Defensiebegrotingen en -problematiek, niet NL

[IPA NG]

Ziek.

[Lex]

 RAF Tornado fleet 'faces axe' in bid to save £7.5bn

The RAF's fleet of Tornado jets is expected to be grounded as a result of savage budget cuts imposed on the Ministry of Defence.

Scrapping the 120-strong fleet, which has been a mainstay of the RAF for more than 30 years, would yield cuts of more than £7.5 billion for the MoD, which has been ordered by the treasury to slash its spending by up to 20 per cent.

Grounding the Tornado would save billions more than withdrawing the Harrier jet, which is used by the RAF and Royal Navy, an assessment by the Ministry of Defence revealed.

Scrapping the Harrier Joint Strike Wing, which includes both RAF and Fleet Air Arm squadrons, would yeild only slightly more than £1 billion, according thot the internal document, which was leaked to the Times newspaper.

Both scenarios are thought to involve the closing of some military bases.

The proposed grounding of the Tornado jets would have a dramatic impact on the armed forces.

Losing the planes would halve Britain's fast jet fleet - raising questions over the long-term viability of the RAF.

But sources close to Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, insisted that amalgamating the RAF with any other service would be 'a bridge too far for any government.'

The internal document was drawn up as part of the continuing Strategic Defence Spending Review.

The Treasury is demanding the MoD find overall cost savings of between 10 and 20 per cent.

It was agreed by service chiefs and ministers at a meeting of the National Security Council last Saturday that scrapping one of Britain's three fleets of fast jets would be unavoidable if the brutal savings are to be achieved.

The newest fleet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, is not thought to be under threat - forcing chiefs to choose between scrapping the Harrier or Tornado Jet fleets.

Last night MoD insiders insisted that no final decisions had been made about the scrapping of the jets.

But a senior source told The Times plans to scrap the Tornado were 'finding favour.'

The Armed forces currently has a fleet of more than 200 jets, including 120 Tornados, 45 Harriers and 42 of the incoming fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons.

But the department has come under increasing pressure to scrap its 'unaffordable' equipment programmes.

Yesterday the treasury dismissed an attempt by Defence Secretary Liam Fox to have the estimated £20 billion cost of replacing the Trident nuclear deterrent removed from its core defence budget.

And Dr Fox has himself admitted that the economic crisis was such that the UK could nto protect itself 'against every potential future threat,'

Last night a spokesman for the MoD said: 'We do not comment on the content of leaked documents.

'The SDSR is considering a wide range of far-reaching options but no final decisions have been made.'

Daily Mail, Last updated at 6:46 AM on 30th July 2010

[IPA NG]

Ik zal een post gericht aan Dudge plaatsen in het andere topic.

[KapiteinRob]

Laten we ervoor waken hier zaken te gaan posten die eerder in "dat andere topic" (vervanging F16) besproken (kunnen) worden of werden.

Rob
Forumbeheerder

[IPA NG]

Het ding kan inmiddels meer bommen afgooien dan mijn favoriet, de GNG. Met die CAS taak komt het dus wel goed, zo lijkt me. Misschien kunnen we een leuke prijs afspreken, hij is in ieder geval stukken goedkoper dan een F-35 in aanschaf, en in onderhoud weet ik niet of ze elkaar veel ontlopen. Het aantal motoren zecht niet alles over de kosten, al is een toestel met 2 motoren (bijna) altijd duurder dan een eenmotorige tegenhanger.

Alsof de extra draagcapaciteit opweegt tegen de voordelen van de GNG.
De EF is trouwens ook enorm duur.

En tenzij je het afwerpen van bommen vanaf 6 kilometer hoogte CAS vind dan kan dit toestel geen CAS geven.

[Harald]

Nou genoeg Eurofighters komen vrij voor een leuke aanbieding voor Nederland ...

37 tranche 3 in DE,
48 tranche 3 in UK,

maakt een totaal van, 85! goh, waar heb ik dat getal eerder gehoord?

Zie Nederland niet alleen Eurofighters kopen, te eenzijdig.
Geen Close AirSupport

[Elzenga]

Zie Nederland niet een twee motorig vliegtuig aanschaffen.

gezien het toenemende expeditionaire gebruik misschien wel verstandiger.. toch net een slagje minder kwetsbaar....zij dat het wel weer meer kost....en ik vrees dat dit te vaak de doorslag geeft.

[HermanB]

Zie Nederland niet een twee motorig vliegtuig aanschaffen.

[Elzenga]

Nou genoeg Eurofighters komen vrij voor een leuke aanbieding voor Nederland ...

[Lex]

Italy Confirms Cutback in Eurofighter Order

FARNBOROUGH, England - During a lightning visit to the Farnborough Air Show on July 20, Italy's defense minister confirmed that Italy would cut its planned purchase of Eurofighters by 25 aircraft.

Ignazio La Russa said that by purchasing 96 aircraft instead of the originally planned 121, Italy would save 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), part of a national debt reduction plan that Italy is pushing through to shore up its finances and reassure financial markets.

The 25 aircraft form the final Tranche 3B of the planned aircraft order for which the Eurofighter partners have yet to sign.

La Russa also confirmed that instead of buying 10 FREMM frigates as planned, Italy will initially buy six and seek to export the others. Brazil is currently seen as a possible customer.

Italian chief of staff Gen. Vincenzo Camporini, who joined La Russa at the air show, said a more pressing problem for the Italian armed forces was ongoing cuts to maintenance and operations funding, which observers say have hurt training and readiness.

"This is the toughest problem I have and I intend to rationalize the system so that all the duplications are eliminated," Camporini said. "Each service is currently responsible for its own maintenance and I would like to have services which use the same helicopter, for instance, to combine efforts."

Defense News,
Published: 20 Jul 2010 17:44

[Elzenga]

Als er zoveel Eurofighters "vrijkomen" biedt dit weer mogelijkheden voor Nederland om die goedkoop over te nemen..
Aan de andere kant...als de Rafale als alternatief voor de Britse F-35Bs niet haalbaar is kan misschien Saab een poging wagen met de Sea Gripen NG...Als de Britten instappen bij dit project wordt het interessant voor andere landen, waaronder Nederland, om ook dit toestel te kiezen. Waarbij ik het helemaal geen verkeerd idee zou vinden als Nederland dan ook de Sea Gripen NG kiest...Kan men, binnen een door mij sterk bepleitte maritiemere oriëntatie, ook vanaf de Britse, Amerikaanse en Franse carriers opereren. Wat de Fransen en Britten weer de ruimte geeft om niet direct een volle bezetting aan carrier-toestellen aan te schaffen (waar de Britten sowieso al aan denken).

Ik geloof er niks van dat Duitsland de Tiger en NH-90 orders flink zal korten...Er is juist een schreeuwende behoefte aan bewapende en transporthelikopters. Ook bij de A400M zal de reductie minimaal zijn om die reden. Ik denk dat men eerder snijdt in de middelen waarvan de noodzaak minder duidelijk is en de krijgsmacht qua personele omvang gaat verkleinen.

[Lex]

FACTBOX-Projects that may be hit by European defence cuts

July 16 (Reuters) - With governments across Europe planning to slash tens of billions of euros from their defence budgets, major projects are under scrutiny for possible cancellations or cuts.

Following are some of the military projects that could be affected, defence analysts say:

BRITAIN
The Ministry of Defence says all hardware programmes are under review as part of an effort to reduce its 36.9 billion pound ($56.7 billion) budget by what analysts say could be up to 15 percent. Programmes under scrutiny include:
-- Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets, made by Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L) together with Italy's Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI) and European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA).
Britain has ordered 160 of the 70-million-pound planes, but analysts say it may scrap plans to buy an additional 48.
-- Britain has already cut its order for the delayed and over-budget EADS-built A400M transport plane to 22 from an original 25. The project will be part of its defence review, but most analysts believe the bulk of orders will be maintained as Britain urgently needs to update its costly and ageing transport fleet to support overseas operations.
-- Orders for Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) could be vulnerable. British firms involved in its development include BAE and Rolls Royce (RR.L).
-- Britain could opt to have just one new aircraft carrier, instead of the planned two, in a project involving BAE, Babcock International (BAB.L) and Thales (TCFP.PA). However, contracts have already been placed for 40 percent of the cost of the equipment and materials needed for the ships.
Another option would be to reduce the number of Joint Strike Fighters for the carriers.
Some analysts say that in a radical shift, Britain might opt to buy cheaper French Rafale fighters built by Dassault (AVMD.PA), perhaps as part of a deal with France on a British air-to-air refueling project. However, the Rafale competes fiercely with Eurofighter. Another alternative to the JSF would be an upgrade of Britain's Harrier fleet.
Analysts say the Netherlands, Italy and Norway will also look at trimming Joint Strike Fighter orders.
-- The British government could opt to reduce its nuclear-armed Trident submarine fleet to three from four, or to extend the life of the current fleet.
-- Britain will also have to decide whether to order more armoured vehicles from General Dynamics (GD.N), after signing a 500-million-pound contract for an initial tranche.

GERMANY
The German Defence Ministry is looking to save up to 9.3 billion euros ($11.9 billion) on procurement projects when it finalises defence cuts this autumn.
-- A preliminary report has recommended big cuts in orders for the NH90 transport helicopter and the Tiger combat helicopter manufactured by EADS. Germany has complained about delays and performance problems with both helicopters.
-- Germany may also abandon the purchase of the last partial tranche of 37 Eurofighters or resell the planes, and abandon the purchase of the Franco-German-Spanish Talarion EADS drone.
The military is considering reducing its order of 60 A400M planes to 53, negotiators say. However, this and the British cut to 22 planes are designed as mechanisms to fund an agreed price increase in the seven-country plane without putting up new money, and neither move would result in actual cash savings.
Germany may go along with recommendations to stick to plans to buy the MEADS missile defence system as a successor to its Patriot system. Consortium members are Lockheed Martin and EADS, BAE Systems and Finmeccanica.

FRANCE, ITALY
The two countries have decided to buy fewer Fremm Multipurpose Frigates designed by DCNS/Armaris and Fincantieri.
Builders are French state-controlled shipyard DCNS, which is one-quarter owned by defence electronics group Thales and in Italy by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, a joint venture of shipbuilder Fincantieri and Finmeccanica.
According to a source close to the issue, France plans 3.5 billion euros of savings on its defence budget in 2011-2013. However, the source said the cuts would not affect large contracts or those involving Rafale planes, Fremm frigates, VBCI armoured vehicles, Barracuda submarines, Felin infantry combat systems or France's programme for the A400M.

NATO
Doubts have been raised about the future of NATO's biggest joint procurement scheme, the 1.3-billion-euro Alliance Ground Surveillance drone project, after Denmark became the latest of several countries to pull out.
U.S. firm Northrop Grumman ISS International (NOC.N) is the main contractor for the 14-nation project, with the German arm of EADS, Italy's Galileo Avionica -- a unit of Finmeccanica -- and the Canadian arm of General Dynamics also involved.

Reuters,
BRUSSELS | Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:40am EDT

[Harald]

Verschuivingen binnen het amerikaanse defensiebudget

Pentagon Wants to Move $3.9B Around
By KATE BRANNEN
Published: 8 Jul 2010 17:44 

The Pentagon wants to shift nearly $4 billion in previously allocated funding, much of it within the Army's budget to buy arms and gear needed in Afghanistan, according to a July 2 omnibus reprogramming request.

Defense News obtained a copy of the 89-page request, signed by Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale and sent to Congress for review.

The Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle takes a big hit: $200 million is to be moved to higher-priority items, according to the request. Earlier this year, the Army asked permission to trim Bradley funding by $154 million; Congress has yet to make a decision on that request.

A similar cut moves $143 million out of research and development funding for the Army's Combat Vehicle Improvement program. The funds are available because the Pentagon has delayed its decision to upgrade the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Abrams tank, according to the reprogramming request.

To support operations, the Pentagon wants to shift $100 million to purchase 1,500 One System Remote Video Terminal, the Army's version of the Air Force's ROVER system, which provides soldiers access to full-motion video shot by UAVs.

The Pentagon would also like to shift $10 million to start developing a replacement for the M113 armored personnel carrier.

"These funds will inform the Army on the current state-of-the-art M113 replacement options, potentially provide a forum for industrial teaming allowing the Army to refine its requirement document and explore current vehicles for adaptability to the M113 requirements," the document said.

The Pentagon also shifts $35 million in Army funding for the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) to the Navy's research and development accounts for the same program.

The "funds are available because the Rifleman radio is not prepared for Milestone C in fiscal year 2010 due to deficiencies found during the Limited User Test," the document said.

Instead, the money will be spent on accelerating the delivery of the Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) systems for test and potential deployment to theater, according to the document.

The Pentagon also reduces funding for the Joint Assault Bridge by $68 million, citing a program restructuring that shifted authority for the program from the Marine Corps to the Army. Low-rate initial production has been delayed until fiscal year 2013, according to the document.

For the Air Force, the Pentagon generally shifts money from procurement accounts to spending on personnel.

The Pentagon would like to cut $36 million from the Air Force's Global Hawk program.

"Obligations are late due to delays in the development test program, late and poor quality proposals from contractors, and reprioritization of acquisition activities to meet urgent Combatant Commander requirements," the document reads. The Pentagon cuts an additional $18 million from the program later in the request.

Most of the $74 million plus-up allocated to the Navy for administration activities - $54 million - was needed for increased costs for personnel security investigations. USS Independence, the second littoral combat ship and the first ship from the General Dynamics-Austal USA team, received an additional $5.3 million to meet higher than anticipated costs to correct problems discovered on sea trials. The effort to re-start DDG 51-class destroyer production with a new Flight III version got another $6.7 million to create a capability development document.

The MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial aircraft received a 50 percent plus-up of $13 million to support completion of operational evaluation (OPEVAL) efforts to take place on board the frigate Halyburton. Continuation of the OPEVAL was necessary after the 2009-2010 effort on board the frigate McInerney encountered numerous technical challenges and discrepancies. The money became available when the service eliminated two of five aircraft it planned to buy this year due to the availability of airframes transferred from the Army.

The Naval Special Warfare Scan Eagle effort to operate unmanned aerial surveillance and attack aircraft in the Mideast received a boost of $8 million to buy replacement air vehicles and spare parts.

A Navy program restructuring effort paid off with a reduction of $4.8 million in the Aerial Common Sensor program.

The Marines Corps' Harvest Hawk effort to give a rapid-response fire support capability to KC-130J Hercules aerial tankers got a plus-up of $1.3 million for modernized avionics.

Accelerated procurement of the Transportable Radar Surveillance Model 2 radar (TPY-2) radar led to a new start addition of $191 million. The funds were available after delays were encountered in fielding batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile.

An omnibus reprogramming request is sent to Congress each year. It is meant to shift funding to more urgently needed items. The request will be reviewed by the four congressional defense committees, who have the option to reject any of the requested changes.

According to the documents, $234 million is available in the Army's home station operation and maintenance accounts because several units deployed in Iraq were unable to return home due to "delayed Iraqi elections and the increased security posture in Iraq."

Alternatively, $70 million is available in Marine Corps operation and maintenance funds because their combat operations in Iraq were curtailed earlier than previously planned.

In the reprogramming, the Pentagon directs money toward equipment needed in Afghanistan, including Army helicopters, which are in high demand, as well as money to improve secure networked communications in the country.

The Pentagon is requesting $45 million for U.S. Central Command's Operation Earnest Voice (OEV) program, whose funding, according to the documents, was reduced by Congress in the 2010 budget.

"The OEV program is strongly endorsed by the Commander, USCENTCOM, and serves as USCENTCOM's primary and enduring non-kinetic weapon in its irregular warfare arsenal for countering adversary information operations."

The money will go toward "products to counter radical ideology and influence key audiences across the region via Internet or other mediums."

According to the documents, the program "provides the capability to engage audience on native language (Arabic and Urdu) web blogs, chat rooms, and social networks."

-- Christopher P. Cavas contributed to this report.

Bron : http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4700571&c=AME&s=AIR

[Lex]

Air Force Programs Hard Hit in French Budget Cut Effort

PARIS - The government plans to postpone a number of French Air Force programs, including replacement of the inflight refueling fleet and the 700 million euro ($888 million) upgrade of Mirage 2000D aircraft, in a bid to slash 3.5 billion euros from the defense budget, member of parliament Jean-Claude Viollet said.
Among the programs to be delayed are the upgrade of the fleet of Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers, acquisition of the Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and level four of the SCCOA national air command-and-control system, Defense Minister Hervé Morin told a hearing of the parliamentary Defense Committee on July 7, Viollet said.
According to defense sources, Morin told the committee that some elements of the Scorpion land systems modernization program also would be postponed.
An option to buy a small number of Falcon 2000 jets to replace the Falcon 700 for the government comes due in the next few months and is under consideration.
Defense sources said Morin told lawmakers that major programs - such as the Barracuda nuclear attack submarine, Felin infantry gear, FREMM multimission frigate, Rafale fighter and VBCI armored vehicle - would escape the budget cuts.
Studies are now being done on how to implement the delays to mitigate the effects, a defense official said.
The purchase of A400M airlifters will go ahead without any change in numbers, although there are questions whether Germany will buy all 60 planned units.
The revised defense budget for 2011 will be 30.15 billion euros, 30.5 billion in 2012 and 31 billion in 2013, Morin told the committee.
The figures published in the 2009-14 military budget law were 29.65 billion for 2011, 30.32 billion for 2012, and 30.73 billion for 2013.
The 3.5 billion euros of cuts was a significant contribution by the Defense Ministry, but would leave the main operational capabilities outlined in the military budget law intact, Defense Ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire told journalists July 8. The budget reduction would not affect staff numbers, he said.

Defense News,
Published: 8 Jul 2010 13:33

[Lex]

Germany Debates Steep Cuts in Aircraft, Ships

BONN - According to an internal working paper, the German military might retire large numbers of planes, helicopters and ships as well as reduce buys of new weapons.
According to a July 7 report by the German newspaper Bild, this could save up to 9.3 billion euros ($11.7 billion) over the long run.
The 23-page paper, "Prioritization Material Investments - Recommended Actions," would affect all services and many major defense projects. However, a Defense Department spokesman said no decisions have been made.
"This paper is only a basis for upcoming discussions in the department and parliament," he said.
He pointed out that Defense Secretary Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg would reserve the right to amend the paper.
The paper itself suggests retiring 15 of 86 Transall transport planes immediately and reducing the planned purchase of its successor, the A400M. The paper also calls for the immediate retirement of 100 of 185 Tornado fighter jets and the scrapping of the last tranche of the Eurofighter, which contains 37 planes.
Defense Department experts also suggest scrapping the Tailaron UAV being developed by EADS in favor of immediate procurement of the Saateg AA medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV and an advanced version of the Heron UAV.
While the future of the tri-nation Medium Extended Air Defense System had been subject to discussion, the new paper does not suggest it be abandoned.
According to media reports, the Bundeswehr might also buy only 80 instead of 122 NH90 type helicopters and cut new tiger attack helicopter buys by half from 80 to 40.
The paper recommends the German Navy retire eight frigates, 10 fast-attack boats and 21 Sea King helicopters over the medium and long term. At the moment, it owns 21 Sea Kings, 10 fast-attack boats and 15 frigates. The number of new F125 expeditionary class frigates also could be reduced from four to three.
While ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, one of the members of the consortium to build the F125, did not want to comment, an EADS spokesman said no decisions had been made.
"We are convinced the constructive dialogue will continue and that research and development will always be protected and considered," the spokesman said.

AFP
Published: 8 Jul 2010 12:22