UK Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
The only AEW Airbus has is the EADS CASA C-295 prototype. So when I read
Lawmakers quizzed Gavin Williamson and his colleagues over why a rival proposal teaming Saab’s Erieye airborne warning and control system with Airbus A330 aircraft had not been given a chance to meet the Royal Air Force’s requirements.
Because although the SAAB may be ready to go the A330 AEW is vapor, and probably won't be flying till 2030.
 
Yesterday at 8:02 AM
Oct 9, 2018
now inside
Lawmaker accuses British defense minister of Boeing favoritism
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:

"Williamson confirmed the Royal Air force wants the first Wedgetail handed over by 2022. That’s a sign of how fast the current 26-year-old fleet of Sentry aircraft are aging and Britain’s desire to address the latest threats."
and
Pressure mounts on UK defense chief over pick of Boeing surveillance plane
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British defense procurement officials are facing fresh questions about their plan to buy Boeing Wedgetail E-7 airborne early warning aircraft for the Royal Air Force without holding a competition.

At issue is whether the government is rightfully leaning toward sole-sourcing the U.S. contractor's offering over a European-made system consisting of Saab's Erieye radar and an Airbus 330 airframe.

In one of two letters released late Oct. 17 by the parliamentary Defence Committee, Saab United Kingdom boss Andrew Walton rejected the Ministry of Defence’s argument that marrying the company’s sensor with the Airbus plane would pose a problem. Instead, he explained, the combination would represent the “lowest risk” of any platform on which Erieye has been placed.

The Saab letter was made public alongside a missive from panel Chairman Julian Lewis to Defence Procurement Minister Stuart Andrew. That letter poses several questions about how the MoD reached its decision to move forward with a plan to sole-source the Wedgetail when the ministry lacked detailed information on the A330-Erieye combination.

In particular Lewis wanted to know why an offer from Saab to supply classified technical information relating to the performance of Erieye was declined by the RAF and the Defence Equipment and Support organization.

It’s highly unusual, if not unprecedented, that a letter publicly refuting the procurement reasoning of the MoD and its officials is published.

If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies without holding a competition. That is raising industry concerns.

At least one further major, single-source deal is waiting in the wings for approval.

Saab’s Walton used his letter to defend the company’s ability to meet MoD timelines.

“Detailed analysis indicates that it would take less than 36 months to integrate the first A330-Erieye system and subsequent platforms would follow at nine-month intervals,” the executive wrote.

The Swedish company would lead the integration effort. The Saab letter said the first A330 integration would take place in Madrid, Spain, where Airbus has a military aircraft facility, but the remainder of the aircraft would be modified in the U.K.

Boeing has made a similar undertaking in its effort to generate work locally on any Wedgetail purchase.

Industry executives said the U.S. company plans to undertake conversion of the 737 airliner to a Wedgetail configuration at the Cambridge base of Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group.

With a fast-decaying airborne early warning capability, caused in part by long-term underinvestment in the RAF Sentry E-3D fleet and a changing threat environment, Britain wants the first aircraft in the hands of the military during 2022.

About five aircraft are thought to be required for the aerial surveillance role by the RAF in a deal that could be worth in excess of $2.6 billion.

The MoD announced last month it was opening discussions with Boeing over a possible single-source deal, though officials are leaving themselves wiggle room by saying a final decision has yet to be made.

The British already fly the A330 in the tanker/transport role, and it is thought at least some of the platforms for any AEW proposal would come from the pool of 14 platforms owned by Airbus, but operated by the RAF, as part of a long-standing private finance initiative deal. A handful of those aircraft are available in the charter market and are only operated by the RAF when surge capacity is required.

The Swedish company said it had never failed to integrate the AEW system despite supplying Erieye to eight air forces, using five different platforms.

Saab is currently integrating a new extended-range version of Erieye on a modified Bombardier business jet for the United Arab Emirates, and the letter says Saab is in advanced negotiations for another AEW customer.

The letter from Walton was made public following
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earlier Wednesday by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and other defense leaders. Williamson and his officials told the committee that Wedgetail offered an opportunity to deliver the best capability at the earliest possible stage.

Air Vice Marshal Knighton, the British assistant chief of the Defence Staff for capability and force design, labeled the combination of the A330 and the Erieye a “paper aircraft” and said the system had particular integration challenges relating to the size of the wing of the jet.

“Because of the size of the wing, the A330 requires two radar antenna on top of the aircraft [rather than one]. It’s going to require complex integration to ensure you can unmask the radar from the wings; none of this has been done before," he told the committee. "The risk isn’t in the aircraft but the integration — that’s the challenge.”

It’s the second time in a week MoD officials have used the integration risk to justify not holding a competition.

Last week, Lt. Gen. Mark Poffley, deputy chief of the Defence Staff for finance and military capability, told the committee: “We have analyzed a series of options, including one from Airbus with Saab, and that has led us to the conclusion that we ought to pursue the implications of going single-source.”

Poffley appeared to point the finger at Airbus for some of the integration doubts.

“For the purposes of Airbus, it is about their ability to deliver in the time frames and to mitigate many of the risks we believe are inside that solution. We think we therefore need to pursue single-source,” he said.

“If you think about what we are trying to do here, it is to take a radar, some communication equipment and some aircraft systems, and integrate them inside an aircraft. That aircraft then has to be certified, and with complicated software programs of this type, our experience of all of that has led us to believe that even in the most optimistic of circumstances, the time frames are unlikely to meet where we think we need to be in order to counter the threat,” Poffley said.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies"

SAAB Defense of Sweden
Airbus Defense of Germany.
Boeing Defense of the United States of America.
They are all foreign if you are the UK.
 
"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies"

SAAB Defense of Sweden
Airbus Defense of Germany.
Boeing Defense of the United States of America.
They are all foreign if you are the UK.

if I were you, I wouldn't cut that sentence; it reads

"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies without holding a competition."

either you see the difference or you don't

(please don't repeat now your talking points

"SAAB Defense of Sweden
Airbus Defense of Germany.
Boeing Defense of the United States of America.
They are all foreign if you are the UK."

as they're specific to this contract, while the sentence

"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies without holding a competition."

is more general)
 
Yes but holding the "competition" would mean having competition.
IE building a A330 AEW. To compare to. Again none exist.
OK you repeated your talking points as I expected

anyway I'm guessing the whole point of that sentence

"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies without holding a competition."

is to avoid the FOREIGN likes of
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so that the LOCAL likes of
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can be involved LOL
 
Normally it's one of your talking points, the established proven design vs the unknown "balsa wood game changer".
well as I told you before, I look at what people leave out

Today at 8:14 AM
:
"anyway I'm guessing the whole point of that sentence

"If the deal with Wedgetail goes ahead, it will be the latest in a string of contract decisions made in favor of foreign companies without holding a competition."

is to avoid the FOREIGN likes of
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so that the LOCAL likes of
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can be involved LOL"

what people keep, though, is what they may use as a diversion, no? LOL
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
So Type 26 looks to be hitting milestones

With Aussies and Canada joining the final tally could be more than 30 units

Wow
 
GI Janes UK
SAS: Women allowed to join for first time

25 October 2018
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Women will be able to apply for any British military role for the first time, the defence secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson announced that all combat roles were now open to women, including serving in special forces units such as the SAS.

He said for the first time the "armed forces will be determined by ability alone and not gender".

A ban on women serving in close combat units in the British military was lifted in 2016.

The Royal Armoured Corps, which operates tanks, was the first ground close combat branch to open its doors to women in November 2016.

Since then, about 35 women have either served in, or been trained to join, the Royal Armoured Corps.

The opening of roles for women in close combat has been phased.

As of now, women already serving in the Army are able to apply for the Royal Marines and the infantry. That will open the door for them to join special forces units such as the SAS after the necessary training.

Mr Williamson told BBC News: "We very much expect women to be joining the SAS and the Special Boat Service.

"The value that they'll bring, the impact they'll make will be phenomenal and all the services are looking forward to welcoming them."

L/Cpl Kat Dixon, who serves with the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, is the first female tank gunner in her regiment having joined the Army reserves two and a half years ago.

She said: "I don't want to say I am a trailblazer but I want people to follow. I think women have a lot to offer.

"If you can meet the necessary requirements I don't think anything should be off-limits but you should have to meet the same requirements."

She said the physical tests she had to pass were difficult, adding that "it presents different challenges for women but they are not unsurpassable".

"The lads in the squadron are very supportive of me," she said. "You are just one of them. When you have got this kit on it doesn't really matter."

However, retired officer Col Richard Kemp said the new policy would "cost lives".

"My experience is if you have a team of men, even with one or two women, it could lead to divisiveness."

"I am not blaming women, but anything that undermines that teamwork will cost lives."
 
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