Defensiebegrotingen en -problematiek, niet NL

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Cash-strapped Europe struggles to up military might

By Laurent Thomet (AFP) – 20 hours ago 

MUNICH, Germany — With little cash to spare for their armed forces, Europeans must deepen military cooperation after incessant US pressure urging old allies to start pulling their own weight.

A parade of world defence leaders and experts meeting at the Munich Security Conference issued stark warnings about Europe's place in the global arena if it fails to maintain its military might.

With the debt crisis forcing governments to cut spending, Europeans were told they have little choice but to look to each other to ensure they have the aircraft, ships and weapons they need to stay relevant.

"I m not concerned. I'm not pessimistic, on the contrary I see opportunities in this financial crisis to strengthen mechanisms that band allies together," said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Europeans are slowly moving towards more cooperation.

Rasmussen launched the "Smart Defence" initiative a year ago in Munich, aiming to find ways for the 28-nation alliance to deepen cooperation to maintain military capabilities.

The European Union is promoting a similar "pooling and sharing" initiative to find ways to share resources or buy expensive equipment together.

"Nations realise that going alone, especially for large projects, is not possible," said French General Stephane Abrial, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation tasked with finding new ways to cooperate.

But Abrial admitted in a panel discussion on Smart Defence that the alliance will only present "modest" programmes at a NATO summit in Chicago in May.

"I'm a little bit sceptical," said Thomas Enders, chief executive of European aerospace giant Airbus. "20 years ago these ideas were on the table. So why would this time be different."

With the United States cutting its own massive defence budget, withdrawing troops from Europe and turning its strategic gaze towards Asia, Europe can no longer rely on its big-spending ally to fill the gap.

Only a handful of NATO nations respect the alliance goal of spending at least 2.0 percent of GDP on defence, while the US military budget represents 75 percent of the alliance's spending.

"This concept of Smart Defence is welcome news for most American politicians," said Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham.

"It shows that the NATO nations are really seriously thinking about maintaining a robust defence. But if it translates to a nice sounding phrase to justify less spending, I think that's not very smart."

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who came to Munich with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to reassure Europeans that Washington was committed to Europe, urged allies to "cast a similar vote of confidence" by continuing to invest in defence.

British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond noted that the two US secretaries sent "a clear message to us in Europe that we are going to have to do more."

But a deep attachment to national sovereignty and wrangling over financing programmes have slowed progress.

NATO allies agreed on Friday to acquire five drones as part of a surveillance programme, but it took two decades after they sorted out disagreements about how to fund the project.

"We have to step cautiously because there are anxieties and concerns about sovereignty, about freedom of operation, which need to be addressed, and they can only be addressed through building trust," Hammond said.

He called for small, "less controversial" steps like joint training before moving on to pooling and sharing resources.

Britain, which is deeply attached to its traditional alliance with the United States within NATO, has also resisted efforts championed by France, Germany and Poland to deepen military integration through the European Union.

"The EU in the past was so willing to declare its ambitions in security policy," said Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski. "I believe that today the EU must move on from declarations, from words to deeds."

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved

[Lex]

Voor de plannen van de USAF, klik hier.

[Lex]

Panetta Calls for Europe, NATO Defense Investment

MUNICH, Feb. 4, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today called for European nations to match the United States' vote of confidence in the transatlantic partnership, through investment in common defense and commitment to a long-term solution in Afghanistan.

Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke before some 10 heads of state and 40 foreign or defense ministers attending the 48th Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof hotel here.

Panetta challenged his European counterparts to match the U.S. in maintaining military capability in the face of budget constraints.

"Like most nations on this continent, America faces a fiscal crisis," he noted.

America's congressionally mandated $487 billion cut in defense spending over the next decade prompted a strategy that will result in a smaller but increasingly capable force, intent on emerging challenges in the cyber and space domains and focused on Asia and the Middle East, with a robust global presence and response capability, the secretary said.

Panetta emphasized NATO is one of the central alliances underpinning the U.S. strategy.

"I believe that today's strategic and fiscal realities offer NATO the opportunity to build the alliance we need for the 21st century ... the core of an expanding network of partnerships across the globe," the secretary said.

The United States offers concrete proof of its commitment to Europe and NATO, Panetta said. As part of the phased approach to European missile defense, he said, the U.S. will station missiles in Romania and Poland; deploy four cruisers to Rota, Spain, capable of shooting down ballistic missiles; and contribute major funding for the Alliance Ground Surveillance system -- consisting of five Global Hawk intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles and ground-based control equipment -- agreed to this week during NATO defense ministers meetings.

The United States will also identify a brigade to serve as the nation's land force contribution to the NATO response force, the secretary said.

"The NRF was designed to be an agile, rapidly deployable, multinational force that can respond to crises when and where necessary," Panetta noted. "The United States has endorsed the NRF but has not made a tangible contribution due to the demands of the wars -- until now."

A U.S. Army battalion will rotate twice a year to Europe for training, Panetta said, while two Army heavy brigades will be removed from European basing. Still, the U.S. Army presence in Europe will remain the largest anywhere in the world outside the United States, he added.

Army forces in Europe will decrease from roughly 47,000 soldiers to 37,000, defense officials said, with a total U.S. assigned troop strength in Europe of around 80,000, including Air Force, Navy and Marine troops.

Panetta said the United States would like to see European nations invest similarly in NATO's current and future capabilities.

He cautioned against too-deep cuts under NATO's "smart defense" initiative, aimed at combining nations' military resources.

"Approaches like 'smart defense' help us spend together sensibly -- but they cannot be an excuse to cut budgets further," the secretary said.

As the Chicago NATO summit in May approaches, he added, smart defense "should be part of a longer-term plan to invest in a NATO force for 2020 that is fully trained and equipped to respond to any threat and defend our common interests."

The 50 nations contributing troops to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force must maintain their mutual commitment to long-term success in Afghanistan, to the end of security transition and beyond, Panetta said.

The international community must provide enough financial support to sustain Afghan army and police forces, he said.

Panetta said even as ISAF nations work to reduce the costs of Afghan forces over time, "we cannot shortchange our commitment."

The NATO alliance has proven its 21st-century relevance over a decade of war, the secretary said.

Panetta quoted President John F. Kennedy's remarks at the first Munich conference in 1962, highlighting Kennedy's vision that one day the United States could partner with a revitalized Europe, "on a basis of full equality in all the great and burdensome tasks of building and defending a community of free nations."

That vision is "closer than ever" to realization, the secretary said, but emphasized NATO must remain prepared, as the United States has committed to remaining prepared, to deal with global threats as they occur.

American Forces Press Service
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=67062

[IPA NG]

Kijk eens naar de huidige structuur van het Duitse leger, en dat van na 2012...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Germany_Army.png
(Wat opvalt is het gebrek aan artillerie bij alles behalve hun 1e divisie.

Dit is de toekomst:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Germany_Army_2012.png

Het luchtmobiele component word blijkbaar afgeschaft en de airborn afdeling wordt flink verkleind.

[Harald]

5 USAF A-10 Squadrons To Be Cut

The A-10 Thunderbolt II provides the type of close-air support that ground-pounders love and the Taliban dread. Although the A-10s are workhorses in the war on terrorism, the U.S. Air Force in its new budget request is planning to get rid of five squadrons.

As part of the Defense Department's efforts to trim close to $500 billion in spending over the next decade, defense officials said Jan. 27 that the service intends to cut five A-10 tactical squadrons and two other squadrons as well.

The Thunderbolt squadrons to be stood down encompass one active-duty, one Reserve and three National Guard units. The remaining two squadrons disappearing are a Guard F-16 tactical unit and an F-15 training squadron.

The move was part of a series of proposed budget cuts announced Jan. 26 at the Pentagon. Also on the chopping block are the C-27 and the Global Hawk Block 30; and as the ground force shrinks, the service plans to retire the oldest of its aging transport aircraft.

Facing a new age of fiscal austerity, the Defense Department is trying to pivot away from the counterinsurgency campaigns of the past decade, which required large numbers of conventional forces, toward smaller, less expensive missions waged primarily by special operations forces.

While the A-10 is very good at providing close-air support, the Air Force needs aircraft that can do more than one mission, Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Jan. 26 in an interview with Military Times reporters and editors.

"Is the F-35 going to be as good a close-air support platform as an A-10? I don't think anybody believes that," he said, "But is the A-10 going to be the air-to-air platform that the F-35 is going to be? So again, the Air Force is trying to get as much multimission capability into the limited number of platforms it's going to have."

While Air Force fighter aircraft are the most advanced in the world, some critics have said the need for an aircraft that can outfight near-peer rivals seems a bit over the horizon. But Winnefeld said the issue is not so clear-cut.

"It could be that those who think there's never going to be an air-to-air engagement ever again in the history of the world could be wrong," Winnefeld said. "It could be those who believe that the close-air support role of the A-10 is absolutely paramount could be wrong, as well."

As the Air Force looks toward the future, it expects its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to become even more important. That's why the service wants to have the ability to conduct 85 unmanned aerial drone patrols when needed. Currently, the Air Force can provide a maximum of 61 continuous patrols.

The Global Hawk Block 30, which was supposed to replace the U-2 spy plane, has proved to be too expensive for its mission, so the Air Force announced Jan. 26 that it has also canceled the Block 30 and extended the life of the U-2.

The move does not affect the other variants of the Global Hawk, said Ashton Carter, deputy defense secretary.

As the ground forces shrink, the Air Force will need fewer transport aircraft, so the proposed spending cuts call for the Air Force to retire 27 aging C-5As and 65 of the oldest C-130s, leaving Air Mobility Command with 52 C-5Ms, 318 C-130s and 222 C-17s.

Carter called the older C-5As and C-130s excess capacity, adding, "In this budget environment, we can't justify capacity that is excess to need."

The Defense Department is also looking to kill the C-27, a joint Army-Air Force cargo aircraft.

"The C-27J was developed and procured to provide a niche capability to directly support Army urgent needs in difficult environments such as Afghanistan where we thought the C-130 might not be able to operate effectively," DoD stated in a budget presentation. "However, in practice, we did not experience the anticipated airfield constraints for C-130 operations in Afghanistan and expect these constraints to be marginal in future scenarios. Since we have ample inventory of C-130s and the current cost to own and operate them is lower, we no longer need — nor can we afford — a niche capability like the C-27J aircraft."

Even before the proposed cuts were announced, one aerospace nonprofit organization weighed in, arguing the Air Force has been putting "short-term operational demands over long-term global realties."

"While attributes like stealth, speed and range were not necessary above the occupied states [Iraq and Afghanistan], they are essential preconditions for securing U.S. interests elsewhere," according to a letter sent by the Air Force Association on Jan. 26 to Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Signed by several former senior Air Force officials, the letter urges the service to pursue modernization programs put on the back burner since the end of the Cold War. "The need to strike distant targets and return safely did not emerge during the Cold War, nor did it end when the Berlin Wall fell," it says, "While the U.S. was engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, other nations were busy designing, fielding and proliferating new weapons that have the potential to curtail our freedom of action throughout major regions of the world."

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120130/DEFREG02/301300010/5-USAF-10-Squadrons-Cut?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[KapiteinRob]

Ik heb een aantal postings verwijderd vanwege foutief en/of "multiple-citeren". Me dunkt dat er genoeg geattendeerd is op het correct citeren. Als je een citaat wilt plaatsten, controleer dan of dat ook correct weergegeven is voordat je het plaatst. En bij het citeren reageer je in principe op 1 posting; alleen als het absoluut voor het verband van de reactie nodig is om ook "citaten van citaten" te plaatsen, is multiple-citeren van toegevoegde waarde.

We hameren hier als forumbeheer op vanwege de overzichtelijkheid van postings/citaten. Verzoeke derhalve in deze lijn mee te werken.

Rob
Forumbeheerder

[Harald]

Panetta Announces Fiscal 2013 Budget Priorities

WASHINGTON --- Spending priorities in the forthcoming fiscal 2013 defense budget request call for reductions in the end strength of the Army and Marine Corps, an increase in special operations forces and maintaining the number of big-deck carriers, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said here today.

The Pentagon's budget topline request is set at $525 billion for fiscal 2013 with an additional $88.4 billion for overseas contingency operations -- mostly in Afghanistan. This is down from $531 billion and $115 billion, respectively, in this fiscal year.
Defense Department officials used the new defense strategy guidance that President Barack Obama announced earlier this month to shape the budget request, the secretary said.

The budget seeks to minimize the impact of cuts on personnel accounts. Service members will receive their full pay raises in fiscal 2013 and 2014, Panetta said. "We will achieve some cost savings by providing more limited pay raises beginning in 2015," he added.

Health care is another important benefit, and one that has far outpaced inflation. Changes to health care will not affect active duty personnel or their families, Panetta said.

"We decided that to help control growth of health care costs, we are recommending increases in health care fees, co-pays and deductibles for retirees," he said. "But let me be clear that even after these increases, the cost borne by military retirees will remain below the levels in comparable private-sector plans."

Overall, the request puts DOD on the path to save $259 billion over the next five years and $487 billion over the next 10. Panetta called the budget "a balanced, complete package" that keeps the American military the pre-eminent force in the world.

It is a balanced package, the secretary said, because while some programs are eliminated or delayed, others are increased. The budget looks to re-shape the military to be more agile, quick and flexible that incorporates the lessons learned in 10 years of war, he added.

Increasing the number of special operations forces is key to the plan, Panetta said, and special operators will begin to shift back to their traditional pre-9/11 mission of instructing local forces.

The request puts the Army on a path to drop to 490,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps to 182,000 Marines over five years. Currently, the two services have 562,000 and 202,000 active-duty members, respectively. The secretary noted this is still higher than the numbers on 9/11.

The budget treats the reserve components very carefully, Panetta said. After a decade of being an integral part of America's wars, the reserve components will not go back to being a strategic Cold War-era reserve. The reserves will be the nation's hedge against the unexpected, the secretary said.

"We are making only marginal reductions in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard, and no reductions in the Marine Corps Reserve," the secretary said. "The Air Force will make balanced reductions in the Air Guard that are consistent with reductions in the active component and Air Force Reserve."

The request also calls for more base realignments and closures, and a "BRAC-like" authority to recommend changes to military retirement. "But the president and department have made clear that the retirement benefits of those who currently serve will be protected by grandfathering their benefits," Panetta said.

The budget maintains the current U.S. focus in the Central Command region and increases American commitment to the Pacific Command area of operations. The request looks to maintain the Navy's current 11 aircraft carriers and 10 carrier air wings, Panetta said. It will also maintain the current Marine and Army posture in the Asia-Pacific region, and will base Littoral Combat Ships in Singapore and Bahrain.

The budget will eliminate two forward-based Army heavy brigades in Europe. Instead, brigades will rotate in and out of the area. The United States and European allies also will look to share costs for new capabilities such as the Alliance Ground Surveillance program.

The Navy will retire seven older cruisers and two amphibious ships early, and the Air Force will eliminate six tactical air squadrons.

The budget sinks more money into technologies to prevail in an anti-access, aerial-denial scenario and will fund the next-generation bomber and modernization of the submarine fleet.

The F-35 joint strike fighter is key to maintaining domain superiority, and the military remains committed to the program, Panetta said. "But in this budget, we have slowed procurement to complete more testing and allow for developmental changes before buying in significant quantities," he added.

The budget will maintain all legs of the nuclear triad -- bombers, ICBMs and submarines -- and will invest in significantly more capability in the cyber world, Panetta said.

Panetta stressed the budget is based on strategy and will shape the force for the future. While the pain of cuts will be felt across the country, he said, it will also ensure a strong, agile military for the future.

The budget must pass Congress, and the secretary said he hopes members of Congress understand the strategy and nuances of the budget.

"My hope is that when members understand the sacrifice involved in reducing the defense budget by half a trillion dollars, it will convince Congress to avoid sequestration, a further round of cuts that would inflict severe damage to our national defense for generations," Panetta said.

extra info :
The US Air Force will lose 130 transport aircraft, including its entire C-27J fleet (above), one-tenth of its tactical fighter squadrons and the Global Hawk Block 30 under cuts outlined yesterday by the Pentagon.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/132253/pentagon-to-cut-92%2C000-troops%2C-airlift%2C-fighter-wings%2C-lha-ships.html

Misschien kunnen wij voor een leuk prijsje wel een aantal C-27J's overnemen !!

[ARM-WAP]

UK koopt Italiaanse of Koreaanse bevoorradingsschepen

Verrassend, ik kan me zo voorstellen dat in Engeland op deze beslissing met gemengde gevoelens wordt gereageerd.

Verrassend is het alleszins. Ik denk dat het sedert WOII de eerste keer zal zijn dat de RN/RFA nu uitgerust zal worden met in het buitenland gebouwde schepen.
Deze order ontglipt de eigen industrie die al om orders verlegen zit, wegens het constante inkrimpen van behoeften en beperken van bestaande programma's.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

UK koopt Italiaanse of Koreaanse bevoorradingsschepen

Verrassend, ik kan me zo voorstellen dat in Engeland op deze beslissing met gemengde gevoellens wordt gereageerd.

[ARM-WAP]

UK koopt Italiaanse of Koreaanse bevoorradingsschepen

Zeer binnenkort zou het MoD moeten bekendmaken welk ontwerp weerhouden zal worden voor het MARS-programma.
Dit zou de Royal Fleet Auxilliary vloot moeten vernieuwen. Grote verrassing: de drie finalisten zijn buitenlands: Fincantieri, Hyundai en Daewoo.
Verbazende shortlist, want het Britse Rolls-Royce, dat zeer geinteresseerd was in het project en dat een gamma logisitieke schepen ontwikkeld heeft, is er niet bij.
Het programma zou (volgens bronnen aan de overzijde van het Kanaal) ook naar beneden toe geschaald zijn: ipv de oorspronkelijke 12 zouden er nu slechts 4 eenheden gebouwd worden.

Bron: http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=118562&u=3303&xtor=EPR-56-[newsletter]-20120127-[article]

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Will Cutting the Defense Budget Leave America at Risk?
By R. Jeffrey Smith

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/01/will-cutting-the-defense-budget-leave-america-at-risk/252010/

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Maar dan krijgt men vast het maffe idee om ook gelijk maar de LCF's te vervangen.

Nu komen we in het topic vervanging M fregatten, hier bij is sprake van een 6000 ton klasse schip. Een gelijktijdige vervanging zal er niet in zitten, maar eerst 4 in M uitvoering en enkele jaren later weer 4 in LCF uitvoering is wel denkbaar.

Zolang het maar niet ten koste gaat van het aantal.

[IPA NG]

Voor nederland zo een fregat of 10/12, een sub of 4/6 en max. 12 kleine MPA's erg mooi zijn maar voor Duitsland is dit natuurlijk schandalig als je kijkt naar de grote en rijkdom van het land.

Duitsland heeft een 2 keer zo grote kustlijn dan Nederland, dus ......

Nederland heeft nu :
- 4 onderzeeboten
- 4 Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregat (LCF)
- 2 Multipurpose fregat (M-fregat)
- 4 Oceangoing Patrol Vessel (OPV)

Als je zo vergelijking maakt is het in verhouding met elkaar, tussen het huidige bestand van onze marine en de Duitse na bezuiniging.

De 6 stuks OPV's van Duitsland worden volgens mij wel beter bewapend dan de Nederlandse, kan hier nog erg weinig over vinden

maar ben met je eens dat het aantal schepen op een diepte punt beland is, hopelijk wordt er bij de vervanging van de M-fregatten ingezet op een verhoging van de aantallen.

Ik denk dat de lengte van de kustlijn weinig zegt over het aantal schepen dat nodig is.

4 M vervangers lijkt mij het minimum (+ 2 voor de Belgen), dan heeft DSNS ook weer iets te doen.

Maar dan krijgt men vast het maffe idee om ook gelijk maar de LCF's te vervangen.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Voor nederland zo een fregat of 10/12, een sub of 4/6 en max. 12 kleine MPA's erg mooi zijn maar voor Duitsland is dit natuurlijk schandalig als je kijkt naar de grote en rijkdom van het land.

Duitsland heeft een 2 keer zo grote kustlijn dan Nederland, dus ......

Nederland heeft nu :
- 4 onderzeeboten
- 4 Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregat (LCF)
- 2 Multipurpose fregat (M-fregat)
- 4 Oceangoing Patrol Vessel (OPV)

Als je zo vergelijking maakt is het in verhouding met elkaar, tussen het huidige bestand van onze marine en de Duitse na bezuiniging.

De 6 stuks OPV's van Duitsland worden volgens mij wel beter bewapend dan de Nederlandse, kan hier nog erg weinig over vinden

maar ben met je eens dat het aantal schepen op een diepte punt beland is, hopelijk wordt er bij de vervanging van de M-fregatten ingezet op een verhoging van de aantallen.

4 M vervangers lijkt mij het minimum (+ 2 voor de Belgen), dan heeft DSNS ook weer iets te doen.

[Harald]

Voor nederland zo een fregat of 10/12, een sub of 4/6 en max. 12 kleine MPA's erg mooi zijn maar voor Duitsland is dit natuurlijk schandalig als je kijkt naar de grote en rijkdom van het land.

Duitsland heeft een 2 keer zo grote kustlijn dan Nederland, dus ......

Nederland heeft nu :
- 4 onderzeeboten
- 4 Luchtverdedigings- en commandofregat (LCF)
- 2 Multipurpose fregat (M-fregat)
- 4 Oceangoing Patrol Vessel (OPV)

Als je zo vergelijking maakt is het in verhouding met elkaar, tussen het huidige bestand van onze marine en de Duitse na bezuiniging.

De 6 stuks OPV's van Duitsland worden volgens mij wel beter bewapend dan de Nederlandse, kan hier nog erg weinig over vinden

maar ben met je eens dat het aantal schepen op een diepte punt beland is, hopelijk wordt er bij de vervanging van de M-fregatten ingezet op een verhoging van de aantallen.