By Pierre Tran Paris – The land weapons industry faced a double challenge with the pandemic crisis hitting defense spending and army projects competing with air force systems, which were due to receive higher funding, Franco-German joint venture KNDS said June 14. “The budgets of our most important customers are…
By Pierre Tran Paris – France last year won arms export contracts worth €4.9 billion ($5.6 billion), down from €8.3 billion in 2019, reflecting lock down and governments freezing military budgets in response to the pandemic crisis, Hervé Grandjean, spokesman for the defense ministry, said June 2. “This retreat is…
By Pierre Tran Paris – Croatia has opted to order 12 second hand Rafale fighter jets in a deal which points up the significance of European sovereignty, the French armed forces ministry said in a statement. “Croatia’s choice is a choice of sovereignty, resolutely European,” armed forces minister Florence Parly…
By Pierre Tran Paris – Naval Group has appointed Lilian Braylé as executive vice-president to run the Australian program to build 12 ocean-going Attack class submarines, the French shipbuilder said May 11. “Lilian Brayle will join Naval Group on 31 May as executive vice-president for the Australian Future Submarine Program,”…
By Pierre Tran Paris – France welcomed May 4 an Egyptian announcement of an order for a further 30 Rafale fighter jets and weapons from Dassault Aviation, MBDA and Safran, confirming a news report on Disclose, a French campaigning website. “The armed forces minister, Florence Parly, welcomes the latest export…
By Robbin Laird The IDF recently selected the CH-53K to replace its legacy heavy lift assets, namely, the CH-53D. It is clear that the IDF is buying the CH-53K for many of the same reasons which USMC is doing so but the IDF has been especially focused on three key…
By Pierre Tran Paris – Sherpa, a French non-governmental organization, said it filed April 28 a request for a judicial inquiry into alleged corruption on India’s acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth €7.8 billion ($9.4 billion). “Sherpa, represented by its lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brenghart,…
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During out visit to Norfolk in March 2021, we learned that Second Fleet was working a direct relationship with the Navy’s Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge. The Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge is described as follows: “The Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge (MATB) is the first of what we believe…
