Norwegians are working at three levels with regard to C2.

The first is at the national level.

The second is at the NATO level.

The third is at the bilateral C2 level, namely working with the US, the UK, the Nordic non-NATO members as well as other NATO members, such as Germany.

There is a substantial maritime component within the exercise, which gets at the broader extended deterrence piece whereby the sea base becomes integrated into the defense of Norway and NATO forces operating on Norwegian territory as well.

Col Lars Lervik underscored that “Working with allied forces is also about the capability of Norway able to receive NATO and allied reinforcements.

“And that’s when a total defense concept comes into play for us to be able to fulfill our host nation support commitments.”

For Norway, the total defense concept is a focus on the ability of the civilian side of society to support military operations.

For example, the Norwegians do not have a specialized military medical service. The civilian side is mobilized to support both Norwegian and allied medical needs in times of conflict. This will be exercised during Trident Juncture 2018.

Col Lars Lervik emphasized that “We need to be able to support NATO allies when they come into Norway.

“I think we’re making real progress with regard to civil society’s ability to support the Norwegian and allied militaries.

“For example, when the US Marines arrive in Undredal, Norway (in the middle of Norway), it could be a civilian bus driver on a civilian bus who will transport them onward to their next location. They might pick up fuel from a local civilian Norwegian logistics company.

“It is about the resilience as well with regard to civilian society to support military operations.

“We need to understand and to enhance how the modern society is able to function in a time of crises and war.”