Latest
on top (updated regularly):
(https://twitter.com/martinbroek)
January 6
***
***
#ITT Corporation and #Thales Nederland have signed an exclusive agreement for ITT to build and market the SMART-S Mk2 radar system (https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/defence-and-security/naval-forces/above-water-warfare/smart-s-mk2) in the United States and for FMS/FMF programs. https://www.defense-aerospace.com/itt-to-market-thales-radar-in-us/
January 5
***
Part of the
category: bad records. German arms export record high. Besides
Ukraine, large recipient countries in 2023: Norway (€1.2 bn),
Hungary (€1bn) and weapon exports to Israel (almost €330m).
https://www.fr.de/politik/eine-schande-fuer-die-bundesregierung-aktivist-kritisiert-exportrekord-bei-ruestung-92759104.html
Same
category, arms again, but different issue: United States: new record
year with more than 650 shootings in 2023. "In a country where
the gun lobby is so powerful, mass shootings do not seem to change
the legislative direction nationwide."
https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/etats-unis-nouvelle-annee-record-avec-plus-de-650-fusillades-en-2023-20240103
***
NATO ally
#Turkey blocked the transit of #Ukraines newly-commissioned mine
countermeasure vessels (#MCMV), which had been donated to Kyiv by the
#UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-minehunting-ships-to-bolster-ukrainian-navy-as-uk-and-norway-launch-maritime-support-initiative)
to bolster the Ukrainian Navys ability to monitor and protect its
shoreline.
https://themedialine.org/headlines/turkey-blocks-2-ships-donated-by-uk-to-ukraine-from-traveling-through-turkish-straits/
The
US needs to play hardball with Turkey. A tough stance toward Ankara
is the only way to defend US regional interests and stop Erdogan’s
mercurial and manipulative policies, writes Eric S. Edelman former US
ambassador to Turkey with Sinan Ciddi.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/05/biden-erdogan-hamas-turkey-hardball-diplomacy/
"#Turkey has allowed itself to become a vital #enabler of #violent_Islamist_extremist_forces in #Syria with funds & arms flowing through Turkey" into Syria and "has repeatedly demanded that the US reposition its forces, launched airstrikes on US partners."
***
The Jewish
Voice for Peace shut down the California Assembly on Wednesday by
staging a disruptive protest calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, while
singing the phrases, "Cease-fire now,""Not in our
name" and "Let Gaza live."https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-capitol-protest-18586019.php
***
Late December 2023
#DSCA authorized a major military sale to #Saudi Arabia. The deal,
estimated at $1 billion, includes a comprehensive "Blanket Order
Training" program of the Saudi #Air_Force and other Saudi forces
and goes along with related equipment.
https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/saudi-arabia-blanket-order-training-0
***
#Irish
defence officials advised that the former flagship of the #Naval
Service be #scrapped amid fears of a repeat of the LÉ Aisling
situation
(https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/libyan-warlord-paid-1-35m-for-ex-irish-naval-vessel-sold-by-ireland-for-100-000-1.4112621),
when an ex-Naval Service #ship ended up in the hands of a #Libyan
warlord.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/01/05/defence-officials-advised-scrapping-of-naval-service-former-flagship-le-eithne/
***
The German
government has updated the list of military aid provided to Ukraine
(https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/news/military-support-ukraine-2054992)
on Thursday, 4 January. The deliveries include IRIS-T SLM missiles
against missiles and drones.
https://news.yahoo.com/germany-supplies-ukraine-missiles-iris-184144190.html
***
#GAO is
concerned over the US #SOCOM Armed Overwatch program. It aims to
procure 75 Air Tractor/L3Harris AT-802U Sky Warden #aircraft.
GAO’s found analysis used by SOCOM &
#AFSOC to justify the fleet size rests on “unproven assumptions”.
Thus reconsider.
https://bnnbreaking.com/world/us/gao-questions-socoms-armed-overwatch-program/
And
the reaction from SOF-side:
Is Congress Aiming to Kill Special
Forces’ Close Air Support?
The Armed Overwatch program remains key
for the special operations community.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/congress-aiming-kill-special-forces%E2%80%99-close-air-support-208363
January 4
***
British
company to resume production of M777 howitzer parts as war drives
defense-industry changes.
https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/world/u-s-and-bae-to-bring-back-popular-howitzer-after-success-in-ukraine/ar-AA1mrBnS
The
US Army has decided to reinitiate the procurement of M777 howitzer
parts from the British defense firm BAE Systems, marking a
significant move following the success of these artillery pieces on
Ukrainian battlefields.
https://www.indrastra.com/2024/01/additional-m777-howitzer-components.html
***
Suicide
drones & AI systems: Strict regulations + the dominance of the
major military firms mean few small startups are founded in Israel
each year. They are looking at new opportunities amid geopolitical
tensions, rising military budgets, & the Gaza war.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-03/ty-article-magazine/.premium/suicide-drones-and-ai-with-gaza-as-testing-ground-israeli-defense-startups-flourish/0000018c-cf39-ddba-abad-cfb9a3ee0000
***
De 4
LCF-fregatten van de marine worden vanaf 2027 uitgerust met
Tomahawkkruisvluchtwapens (type Block V). Je weet wel dat wapen waar
de VS interventies in Irak mee startten en waar landen als straf mee
beschoten werden.
+ meer in tijdschrift Alle Hens.▽ https://magazines.defensie.nl/binaries/defensie/documenten/publicaties/2024/01/03/alle-hens-2023-10/AH10_23_AlleHens_WEB_low.pdf
***
European
nations team up to buy Patriot missiles in $5.5 billion deal between
MBDA (financial holding, Rotterdam
https://drimble.nl/bedrijf/rotterdam/20150695/mbda-bv.html),
and RTX, formerly Raytheon.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/01/03/european-nations-team-up-to-buy-patriot-missiles-in-55-billion-deal/
See also this older article: Raytheon and MBDA to Jointly Build PATRIOT Missiles in Germany https://euro-sd.com/2022/12/articles/28560/raytheon-and-mbda-to-jointly-build-patriot-missiles-in-germany/
And this arsticle on the comparison
between the MBDA Aster missile and the Patriot.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/europes-aster-missile-defense-vs-americas-patriot-missile-who-wins-186058
By
the way if it strengthens the European defence industrial base
depends on the intellectual property rights, the US isn't friendly in
using these.
***
#US president
Biden on: adjusting imports of #aluminum into the US as reaction on
fears "steel articles are being imported into the US in such
quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the
national security of the United States."https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-01-03/pdf/2023-28995.pdf
***
Ilhan Omar
leads push to block over $650 million in #arms sales to #Saudi Arabia
& #UAE.
"Congress has the authority to stop these sales, and we must exercise that power," said the Minnesota Democrat. https://www.commondreams.org/news/arms-sales-us
"Unlike the US and Europe, Japan under its pacifist Constitution has a self-imposed ban on arms exports," is part of the text on the deliverance of biofuel tech to Ukraine. As if Japan isn't already gliding on the slippery slope of arms exports. Same page▽ https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/01/ef9ea00c3c9c-japan-to-give-ukraine-biofuel-technology-to-support-reconstruction.html
***
#Lithuania's
Defense Ministry will buy multifunctional artillery radar systems
Thales GM200 MM/C from Dutch company #Thales #Nederland, the ministry
said on Wednesday.
https://www.baltictimes.com/lithuania_to_buy_multifunction_radar_systems_from_the_netherlands/
***
Medical
Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) in Australia appeals for an
immediate halt to military exports to Israel and urges a wider
reevaluation of weapons sales to countries with records of human
rights violations.
https://bnnbreaking.com/world/australia/australias-mapw-calls-for-greater-scrutiny-of-arms-trade-amid-gaza-crisis/
***
Retweet
@FrankSlijper: "A license for the
shipment of NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i lithography systems in 2023 has
recently been partially revoked by the Dutch government, impacting a
small number of customers in China."https://www.asml.com/en/news/press-releases/2023/statement-regarding-partial-revocation-export-license
Chinese
government accuses the US of “hegemonic and bullying practices”
after reports emerged that Washington had pressured the Netherlands
to restrict the export of ASML machinery for the production of
semiconductors.
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/01/china-protests-american-technological-blockade-amid-semiconductor-battle/
broekstukken: The Economic Weapon, door Nicholas Mulder. Hier -> https://broekstukken.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-economic-weapon.htmlmijn samenvatting, bespreking en commentaar bij dit interessante boek dat een historische context geeft bij economische sancties.
January 3
***
Anti-imperialists
protest use of #Norwegian weapons by #Israel.
Despite official restrictions on
Norwegian arms export to Israel, weapons produced by the country’s
firms are reaching Israel through other countries like the US.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/03/anti-imperialists-protest-use-of-norwegian-weapons-by-israel/
DOZENS of Welsh
peace activists shut down one of Britain’s largest arms factories
today.
#Wales Peace Coalition campaigners held
banners saying “stop arming genocide” & “UK weapons kill”
as they blockaded #BAE Systems’s factory in Glascoed, near
Pontypool.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/welsh-peace-activists-block-bae-systems-factory-over-its-complicity-in-gaza-massacre
***
Finding the
invisible. Chinese scientists say cheap SQUID submarine detector is
world’s most sensitive. It could take the tech out of the hands of
a select few military powers & be used by packs of drones to find
and attack hidden vessels in the open sea.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3247126/chinese-scientists-say-cheap-squid-submarine-detector-worlds-most-sensitive
***
Arms export
to #India is the #German government's focus. Delhi has been
purchasing weapons from Russia for decades. If these can be replaced
by Western exports, the bond between Moscow and Delhi could be
weakened, it was said in German government circles.
The pressure
to make Riyadh an export destination for fighter aircraft is also
increasing. The gloves are almost off. #Airbus and trade union IG
Metall are already demanding follow-up orders from the Bundeswehr
"and export permits ... including to #Saudi Arabia."https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/verteidigung-deutschland-ruestet-auf/100003884.html
***
#Airbus works
on offer worth up to €1.8bn for #Atos cyber security unit. Airbus
has ambitions to expand its cyber activities. Guillaume Faury, Airbus
chief executive, told the FT in November the Toulouse-based company
wanted to “grow in #cyber”.
https://www.ft.com/content/b133de48-ccd7-4a06-adcd-2fbda05c2fc4
***
Retweet @KIVIDV:
Insturen van een voordracht voor de Kooy Prijs kan
nog tot 15 januari! € 2000,- voor de beste afstudeerscriptie in een
voor Defensie belangrijke technologie. TU / HTO
https://kivi.nl/afdelingen/defensie-en-veiligheid/kooy-afstudeerprijs
***
Arms export
control obsolete?
"Made in Germany" suddenly
becomes a stigma; The German arms industry is respected for its
technology. But now the political environment is threatening to
become an obstacle to sales, writes Gerhard Hegmann in Die Zeit.
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/plus249244574/Ruestungsriese-Deutschland-Wie-Made-in-Germany-ploetzlich-zum-Makel-wird.html
***
#UAE: #EDGE
to expand cooperation with #China’s #Norinco.
https://www.tacticalreport.com/daily/62427
***
The visit of
#Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khaled Bin Salman to #France in
December 2023 ushered in a new stage in defence relations between the
Riyad and Paris. He met CEOs of French military companies
#Naval_Group, #Dassault Aviation & #MBDA.
https://www.tacticalreport.com/daily/62428
***
In a
significant policy shift announced on 1 January 2024, Norway’s
government has authorised the direct sale of weapons and
defence-related products from Norwegian manufacturers to Ukraine’s
defence authorities.
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/norway-authorizes-direct-arms-sales-to-ukraine/
***
Adıgüzel of
the CHP highlighted the substantial increase in #arms exports to
#Israel from #Turkey, reaching $823 thousand in the 1rst 10 months of
2023, potentially doubling by year-end to underline words by Erdogan
and his son Bilal aren't met with deeds.
https://medyanews.net/turkish-presidents-son-calls-for-israel-boycott-amid-allegations-of-family-trade-links/
The biggest global security issue in 11 rankings (Jan-Nov 2023). Lets work together instead of walking into the next Cold War about who is the strongest and richest in an unlivable world.
2023 Expected to Be Hottest Year on Record https://www.statista.com/chart/18267/average-global-temperature-records/
January 2
***
Nederlandse
overheid hield levering ASML-machines aan China tegen.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2503489-nederlandse-overheid-hield-levering-asml-machines-aan-china-tegen
Reactie:
Niet alleen Nederland moet zich aanpassen in deze benadering (maar
bijvoorbeeld ook het Taiwanese TSMC). Bedrijven hebben geen keus.
Niet doen is kapot gaan. Wel doen biedt een kans op overleven. Het
antwoord moet niet uit Veldhoven, maar vanuit Den Haag en Brussel
komen.
Zo trekt de VS Europa de ramkoers in om de grootste
concurrent, China, te dwarsbomen. Men weet in de VS dat dit beleid
alleen vertraging voor de Chinese halfgeleider ontwikkeling betekent.
Bijvangst is het frustreren van Europese economie en 't versterken
van die in de VS.
Dit is 'n stevige
tekst over de Trans Atlantische relaties: Meeting the challenge of
secondary sanctions. Een Policy Paper over hoe Europa zou moeten
reageren op de VS-druk.
https://ecfr.eu/wp-content/uploads/4_Meeting_the_challenge_of_secondary_sanctions.pdf
Maar de soep zal niet zo heet gegeten worden als de schrijvers hem
opdienen.
***
F-35 program
eyes key but troubled upgrade, delivery restart. For months, newly
built #F35 Joint Strike Fighters #JSF have languished at Lockheed
Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas, awaiting the completion of
a key upgrade that has #stalled deliveries.
https://www.militarytimes.com/air/2023/12/30/f-35-program-eyes-key-upgrade-delivery-restart/
***
The Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF) has requested additional Apache attack
helicopters from the US to aid its aerial operations in Gaza.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231226-us-rejects-israeli-request-for-apache-attack-helicopters-amid-gaza-war/
But US rejects Israeli request for Apache attack helicopters amid
Gaza war. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjygne00pa
***
Assault
rifles, pistols, demining hardware and helmets – these are the
backbone of #Croatia’s growing defence export industry. But the
state doesn’t specify anymore who’s buying them, Vuk Tesija
writes in Balkan Insight.
https://balkaninsight.com/2024/01/02/croatias-defence-exports-are-growing-in-a-dangerous-world/
***
US lawmakers
have expressed concern over the #Biden administration's decision to
transfer #weapons to #Israel without congressional #oversight, urging
Washington to review its policies towards the Middle East.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1802231
***
Investigation
found early december #Israeli #tank fired on 6 journalists. #TNO
(research institute that tests and analyses munitions and weapons for
clients such as the Dutch MoD), examined the material for Reuters at
its laboratories in The Hague.
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/274058894/investigation-finds-israeli-tank-fired-on-six-journalists
***
#MARIN and
#TNO, have provided expert support to validate performance claims of
#submarine proposals to the #Dutch government.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/12/decision-time-approaches-for-walrus-class-submarine-replacement/
#OCCAR
takes control of EU's #hypersonic interceptor as HYDIS enters Concept
Phase. The HYDIS partners are ArianeGroup, Avio, Avio Aero,
Bayern-Chemie, CIRA, DLR, GKN #Fokker, LYNRED, MBDA Espaa (...)
THALES LAS France, TDW, #THALES Netherlands and #TNO.
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/occar-take-control-of-eus-hypersonic-interceptor-programme-as-hydis-enters-concept-phase/
***
Arrowhead 140
and #Thales UK will deliver the #TACTICOS Integrated Combat System
(ZSW) for #Polish Miecznik-class multi-role frigates.
https://www.edrmagazine.eu/a-sharp-sword-for-polish-miecznik-class-multi-role-frigates
***
In an
overview on #Colombian arms programmes #Damen is mentioned. In 2022
the wharf signed a contract with Colombian #Cotecmar to built a
Strategic Surface Platform (light frigate) of the Damen-Cotecmar type
PES 10714. The first is projected for 2029.
https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4660650/160-colombia-colombia-2023-ano-definiciones-materia-defensa
Status of the
contracts with Israeli companies is unclear to me. Mentioned are
Elbit, IAI, Rafael (included Spike buy). At the start of the Israeli
war against Gaza, the Colombian president said the war would
jeopardize close military ties with Israel.
https://apnews.com/article/colombia-israel-gaza-war-petro-military-exports-fe6add0c39d85e4fa2a948ac4360e4e2