ISSU

E 6

/ 20

15Published by

CONTENT

• Defence

• Technology

• Industry

• LAAD Special

MASTHEAD

ESD SpotlightEmailnewsletterofthebimonthlymagazine“European Security & Defence” (ESD)

Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Peter BossdorfDeputy Editor-in-Chief: Henning BartelsManaging Editors: Dorothee Frank (df) (newsletter)andStephenBarnard(magazine)Editors: Wilhelm Bocklet (wb), Gerhard Heiming (gwh), Yury Laskin (yl)

Layout: daviscreativmediaGmbH,Bonn,GermanyPhoto front page: Crown Copyright, MoD UK

Published byMittlerReportVerlagGmbHA company of Tamm Media Group

MittlerReportVerlagGmbHBaunscheidtstrasse 1153113 Bonn, GermanyPhone: +49 228 350087-0Telefax: +49 228 350087-1Email:esd.spotlight@mittler-report.dewww.euro-sd.com

Managing Directors: Thomas Bantle, Dr. Peter Bossdorf and Peter TammThe company is located in BonnDistrictCourtofBonn–HRB18658IdentificationnumberDE811223089

Following the case of “Al Saadoon & Others v Secretary of State for Defence” discussion again arose in the UK as to whether the European ConventiononHumanRights(ECHR)issuitablefor troops in combat. The controversy, that has simmered without result since 2014, is rein-forced now by the updated report “Clearing the Fog of Law: Saving our armed forces from defeatby judicialdiktat”thattheBritishthinktank “Policy Exchange” published this Monday.

Sued for breaking the “Right to Life”Theauthors,RichardEkins, JonathanMorgan,and Tom Tugendhat, write that a new view on militaryactionshasbecomeestablishedinsidethe judicial system, making it almost impossible for the military to fulfill its assignments. Thebeginning of this process was “Smith v Minist-ry of Defence” in 2013. The authors state: “The UKSupremeCourtestablishedforthefirsttimethatsoldiersinjuredinbattleorthefamiliesofthosekilledinactionmaysuetheGovernmentfor negligence in tort law – and for breach of the “Right to Life” under Article 2 of the Eu-ropean Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).This judgment built upon the earlier Strasbourg case of Al Skeini v UK (2011), which extended thereachoftheECHRtoBritishtroopsfightingin Iraq – a foreign country which is, of course, notasignatorytothatConvention.”“Only this month, in Al Saadoon & Others v Secretary of State for Defence, the High Court made it clear that the consequence of these judgments is that the ECHR applieswhereverandwheneveraBritishsoldieremploys force:shootingan individual isnowenoughtobringthatforeignnationalintothejurisdictionoftheUKunderthetermsofArticle1oftheECHR.Soforeignnationals,includingenemycombatants,may now sue Britain for breach of the ECHR

– both in domesticcourts, by virtue of theHumanRightsAct1998,andinStrasbourg.”Due to the success most trials had, a rush for money has started against Britain. The authors write: “These judicial developments have pa-ved theway for a ‘spike’ in litigation: at thebeginning of 2014, some 190 public law claims hadbeenfiledagainsttheMinistryofDefenceinrelationtoBritishmilitaryactioninIraq;bythe end of March 2015 this number is likely to have grown to 1,230 public law claims. This is in addition to a further 1,000 private law claims – of which more than 700 remain live.”

Geneva Conventions outfit ECHRThe authors demand that this new form of “judicial imperialism” should urgently be re-versed. “The ever-expanding reach of the ECHR is now supplanting far more practicallawsofwar–thecurrentGenevaConventionsand later Protocols under which our forces havefoughtsince1949.Incontrast,theECHRisdesignedforconditionsofpeaceinpost-warEurope. It is awholly impracticable code forregulatingtheconductof theBritishmilitaryin violent combat scenarios.”According to this Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence, said in a speech: “When Britain signed up to the convention no onethought it would apply extra-territorially. The-re is a perfectly sound body of internationallawwhichsetsout the rulescivilisednationshave agreed to apply to the conduct of hos-tilities, whether war is declared or not. Butfor some years the European Human RightsCourt’s decisions have taken us towards a rival structureof legal regulationovermilitaryde-tentionwhichthreatensourabilitytousethisessentialoperationaltool.” Dorothee Frank

Judicial imperialism against armed forcesLink to the report:www.policyexchange.org.uk

2ISSUE 6 / 2015

Defence

Stoltenberg addresses the EU

(df) In his speech before the European Par-liament’s Foreign Affairs Committee andSub-committee on Security and Defence,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergpointed out the possible areas of coopera-tionbetweenNATOandtheEU.“NATO has some unique capabilities andcompetences. The European Union has others. And we have to work together,” Stol-tenberg said. “And just to tell you a bit about what NATO is doing, we are increasing the readiness of our forces. We are doubling thesizeof theNATOResponseForce fromthirteen thousand to thirty thousand. We

are establishing as part of this enhanced NATO Re-sponse Force a Spearhead Force, a very high Readi-nessJointTaskForce.Andthe lead elements of this force will be able to move withinaslittleas48hours.Inaddition,weare also establishing command and control unitsinthethreeBalticcountries,plusPo-land,RomaniaandBulgaria.”Even though Stoltenberg made clear that NATO as a military alliance could address the military threats, he asked for closer working together between NATO and the EUinthecivilianandpoliticfield.“WhereI seeapotential forcooperationwith theEuropean Union is when it comes to buil-ding resilience together with our neigh-bours. And that is for instance both with our neighbours to the East of the European UnionandtotheEastofNATO;butalsointhe South. Countries like Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, they are partners of NATO. They arecooperatingwiththeEuropeanUnion.

They have all chosen to move on the path towards Europe, sharing our values. And we should work closely with them,” said Stoltenberg.Anotherpartwithbigpotentialwasnamedby Stoltenberg as the increase in defence investment. “It is not possible to do more exercising, more training, to provide collec-tive security and collective defencewhileatthesametimesupportingourpartnersin the East and in the South without inves-tingmoreindefence,”Stoltenbergsaidbe-fore he ended with the warning: “The Uni-ted States spends more than twice as much on defence as we do. They are responsible for around 70% of NATO‘s total defence ex-penditure. And this is not sustainable.”www.nato.int

(Pho

to: N

ATO

)

EU-Defence Research Group

(gwh)Thefirstmeetingofthenewlyestab-lishedDefenceResearchGroupwaschair- ed onMarch 30 by Elżbieta Bieńkowska,European Commissioner for Internal Mar-ket, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Thegroupmembersarepoliticians,acade-mics, researchers and industry, to advise on how the EU can support research rela-

ted to the Common Security and Defence Policy.This group follows the conclusions of the December 2013 European Council calling forthecreationofaso-called‘preparatoryaction’linkedtodefenceresearchbeyond2020. The implementation of defence di-rectives to strengthen the EU’s industrialdefence base is also planned.

The 16 members of the EU-Defence Re-search Group are: Federica Mogherini, Fer-nando Abril-Martorell, Carl Bildt, Antoine Bouvier, Håkan Buskhe, Paul de Krom, Tom Enders, Michael Gahler, Elisabeth Guigou, IanKing,BogdanKlich,MauroMoretti,Rei-mund Neugebauer, Arndt Schoenemann, Teija Tiilikainen and Nick Witney.www.ec.europa.eu

UK to support NATO Readiness Action Plan

(df) British Typhoon fighter jets based atRAFLossiemouthwilldeploy to theBalticregion in May this year in support of the BalticAirPolicingMission,announcedDe-fence Secretary Michael Fallon recently. Four Typhoons from 6 Squadron will de-ploy for four months.

Fallon also confirmed that theUKwill betheleadnationintheVeryHighReadinessJointTaskForce(VJTF)in2017andthenonrotationthereafter.TheVJTFisahighrea-diness, multinational force which will actasa‘spearheadforce’,formingNATO’sfirstresponse in the face of aggression.This follows decisions made at the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brussels,

where Fallon said: “The Readiness ActionPlan demonstrates the Alliance’s commit-ment to reinforce our collective defence,but strong words must be backed up with firmaction.That iswhy IamdelightedtoannouncethattheUKwillleadtheVJTFin2017 and contribute to the Baltic Air Po-licing mission again in order to put the Plan intopractice.”

3ISSUE 6 / 2015

New ICBM successfully tested

(yl) After the first evaluation process theRussiaMoD declared the latest Intercon-tinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) testinglaunch a full success. The tested RS-26 Rubezh (Frontier) is tobecome a successor for the ageing in-tercontinental force of the Russian Stra-tegic Rocket Forces (RVSN). The March18 launch took place at the Kapustin YartestingrangeintheAstrakhanregion.Thewarhead mock-up hit the target accurately

attheSary-ShagantestingfieldinKazakh-stanonlyfewminutesafterthestart.Therocket is said to be able to make evasive manoeuvresandchangesof directionathypersonic speed.The developer of the new ICBM – as well as all former mobile ground-based systems –istheMoscowInstituteofTeplotechnika(MIT). At the moment the RVSN operatethree mobile ICBMs (Topol, Topol-M and Yars)andfoursilo-basedICBMs(RS-18,RS-20, Topol-M and Yars).

According to the RVSN Commander inChief, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, the new ICBM will become operational nextyear with the Irkutsk based division.

(Pho

to:R

VSN)

Transformational logistics programme of the NCIA

(gwh) NATO Communications and Infor-mationAgency (NCIA) has selected Sopra Steria to deliver a transformational logis- ticsprogramme.The Logistics Functional Service (LOGFS)programme will provide improved in-teroperability across multiple functions,utilising existing platforms and open sys-tems. The contract will deliver the Logis- ticsFunctionalServices (LOGFS)capabilitypackageintwobaselines(2016and2017)for use by NATO’s Commands and member nations.Extremely comprehensive in nature, the LOGFS programme is key to NATO’s long termgoaltotransformlogisticschainma-nagement and will deliver operational,technical,managementandfinancialbene-fits.ThesystemwillenableNATOforcesto

plantheirresourceseffectivelyandcollab-oratively,respondrapidlytofastchangingsituations,andprovidebetter support fortroops in theatre. Sopra Steria’s approach to the LOGFS ar-chitecture uses Service Orientated Ar-chitecture (SOA), supporting Coalition ITinteroperabilityandre-useofexistingplat-forms.

Sopra Steria will be working to deliver this contract in partnership with a team of ex-pertsinspecificfields:● IABG fromGermany – offering systemssecurityexpertiseintheNATOcontextandspecialist training services●TeamnetfromRomania–bringingmedi-calinformationexpertise●ILIASSolutionsfromBelgium–providersof engineering and asset management capability● Quantum Research International fromUSA–bringingexpertise indefence infor-mationsystemsandconsultingservices●Luciad fromBelgium–offeringGeogra-phicInformationSystemsknowledge● Savi Technology from USA – offeringstandard-based asset tracking and consign-ment equipmentwww.soprasteria.com www.ncia.nato.int

(Pho

to: N

CIA)

Trends in European defence spending

(gwh) The European Defence Agency EDA has published the annual “Defence Data Booklet” giving 2013 defence spending of the EU member states.DespiteacqusitionofCroatiaas thenewmember, defence spending in the EU decreased by €1.7 billion to a level of €186billion.Followingthistrend,thede-fence expenditure has decreased since 2006by€32billionor15%.Contrary tothe trend, expenditure for research and

development (R&D) slightly increased to€7.5 billion, making four percent of total expenditure. Included are €2.1 billion for

researchandtechnology(R&T),whichdidnot reach the required level of two per-cent. Although data provided by the member states is not sufficient, EDA estimatescollaborative equipment procurementexpenditure decreased as well as natio-nallyoverlapping research. Just €4.8bil-lion(16%)outof€30billionwasspentoncollaborativeprocurement.CollaborativeR&T got only ten percent. That means90%ofR&Twasdrivennationally.www.eda.europa.eu

(Gra

phic

: EDA

)

4ISSUE 6 / 2015

V-Day parade to showcase new Russian armour

(yl) Recent photographs show the latestRussian Armata-T14 MBTs at the railwayplatform. The tanks were on the way totheMoscowregionexerciseareaforVicto-ry-Dayparadepreparations.OnMay9 theRussian Federation will celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in WWII. It has been announced that several examples of the latestweaponrywillbeatRedSquare.Ar-mata isanewgenerationmainbattletank

to serve theRussian army for thenext 20years. It has a 7-axle chassis. The unmanned turret has a 125mm gun to allow the crew to use a combat capsule in the vehicle’s bottompart.AccordingtoOlegBochkarev,

Military IndustrialCommitteedeputyheadArmata,serialproductionistostartatUral-vagonzavod,NizhnyTagil,in2018.Other reports witness the new Kurga-nets-25AFVwhichistobecomeauniversaltrackedplatform for thearmoredfightingvehicle,airbornefightingvehicle,APCandantitankSPHW.It has been reported that both Armata and Kurganets-25 will be joined at the V-Dayparade by Bumerang and Typhoon-family armoured vehicles (photo).

Pandur I upgrade

(gwh) The upgrade of 131 armoured wheeled 6x6 Pandur I has been orderedcollectivelybyAustriaandBelgium.RUAGhas developed custom-made solutionsforcrewprotectionofallfivePandurva-riants (personnel transport, ambulance, anti-tank, recovery, maintenance andcommand). The kits may be integrated without significant disassembly ormajorchanges.RUAG uses the SidePRO-KE/IED modularprotection system to protect the Panduragainstfire(kineticenergy)andimprovisedexplosive devices (IEDF) on a higher level.

Theamourplatesofdifferentmaterialswillbeinstalleddirectlyontheexistingarmour- ing.Toenhancemine-protectionMinePROadd-on-armourwillbefittedunderthebel-ly. RUAG will evaluate the crew compart-mentsand–whenrequired–optimisesto-

wageandseatingforcrewandpassengersto counter mines. Work on the five yearcontractwitha valueof€13,6millionwillstart in the next weeks. The Austrian Pandurs of the Bundesheer undergo an extended inspection at theHLogZ logistics centre inGraz. 40will getanEFWS remoteweaponstation fromESLAdvanced Information Technology GmbHto replace the current mechanical one. EFWS may be equipped with 12.7 mm MG, small-calibre MG or 40 mm grenade laun-cher.www.ruag.com www.bmlv.at

(Pho

to:Bun

deshee

r/Gu

nterPusch)

(Pho

to: U

.S. A

rmy)Patriot upgrade for South Korea

(df) The Republic of Korea has awardedRaytheona€711.4millioncontracttoup-grade their Patriot Air and Missile Defense SystembatteriestothelatestPatriotMis-sile Defense System Solution configura- tion.The upgrades include: Open architecture, which ensures Patriot can operate on a

varietyofnetworks.ModernManStation,a new operator interface featuring touch screen technology and colour graphical displays. Radar Digital Processor, whichimproves target detection and identifica-tion,enhancessurveillance,andsupportsthe PAC-3 MSE missile.This contract follows the upgrade of its missiles to theGEM-T configuration, that

theRepublicofKoreabeganin2014.www.raytheon.com

Technology

(Pho

to:R

osob

oron

expo

rt)

Delivery of new UH-72A Lakota

(df) Airbus Helicopters delivered the firstUH-72A Lakota helicopter in new configu-rationtotheU.S.Army.Theaircraftwilljoinseven Lakotas previously in the Army inven-

torythathavealreadybeenmodifiedtothetraining configuration and fielded to FortRucker, in preparation for Lakota’s formalintroductionintothetrainingcurriculuminearlyfiscal2016.Ultimately,Armyplanscall

foraninitial-entryrotarywingtrainingfleetof 187 Lakotas, made up of a mix of new deliveries and already in-service aircraftreconfiguredforthetrainingmission.www.uh-72a.com

5ISSUE 6 / 2015

SoSITE for saving costs

(df) Modern highly advanced technology has it’s price, a fact that the USA is facing just like any other country. Military systems todayareoftentooexpensivetoprocureinthequantitiesneeded,andmaytakesolongto develop that the electronic components theycontainareobsoletebythetimetheybecome operational. As this is especial-ly true for airborne platforms, DARPA haslaunched the System of Systems (SoS) In-tegration Technology and Experimentation(SoSITE) programme. SoSITE aims to develop and demonstra-te concepts for maintaining air superiority

through novel SoS architectures — combi-nations of aircraft, weapons, sensors andmission systems — that distribute air war-fare capabilities across a large number ofinteroperable manned and unmanned plat-forms. The vision is to integrate new techno-logies and airborne systems with existingsystems faster and at lower cost than near-peer adversaries can counter them.DARPA has awarded contracts to developconcepts for system-of-systems architec-tures and tools to facilitate their more ra-pid integration and testing. Under thosecontracts, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lock-heedMartin and Northrop Grumman are

developing and analyzing promising sys-tem-of-system architectures and are desig-ning plans for flight experimentationwiththese architectures. Apogee Systems, BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins are develo-ping tools and technologies to enhance cur-rent open-system architecture approaches.www.darpa.mil

(Graph

ic:D

ARPA

)

Brazilian Cacador MALE

(df)Brazil isdevelopingtheCacadornatio-nalmediumaltitudelongendurance(MALE)RPAS(remotelypilotedaircraftsystem).Cacador’s multi-mission system is basedonIAI’sHeronRPAS,whichhasbeeninusein theBrazilianFederalPolice since2010.Transfer of technology is made by IAI to the Brazilian partner company Avionics Ser-vices.TheCacadorRPASwillbeequipped

withanautomatictakeoffandlandingsys-tem (ATOL) and will be adapted for a broad range of tasks, utilising diverse missionpayloads. Cacadorwillcarrymultiplepayloadsforli-ne-of-sight missions or beyond line of sight usingsatellitecommunications.Itssensorswill feed ISRdata to the ground segmentandtotactical-levelendusersinreal-time.The system includes an advanced ground

segmentofferingasophisticatedManMa-chine Interface (MMI) with advanced, er-gonomic and modular design.www.iai.co.ilwww.avionics.com.br

(Pho

to: I

AI)

U.S. Air Force Space Fence Radar

(df) In a ceremony on Kwajalein Atoll in the PacificOceantheU.S.AirForceandLock-heedMartin broke ground at the futuresix-acre site of the new Space Fence radar system.TheeventmarkedtheofficialstartofconstructionfortheS-bandground-ba-sed radar system, designed to replace the 1960sAirForceSpaceSurveillanceSystem,to improve the way objects are tracked in orbit and increase our ability to predict and prevent space-based collisions.

“The number of small satellites and sa-tellite operators around the world is sky-rocketing, rapidly crowding an environ-ment already congested by the more than 17,000 pieces of space debris that we are able to track today,” said Steve Bruce, vice president for Advanced Systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems andTraining business. “By comparison, when it comes online in 2018, Space Fence will enable the Air Force to locate and track hundreds of thousands of objects orbi-

tingEarthwithmoreprecision thaneverbefore, to help reduce the potential forcollisionswithourcriticalspace-basedin-frastructure.”In addition to the radar arrays, theKwa-jalein installation will include an on-siteoperations centre and an annex to thecurrent island power plant that will ensu-re the Space Fence system has everything necessarytoprovidecontinuousspacesi-tuationalawareness.www.lockheedmartin.com

European airlift course in Bulgaria

(wb)Thisyear’sfirsteditionoftheEurope-anAdvancedAirliftTacticsTrainingCourse(EAATTC) just started in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Academic sessions and live missions will takeplaceuntil3April2015,withgradua-tingcrewsjoiningfromfourEUcountries.

Initiatedby theEuropeanDefenceAgen-cy and run by the European Air Transport Command, the EAATTC series of courses aim to provide air transport crews with a robustairlifttacticstrainingsyllabusinor-der to enhance interoperability between European air forces. EAATTC 15-1, hos-

ted by the Bulgarian Air Force in Plovdiv, started with the first academic sessionsand familiarizationflights.FourcountriesarejoiningEAATTC15-1withtheirtacticaltransport aircraft: Bulgaria (1 x C-27J),Germany (1 x C160), France (1 x C-130)andItaly(1xC-130J).

6ISSUE 6 / 2015

(Graph

ic:D

ARPA

)Research on UAS for small ships

(df)DARPAhasawardedprimecontractsforPhase 2 of “Tern”, a joint programme bet-weenDARPA and theU.S. Navy’sOffice ofNavalResearch(ONR).ThegoalofTernistogive forward-deployed small ships the abi-lity to serve as mobile launch and recovery sites for medium-altitude, long-enduranceunmanned aerial systems (UAS). These sys-tems could provide long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) andothercapabilitiesovergreaterdistancesandtime periods than is possible with current

assets, including manned and unmanned helicopters. Further, a capacity to launch and retrieveaircraftonsmallshipswouldreducethe need for ground-based airstrips, which require significant dedicated infrastructure

and resources. The two prime contractors selectedbyDARPAareAeroVironmentandNorthrop Grumman. The first two phases of the Tern program-me focus on preliminary design and risk reduction.InPhase3,onecompanywillbeselected to build a full-scale demonstrator Ternsystemforinitialground-basedtesting.That testingwill lead to a full-scale, at-seademonstrationofaprototypeUASonanat-seaplatformwithdecksizesimilartothatofa destroyer or other surface combat vessel.www.darpa.mil

(Pho

to:B

jörnW

ilke/Ge

rman

Navy)

TKMS in India

(df) German company Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is heading into the Indian submarine procurement pro-gramme. The Indian Navy wants to renew

theirunderwaterfleetbybuyingsixsub-marines. TKMS will offer its HDW Class214 submarines with fuel-cell based Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. The HDW Class 214 combines the proven

design principles of the HDW Class 209 family with additional features of HDWClass 212A, the newest submarine of the German Navy.www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com

Maritime Mine Counter Measures

(df) On behalf of the French Defence Procu-rement Agency (DGA) and UK MOD’s De-fence Equipment& Support organisation,OCCAR has awarded the Maritime MineCounter Measures (MMCM) contract to Thales,incollaborationwithBAESystems,their partners in France (ECA) and in the UK(ASV,Wood&Douglas,SAAB).Initiatedin 2012 under a cooperation agreementbetween France and the United Kingdom, the MMCM programme develops a proto-typeautonomoussystemfordetectionandneutralisationofseaminesandunderwa-ter improvised explosive devices (UWIEDs). The MMCM contract includes three stages, startingwith a first phase for design. Thenext stages, which are subject to contract options,willmanufacture andexperiment

with the future mine countermeasures capabilities of both France (SLAM-F futu-re mine countermeasures system) and the United Kingdom (MHC – Minecounter-measures and Hydrography Capability). The programme will deliver an autonomous, remotely operated mine countermeasures solution. As part of the MMCM programme, Thales andBAE Systems are committed to provi-ding systems to both the French Navy and Royal Navy for two years of evaluation.EachsystemwillcompriseaUSV(Unman-nedSurfaceVehicle)equippedwithanau-tonomous navigation system, an obstacledetection and avoidance sonar, a threatidentification and neutralisation capabilitybased on ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehi-cles), a T-SAS (Towed Synthetic Aperture

Sonar)andAUVs(AutonomousUnderwaterVehicles).ThegeolocatedAUVswillusethelatest-generation synthetic aperture sonarSAMDISwithmulti-aspectfunctionalityforimproved classification. Theywill performtheir tasks autonomously with control fromahostshiporshore-basedstationviahigh-data-ratecommunicationlinks.www.baesystems.comwww.thalesgroup.com

(Gra

phic

: Tha

les)

U35 enters service

(df) The submarine “U35” has entered ser-vice in the German Navy. The U35 is the firstU212Aof the2ndbatch,whichdifferfrom the 1st batch in several areas. For example, the 212As of the 2nd batch (U35 andU36)haveanewandmorepowerful

sensorandweaponsystem.Whilethefirstbatchhaveflankarraysonar(FAS)andto-wed array sonar (TAS) with the cylindrical array sonar as the core of the sensor con-figuration,thesecondbatchwillhave–forthefirsttime–awideareaenhancedflankarray sonar (EFAS).

7ISSUE 6 / 2015

Industry

Tosubscribe/unsubscribefromthisnewsletterpleasewriteanemailwith“Subscribe“or“Unsubscribe“inthe reference line to: esd.spotlight@mittler-report.de

Volga-Dnepr wins one of the Wings of Russia Awards

(df)Volga-DneprGrouphasbeenhonouredwithaspecialawardtomarkits“Contributi-ontothedevelopmentofRussianairtrans-port”intheannualWingsofRussiaAwardsto recognise excellence in commercial air transport. Sergey Shklyanik, Senior VicePresident of Volga-Dnepr was presentedwith the Group’s award at a ceremony in MoscowbyValeryOkulov,Russia’sDeputy

MinisterofTransport.This is thefirsttimetheWingsofRussiaAwardshasincludedacategory to acknowledge a company’s out-standing contribution to the developmentofRussianaviation.Thenewawardcomesas Volga-Dnepr prepares to celebrate the25th anniversary of its first commercialflight.ThisisthethirteenthWingsofRussiaawardto be presented to the Group. Its charter air-line,Volga-DneprAirlines,andAirBridgeCar-

go Airlines, have previously won the “Airline oftheYear-CargoCarrieronDomesticandInternational Routes” award. Volga-DneprAirlineshasbeenhonouredseventimesandAirBridgeCargo on four occasions since the awardsbeganin1997.Volga-DneprGroup’smost recent award, prior to this latest suc-cess, came in 2013 when it won the “Best Business Project in Russian Civil Aviation”category.www.volga-dnepr.com

(Pho

to: O

HB S

E)OHB AG converted into OHB SE

(gwh) Following the entry in the com-mercial register, OHB AG has officiallyadopted the legal structure of a Societas Europaea and is therefore now known as OHB SE.OHBSE’sregisteredofficesandheadquar-terswillremaininBremen.ByadoptingSEstatus, OHB is responding to the growing

Europeanization of space technology andthe Group’s increasing intercultural struc-tures. The change of corporate status will permit improved governance and promote an open and European corporate culture. Atthesametime,itisnoweasierforOHBSE to establish new branches within the Eu-ropean Union.www.ohb.de

Facility in Brazil for airborne radars

(df) The Brazilian strategic defence com-pany IACIT is preparing to open a modern, world-class maintenance facility in Brazilfor the local support and maintenance of IAI-ELTA’s airborne radars. The facility will willprovideacompletetestingsystem.This facility is part of the trans-fer-of-technology and knowhow by IACIT

and its technology partner IAI-ELTA, and will serve the growing number of ELM-2032FireControlRadarsinusebytheBra-zilianNavy,aswellastheELM-2022Ma-ritimePatrol radar in operationwith theBrazilian Air Force. The facility includeshighly-automated test equipment to pro-vide rapid and reliable turnaroundtimesfor the radar systems.

TheELM-2032FireControlRadarwaspro-vided for the Brazilian Navy A4 Skyhawkaircraftwhichunderwenthighlysuccessfulavionic and system upgrades. The ELM-2022radarisinoperationalusebytheBra-zilianAir ForceC-295andP-3fleet for itsmaritime patrol, surveillance, and searchandrescue(SAR)missions.www.iacit.com.br

Rossner new head of A400M programme

(df) Following the reorganization of theA400M programme announced earlier, KurtRossner,currentlyHeadofLight&Me-dium&DerivativeswithinMilitaryAircraft,has been appointed Head of the A400M programmewitheffectfromApril1.Hewill

report directly to Fernando Alonso, Head ofMilitary Aircraftwithin Airbus Defenceand Space.Rossnerhasawideknowledgeofthepro-gramme after occupying different positi-ons in the A400M organisation over thepast years.Hewill replaceRafael Tentor,whowill inturnreplaceRossnerasHead

of Light & Medi-um & Derivatives,a position Tentoralready held be-fore heading the A400M program-me.www.airbus.com

(Pho

to: A

irbus

DS)

8ISSUE 6 / 2015

Information and communication services by Frequentis

(df)Frequentiswillshowcasetheirstate-of-the-art technology with focus on individual solutionsforcommandandcontrolcentresinsafetyandmission-criticalenvironmentsand especially on information and com-

munication services for network-enabledoperations. Frequentis designs solutionsfor a wide range of applications of net-work-enabled capabilities to efficientlysynchroniseeffortsofcivilianandmilitaryentitiesinmission-criticaloperations.Thesolutionsrepresentasafe investment

for current and future requirements, due to their level of availability and reliability, scalable and distinctive architecture, pro-duct and service quality, award-winning graphical user interfaces and inherent in-teroperability.www.frequentis.com

Chemring Defence at LAAD

(df) Chemring Defence will show their full range of pyrotechnic and security products on the Chemring booth. Among them are the less lethalsolutions forcrowdcontrolanddispersal.Asanexampleofthisportfo-lio the N201 Grenade Hand 83 CS consists

of an extruded aluminium casing surmoun-tedbyastandardflip-upleverignitionsys-tem (employing a centre-fire percussioncap). A single emission port is located cen-trally at the opposite end. To operate, the twist and pull pin is re- moved whilst the flip-up lever is held

againstthegrenadebody.Thestrikerfiresthepercussioncapwhentheflip-upleveris released.Effectiveemissionofawhiteirritant smoke cloud begins in less than five seconds. The grenade is alsowater-proof.www.chemringdefence.com

IAI shows RAM MK3

(df) Just in the forefield of LAAD, IsraelAerospace Industries (IAI) has received or-ders from two military customers in Africa to supply nearly 100 additional RAMMK3LightArmouredVehicles,whichwillalsobeshownatthetradeshowinBrazil.All RAM MK3 vehicles have a proprietarymonocoque hull constructed from armored

steeltowithstandacustomerdefinedrangeof ballistic andmine threats. The vehiclesare powered by an air-cooled turbocharged

dieselenginethatprovidesoptimalpower-to-weight ratio for extreme cross countrymobility.Oversized12.5x20inchestiresonrun-flatwheelscomplimentthispowerratioto deliver agility, excellent ground clearance andreliableoperationonandoff-road,withthe ability to travel over long distances at normalspeeds,evenwithpuncturedtires.www.iai.co.il

(Pho

to: I

AI)

Missiles and air defence systems by Diehl Defence

(df) Diehl Defence will showcase their latest missiles and air defence solution at LAAD.Especially the proven air-to-air precision missile IRIS-T, that has been successfullyintegrated in many European countries and different military aircrafts, is of interest.IRIS-Tisahigh-agilityair-to-airguidedmissi-le with infrared seeker head for air engage-ment in the short and very short range but alsoforlonger-rangeinterceptionmissions.

Another highlightwill be the flexible sys-temsolution formodernairdefence.Thelauncherofthisairdefencesystem,IRIS-TSLM,will be shown in Brazil. The verticallaunchprovides360°protection.Thesee-ker is locked onto the target to be engaged duringmissileflight(lock-onafterlaunch).Target data are updated during the flightvia data link. IRIS-T SLM enables simulta-neous engagement of several targets, even atveryshortrangeandwithshortreactiontimes. Due to its high degree of automa-

tion, it is suited for continuous operationwithminimumstaffrequirements.www.diehl.com/en/

(Pho

to: D

iehl

Def

ence

)