US Air Force F-35s making first operational deployment to Europe this weekend

The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A is deploying internationally for the first time this weekend, heading to Europe to conduct training exercises with NATO allies, the Pentagon announced Friday.
The Defense Department offered sparse details about the event, which will involve deploying a “small number” of F-35As from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to an undisclosed location in Europe.
The joint strike fighters will take off sometime this weekend. After landing, they will then spend several weeks in the region as part of the European Reassurance Initiative, the department’s effort to strengthen military ties with European allies to help deter Russian aggression on the continent.
“This training deployment signifies an important milestone and natural progression of the F-35 program, allowing the Air Force to further demonstrate the operational capabilities of the fifth generation fighter aircraft,” the Defense Department said in a news release. “It also assists in refining requirements for eventually basing the F-35A in Europe, which is scheduled to receive the aircraft in the early 2020s.”
In December, former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James hinted that the service would go to Europe this summer.
“Now that the F-35 has been declared combat capable, we will deploy our newest fighter to Europe in the not too distant future,” she said then during a speech at the Atlantic Council. “Matter of fact, if I were a betting woman, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the F-35 didn’t make an appearance, perhaps, next summer. The unique combination of stealth, situational and sensor fusion will play an important role in reassuring allies and providing deterrence.”
defensenews

US Air Force F-35s Likely Coming Soon to Europe

The Air Force’s top civilian on Monday hinted the service could deploy a number of F-35As to Europe as early as this summer.
“Now that the F-35 has been declared combat capable, we will deploy our newest fighter to Europe in the not too distant future,” said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during a speech at the Atlantic Council. “Matter of fact, if I were a betting woman, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the F-35 didn’t make an appearance, perhaps, next summer. The unique combination of stealth, situational and sensor fusion will play an important role in reassuring allies and providing deterrence.”
The trip to Europe would be the first operational overseas deployment of the Air Force's A-model, which officially reached initial combat capability in August.
The service will also send a theater security package of F-15s from Louisiana and Florida Air National Guard units to Europe this spring to conduct training exercises with partners, similar to the deployment of F-22s to Romania last April.
James likely is nearing the end of her tenure as Air Force secretary this January, and plans to deploy the F-35 could change under the new presidential administration. However, she advised her successor to move forward with deployments to Europe that showcase US air dominance, adding that such activities are key for deterring hostile Russian military action that has become more prevalent since its invasion of Crimea.
"Russia is a country that does understand force,” she said. “At a time like this, at a time when I believe they are pushing and poking and testing, I think the alliance needs to demonstrate that resolve and show force.”
Also of vital importance is US involvement in the Baltic air policing mission – a NATO effort to guard the airspace of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, she said.
defensenew

USAF F-22 Raptors are back in Europe

F-22 stealth jets are back in Europe for more exercises with NATO and partner allies, U.S. European Command announced Monday.
The Raptors deployed to RAF Lakenheath, England, from the 95th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and will continue training in Europe until May, EUCOM said. The exact number of fighter jets and airmen was not disclosed.
The multirole fighter aircraft will forward deploy from the United Kingdom to NATO bases to "maximize training opportunities, affirm enduring commitments to NATO allies, and deter any actions that destabilize regional security."
In August, the Air Force deployed four F-22s to Europe for the first time ever as part of the European Reassurance Initiative — a Pentagon effort designed to allay European partners' fears about Russian aggression in the region.
airforcetimes

USAF A-10s to return to Europe

The A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft will return to Europe in the next few months, the US Air Force (USAF) confirmed on 11 August.
In total, 12 A-10s from the 23rd Wing will deploy from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, to Europe as part of a Theatre Security Package (TSP) in support of NATO's 'Operation Atlantic Resolve'.
Dates and locations for the deployment were not confirmed by the USAF, which noted that they would be deployed "this fall" and "to locations in central and eastern European NATO countries". It added, "these A-10s will conduct training alongside NATO allies and partners to strengthen interoperability and to demonstrate US commitment to the security and stability of Europe."
The alliance introduced Operation Atlantic Resolve following the Ukraine crisis in order to reassure NATO's eastern European members that had been made nervous of Russia's intentions.
janes

Europe formally kick-starts tanker procurement project

Europe has formally begun the acquisition process for a new aerial refuelling capability under the Multinational MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF) project.
With the European Defence Agency having already harmonised requirements, a co-operation agreement was signed between the NATO Support Organisation and the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) to launch the acquisition phase of the MRTT MMF project on the same day as the announcement.
According to OCCAR, this agreement sets the framework and conditions under which it will manage the acquisition phase of the aircraft on behalf of NATO. The project will be led by the Netherlands, with Norway also participating. Both nations have established a support partnership within the NATO Support Organisation (NSPO), which will oversee the acquisition and operational sustainment of the MRTT MMF aircraft.
Although not mentioned in this announcement, Belgium and Poland are expected to join the project also. Airbus Defence and Space is likely to contest the requirement with its A330-200 MRTT platform, as is Boeing with its KC-46A Pegasus. Service providers AirTanker and Omega Air have also expressed an interest in bidding. A downselect is expected before the end of the year, with a contract award due before the end of 2015. Initial operating capability is scheduled for 2019.
janes

Proposed European MALE Takes Step Forward

Airbus, Dassault and Alenia Aermacchi announced they had agreed on further details for a joint approach to develop a next-generation advanced European unmanned aerial system (UAS). They said they had delivered a proposal for further defining a European UAS to the French, German and Italian ministries of defense.
Their offer for a program proposes a definition phase that has been prepared by joint development teams of Airbus, Dassault Aviation and Alenia Aermacchi. It is already backed by an industrial agreement on workshare and a cooperative agreement to start the program.
The MALE 2020 project is supposed to provide a needed capability to European armed forces’ in the most economical manner possible.
defensenews

First of four missile destroyers arrives in Spain

The first of four U.S. Navy destroyers to form the centerpiece of Europe’s missile defense shield arrived in southern Spain on Tuesday.
The USS Donald Cook, pulled into the U.S. Navy base in Rota.
Plans call for the USS Donald Cook to be joined by three more Arleigh Burke-class missile-guided destroyers, which carry the Aegis weapon system, over the coming two years. All are to be stationed at the base in Rota, on the Atlantic coast north of Gibraltar.
Other pieces of the missile defense shield include land-based Aegis interceptor batteries in Romania and Poland, radar in Turkey and a command center at Ramstein, Germany.
The plan has caused a major rift with Russia, which says the shield is aimed against its own nuclear missile arsenal. The U.S. and its NATO allies insist the defense system is meant to protect Europe from potentially hostile countries in the region, such as Iran.
The destroyer detachment expands the Navy presence in Europe at a time when other services are drawing down across the continent.
U.S. interest in the Mediterranean has risen in recent years because of conflicts and instability across the region, from Syria to Egypt and North Africa. The Mediterranean is also a significant waterway for commercial shipping and an access point to Middle Eastern waters from the Atlantic.
The ships will make regular four-month deployments around the Mediterranean basin. In addition to operations related to missile defense, they will be available for other maritime security operations, bilateral and multilateral training exercises, and other NATO deployments.
The three destroyers to join the Donald Cook are the USS Ross, theUSS Porter, and the USS Carney. Destroyer Squadron 60 in Rota will control the four ships.
stripes

Putin Says Missiles Not Deployed in Kaliningrad

President Vladimir Putin dismissed reports that his country has deployed missiles in its Kaliningrad region, saying Russia has other ways to counter a planned U.S. missile shield.
Germany’s Bild-Zeitung this week reported that Russia deployed the missiles in recent months in the exclave between Poland and Lithuania, two NATO and European Union members. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Dec. 16 that it had placed tactical rockets in its “western district”.
Russia is locked with the EU in a struggle for influence in Ukraine, where President Viktor Yanukovych is facing the biggest protests in a decade after rejecting an EU accord in favor of closer Russian ties. Russia two days ago cut the price of natural gas paid by Ukraine by a third and offered to buy $15 billion of its neighbor’s debt.
Satellite images showed Iskander missiles, known as SS-26 in NATO code, in Kaliningrad, Bild said on Dec. 14. The Iskanders can deliver conventional or nuclear warheads in a range of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), which would encompass the Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish capitals, it said.
Russia said in 2011 that it may respond by deploying Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad if the U.S. built a planned missile-defense system in Europe.
businessweek

Russia Test-Fires Range Of Nuclear-capable Missiles

Russia on Wednesday test-fired a series of short- and long-range nuclear-capable missiles as part of an unannounced check of the readiness of its massive Soviet-era force.
The defense ministry said several ballistic missiles were successfully launched from the Bryansk and Svyatoy Georgy Pobedonosets submarines stationed in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas.
The ground-based strategic forces also fired one Topol and one Voyevod intercontinental ballistic missile from positions in northern and central Russia.
Both missiles hit their assigned targets on the Russian Far East’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
The country’s armed forces also test-fired four Iskander and Tochka-U short-range rockets as well as about 15 S-300 and S-400 air defense missiles that Russia’s produces primarily for export.
Russia is the only country in the world to still fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at specific targets as part of periodic tests.
Most of the launches are performed to either ensure the safety of Russia’s aging arsenal or to test new rockets that could penetrate a missile defense system now gradually being deployed by NATO in Europe.
defensenews

Spying Known at Top Levels, US Officials Say

James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, testified before the House Intelligence Committee that the N.S.A. had kept senior officials in the National Security Council informed of surveillance it was conducting in foreign countries. He did not specifically say whether President Obama was told of these spying efforts, but he appeared to challenge assertions in recent days that the White House had been in the dark about some of the agency’s practices.
Their testimony came amid mounting questions about how the N.S.A. collects information overseas, with Republicans and Democrats calling for a congressional review, lawmakers introducing a bill that would curb its activities and Mr. Obama poised to impose his own constraints, particularly on monitoring the leaders of friendly nations. At the same time, current and former American intelligence officials say there is a growing sense of anger with the White House for what they see as attempts to pin the blame for the controversy squarely on them.
Clapper said that spying on foreign leaders — even those of allies — was a basic tenet of intelligence tradecraft and had gone on for decades. European countries, Mr. Clapper said, routinely seek to listen in on the conversations of American leaders.
Asked whether the White House knows about the N.S.A.’s intelligence-gathering, including on foreign leaders, Mr. Clapper said, “They can and do.” But, he added, “I have to say that that does not extend down to the level of detail. We’re talking about a huge enterprise here, with thousands and thousands of individual requirements.”
The White House has faced criticism for the N.S.A.’s surveillance practices since the first revelations by a former agency contractor, Edward J. Snowden, in June. But in recent weeks it has struggled to quell a new diplomatic storm over reports that the agency monitored the cellphone of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for more than a decade. White House officials said that the president did not know of that surveillance, but that he has told Ms. Merkel that the United States is not monitoring her phone now and would not in the future.
On Wednesday, a delegation of senior German officials is scheduled to meet at the White House with Mr. Clapper, the president’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice; his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco; and other officials.
nytimes

Iran's Leader Reduces Posts of Military Elite

Iran's new president, moved to significantly reduce the presence of the country's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in Tehran's next government—a trend U.S. and European officials cautiously take as a hopeful sign for international efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program.
wsj

European Missile R&D Partnership Extended

Missile research in France and the U.K. is organized around the Materials and Components for Missiles Innovation and Technology Partnership (MCM ITP). Founded in 2007 and slated to run six years, the 89 partners—industry, small and medium-sized businesses, laboratories and universities—work under the umbrella of MBDA, the Anglo-French-Italian missile group, with an annual budget of €14 million ($18.7 million) shared equally by France and the U.K.
aviationweek

Iran importing missile-grade ore from Germany, France

Exploiting a loophole in Western sanctions, Iran is importing a high grade of refined alumina ore from several European countries including Germany and France that Tehran could be using to make armor parts and missile components.
Western measures imposed on Iran over its disputed nuclear program have hit many sectors of its economy including steel and other metals, where it is heavily dependent on imports. Tehran says its atomic work is peaceful.
reuters

ESA-EDA Flight Demo On Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Insertion Into Civil Airspace

San Javier Air Base (Murcia) was selected to conduct the trials and demonstrate that satellite communications are suitable to operate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs) and integrate them into civil airspace.
The DeSIRE project (Demonstration of Satellites enabling the Insertion of RPAS in Europe) is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Defence Agency (EDA) within an initiative to support the utilization of RPAS complemented by satellites for commercial and governmental applications.

defencetalk

Dutch And Spanish EU Naval Force Warships Conduct Helicopter Exercise

On the morning of 27 March, the helicopter of Dutch EU Naval Force warship HNLMS De Ruyter landed on the flight deck of the Spanish EU Naval Force vessel ESPS Rayo, becoming the first helicopter from another Operation Atalanta unit to land on the Spanish warship. This helicopter landing occurred as the two ships conducted a ‘Cross-Deck’ exercise, utilizing the new NH-90 type helicopter – known as “Fiber” – embarked on board HNLMS De Ruyter. This type of exercise seeks to increase interoperability among naval forces within the Operation Atalanta Task Force.
The Dutch helicopter conducted a total of six landings on the flight deck of ESPS Rayo for pilot qualification purposes. Following this, they conducted a VERTREP (Vertical Replenishment) which entailed the transporting of one member of the Dutch helicopter’s crew from the Rayo to the De Ruyter. Finally, as a farewell, “Fiber” conducted a pass down the starboard side of ESPS Rayo on her flight back to HNLMS De Ruyter.

eunavfor

Chinese hackers target EADS

Last year, a cyber attack by Chinese hackers on European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) was so serious that the management reported the incident to the German government.
spiegel.de

Flaws found in U.S. missile shield

Secret Defense Department studies cast doubt on whether a multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe can ever protect the U.S. from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say.
Military officials say they believe they can overcome the problems and are moving forward with plans. But proposed fixes could prove difficult. One possibility has been ruled out as technically unfeasible. A second, relocating missile interceptors planned for Poland and possibly Romania to ships on the North Sea, could be diplomatically troublesome.

usatoday

Neuron UCAV maiden flight

Europe’s unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) stealth technology demonstrator, nEUROn successfully completed its maiden flight from the Dassault Aviation company’s flight test base in Istres, France, on December 1 in collaboration with the flight test personnel of the French DGA defense procurement agency who controlled the air space during the flight test.

The nEUROn program was launched in 2006 by the DGA, and involves France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Greece and Switzerland. It was never intended to become a prototype UCAV but rather a project to maintain a future for aeronautic excellence and know-how in Europe.
With Dassault Aviation as prime contractor, the program was designed to pool the skills and know-how of Alenia Aermacchi (Italy), Saab (Sweden), EADS-CASA (Spain), HAI (Greece), RUAG (Switzerland) and Thales (France).

Christina Mackenzie-aviationweek

Increasing Europe’s Strategic Tanker Capability By 2020

During the meeting of the EDA steering board on 19 November, defence ministers from ten European states signed a letter of intent to work together to boost their military air-to-air refueling capacity.

defencetalk

Spanish Admiral to Lead EU Anti-Piracy Mission

A Spanish admiral was appointed on Tuesday to lead the EU anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.

nosint

en.ria