Conflit en Afghanistan.

après le kamikaze terroriste, la kamikaze espion

toujours à la pointe de l'innovation oussama
ya plus de monde pour les espions car après la licence to kill voici la licence to self destruct…

le plus l'hallucinant dans l'article c'est quand on apprend que par le miel alléché, le big boss de la cia en Afghanistan c'était déplacé pour voir les révélations fracassantes de l'espion en herbe sur la localisation de Oussama ou de son adjoint .

et paf, toute la direction locale décapité…
dire que depuis le début de ce conflit l'accent avait été mis sur le renseignement humain…

dommage Hélianne …

Hum… à priori, ce serait encore plus cocasse. Ce ne serait pas un kamikaze comme les autres, ce serait un agent jordanien infiltré et retourné par Al Quaeda.

Ciders a écrit

Hum… à priori, ce serait encore plus cocasse. Ce ne serait pas un kamikaze comme les autres, ce serait un agent jordanien infiltré et retourné par Al Quaeda.

Et bien en tout cas, cela n'aidera pas à renforcer la coopération

Vraiment infâme ce conflit, quelle galère.

Air Defence Spending Gains Force

War in Afghanistan and booming export markets should ensure that military contractors enjoy another bumper year in 2010. Anthony Beachey reports.
Date: 23 Dec 2009

Military suppliers have enjoyed boom conditions over the past few years with 2010 set to be no different. The surge in US defence spending, which accounts for well over half of all global military expenditure, has boosted aerospace defence contractors over the past decade. Rocketing US defence spending in turn reflects the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Teal Group vice-president of analysis Richard Aboulafia says that 2010 should be another good year with the global economic downturn having little impact on military aerospace suppliers. "Historically, there is no connection between the economic cycle and defence spending. Indeed, the only correlation you can find is between higher resource prices and defence spending. Surprisingly, in light of the global slowdown, the price of commodities has held up well," he says.

In addition, recessions tend to have a tiered impact on the aerospace sector. "Business jets are the first area to be affected, followed by jetliners, while defence is the last area to be hit and, if the global economy makes a robust recovery within a few years, military suppliers may escape with minimal damage," Aboulafia says.

Here come the helicopters

Two factors are likely to influence the market for military aircraft in 2010, the booming demand for helicopters, reflecting the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the US military's disengagement from Iraq.

"Helicopters are the fastest-growing sector of the global military aerospace market at the moment. Indeed, they are the brightest spot in the entire aerospace business," Aboulafia says. Helicopters fleets have worn out faster than expected because of the intensity of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and this is leading to massive demand for maintenance and upgrades, as well as new builds.

The exit from Iraq will undoubtedly have an impact on defence spending in the US. Although the basic defence budget is not under threat, supplemental spending to pay for combat operations in Iraq has been a key driver of the increased defence spending that has taken place in recent years.

President Barack Obama has pledged to fund future wars out of the annual budget, and while the recently announced troop surge in Afghanistan will have an impact on defence spending in 2010, the war in that country will prove far less costly than the military operation in Iraq, according to Aboulafia.

While overall US defence expenditure may fall in 2010, spending in other areas of the world is likely to accelerate, partly as a result of the aforementioned link between the price of resources and military spending. Air force contractors in developed markets will therefore increasingly turn their attention to regions such as the Middle East, where oil revenues remain buoyant, and Latin America, which commodities from natural gas to copper.

Crucial contracts

A number of major new developments in terms of projects and contracts are likely to occur in 2010. The year will certainly be a crucial one for the joint strike fighter. Lockheed Martin said in early December 2009 that the single-engine fighter, the Pentagon's costliest acquisition programme, was exceeding expectations in early test flights.

At the time Lockheed Martin executive vice-president of the aeronautics business unit Ralph Heath said: "We have never seen, ever, success in terms of avionics stability and maturity this early in a programme."

But the test-flight programme is behind schedule and, in November, the Pentagon unveiled a number of initiatives designed to speed the programme's development. Following the decision to cancel additional production of the F-22, the Obama administration is banking on the F-35 to modernise the US fighter fleet. The Pentagon wants to buy up to 2,458 of the fighters to replace F-16s, A-10s and AV-8B Harrier aircraft. Foreign partners plan to buy around a further 650 jets.

2010 could also prove to be critical for the Airbus A400M military transport jet, which finally made its maiden flight in December 2009. The aircraft is now four years behind schedule and some of the European governments involved in its development are becoming increasingly impatient with the project.

Failure to make significant progress in 2010 could see the project abandoned. In the US, the Globemaster military transport could remain in production 'indefinitely', according to Aboulafia, given the government's failure to come up with any plans for a replacement.

Buoyant exports

In 2010, India is likely to announce an order for 126 fighter aircraft that could prove to be the biggest export fighter contract in history. India could buy the F-16 and F/A-18E/F from the US but it is also considering the Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen, Typhoon and MiG-35.

The fact that Washington is a serious contender for a major military export order from India reveals how much the world has changed. For decades, New Delhi avoided buying US defence products. Conversely, a few years back it would have been unthinkable that Japan would buy a frontline combat aircraft from a non-US supplier.

The Eurofighter Typhoon consortium is however also aggressively courting Tokyo and is hoping to win an order for around 40 aircraft in 2010. Japan is also considering the F-35.

In early 2010, Brazil will announce the winner of a multibillion-dollar contract to build 36 jet fighters. The contenders are the Dassault Rafale, Saab's Gripen and the F/A-18 Super Hornet from Boeing. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the US are discussing the purchase of a range of items, including the F-15s and Patriot air / missile defence equipment. Saudi Arabia may still opt for the Eurofighter over the F-15, however.

Washington's poor reputation for releasing technology could prove a stumbling block to its export sales in 2010. Brazilian Defence Minister Nelson Jobim raised the issue in the midst of the battle to secure the fighter contract. Meanwhile, British defence chiefs were reportedly 'furious' over the US's refusal to share sensitive software codes for the F-35 fighter jet, which is being developed with the UK and a number of other countries.

It is clear that before the end of 2010 the majority of these wranglings will need to be resolved before more money is pledged to no-go ventures. The direction which governments will turn, however, is still anyone's guess.

The exit from Iraq will undoubtedly have an impact on defence spending in the US. Although the basic defence budget is not under threat, supplemental spending to pay for combat operations in Iraq has been a key driver of the increased defence spending that has taken place in recent years.

President Barack Obama has pledged to fund future wars out of the annual budget, and while the recently announced troop surge in Afghanistan will have an impact on defence spending in 2010, the war in that country will prove far less costly than the military operation in Iraq, according to Aboulafia.

D'où la certitude que le délai-butoir de l'été 2010, est essentiellement dicté par des considérations financières .

Mais personne n'en doutait de toutes façons.

Yes we can, mais pas partout en même temps, en somme …

Unmanned Aircraft Program Grows to Support Demand

WASHINGTON — Discussions about the Army’s use of unmanned systems in the combat theater are likely to focus on bomb-detecting robots and ground vehicles able to navigate through hazardous terrain.

Chances are the discussion won’t immediately go to one of the fast-growing fields in the Army: unmanned aircraft systems.

These systems, operated at the tactical level by troops on the ground, are bringing warfighters unprecedented intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, Army Col. Christopher B. Carlile, director of the Army Unmanned Aerial System Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Ala., told reporters yesterday.

“There’s an old saying that science and science fiction is only separated by timing, and that timing is now,” he said during an Association of the U.S. Army aviation forum. “We have it.”

Some considered Army UASs little more than “model airplanes with some sensors hanging from them and a bunch of guys flying around with play toys” when they first entered the scene in the mid-1990s, Carlile conceded. But they’ve proven themselves as force multipliers that save lives on the battlefield, and have come to be embraced by the warfighters who employ them, he said.

With almost 1 million UAS flight hours clocked in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is committed to growing the program to keep pace with demand for UAS capabilities. This year alone, the Army plans to train more than 2,000 operators who ultimately will deploy with the ground troops they will support, Carlile reported.

Army UASs come in three primary forms. The Raven, just under 3 feet long, supports battalions down to the platoon level. The Shadow, 11 feet long with a 14-foot wingspan, supports brigade-level operations. The more sophisticated “big daddy” of Army UASs, the Extended Range Multi-Purpose system, has a 56-foot wingspan and supports division-level operations.

These systems provide life-saving situational awareness and make soldiers more effective in tracking down enemy targets, Carlile explained.

“This is not the movies,” Carlile said. “There is not an infantryman who can call up and have the National Security Agency turn a satellite so he can see what’s on the back side of a building. That doesn’t happen.”

In the past, infantrymen found out what was behind the building when gunfire came from it, or a rocket-propelled grenade came at them from around the corner. Now, they have the Raven, the smallest UAS. At less than 5 pounds, it is lightweight and portable enough to deliver an aerial reconnaissance capability once limited to higher-echelon elements.

“They can take that and fly it and put it above, and see if there is an ambush on the other side of the street, in real time,” Carlile said. Troops also can determine what the enemy is up to – such as hiding behind civilian shields – to reduce the risk of collateral damage during operations.

Army UASs also have proven their effectiveness in identifying and taking out enemy operatives. A little-known fact, Carlile said, is that Army UASs have launched about 80 percent of the successful drone strikes that have made headlines in the news.

When he commanded the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq as a major general, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, now commander of U.S. Forces Iraq, called the tactical UAV Shadow system “an absolute must” for his brigade commanders in locating, identifying and ultimately defeating high-value targets.

The UAS Center of Excellence leads the Army’s effort to synchronize its UAS program with those of the other services, especially the higher-visibility Air Force remotely piloted vehicle program based at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.

Recognizing the contribution these sister-service aircraft make to the fight, Carlile emphasized the complementary value of unmanned aircraft operated by troops on the ground, directly alongside the soldiers they support.

“Their whole intent is to support the guys they eat dinner with every night, the ones they sleep in the same tactical assembly area with,” he said. “Because of that, they have a tie they would not have if they were in Las Vegas, Nev.,” home of the Air Force UAV center at Creech Air Force Base.

“You cannot have that same tie with the soldier. You cannot have that same situational awareness 8,000 miles away,” he said. “It just does not exist.”

Lt. Gen. James Thurman, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations, told attendees at the AUSA session yesterday the Army will continue to invest in unmanned as well as manned aircraft to support warfighters.

“Unmanned aircraft systems continue to significantly improve our war efforts, and demand for these specialized systems continues to rise,” he said. “The Army will continue to pursue highly capable systems while providing aircraft, highly skilled operators and advanced capabilities to support the war efforts.”

While pointing toward solid growth within the Army UAS program, Carlile isn’t predicting a day when unmanned aircraft will take the place of piloted ones. Army experiments to measure both platforms’ effectiveness in tracking enemy targets in combat found they had the best results when working collaboratively to support the operation, he said.

“When we put the manned and unmanned together into the combat operation, we get an exponential increase in synergy,” he said.

That synergy can be measured in the number of successful target identifications or hits, Carlile said, with equipment providing consistent binary data and humans contributing the ability to think outside of that data field to make logic.

“The two come together very sweetly, and that is what gives us the capability,” he said. (ends)




Army to Increase Medevac Support, Add New CAB, more UAVs


(Source: U.S Army; issued January 7, 2010)



WASHINGTON — The Army's top operations officer said yesterday that not only will the Army add a new combat aviation brigade to the warfight, it will also increase the number of aircraft in medical evacuation companies.

Speaking at the annual Association of the U.S. Army Aviation Symposium and Exhibition here, Lt. Gen. James D. Thurman, G-3/5/7, told members and contractors that no force-wide transformational change to the aviation force was more important or consequential than the decision to increase aircraft in medevac companies from 12 to 15.

"We've got to get our men and women off the battlefield - that's non-negotiable," Thurman said. "This demonstrates the Army's resolve and commitment to troops in combat operations as well as their families and loved ones."

"We've also added nine additional medevac companies to the reserve component," said Thurman, who also formerly served as director of the Army Aviation Task Force.

"The Army will aggressively grow this strategic capability in order to improve air medical evacuation in combat," he said. "The priority will be Afghanistan with the first transformed 15-ship company arriving late spring 2010."

In an earlier AUSA session, the commander of the Aviation Center of Excellence, Maj. Gen. James O. Barclay III, told members about the stand-up of a new combat aviation brigade, though Army and Defense Department leaders had yet to decide where the brigade would be headquartered.

Thurman elaborated on the new CAB, saying it would be designated as the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade in honor of the 16th Aviation Group whose heritage dates back to the Vietnam War.

"The brigade will be formed by recognition of current assets from within the active component," Thurman said, "and while all aircraft and crews required to establish the 16th… are already in the force, the Army must add approximately 700 Soldiers to the force to stand up the assault helicopter battalion and aviation support battalion structures."

According to the general, the next major structural change in Army aviation under consideration by Army leadership involves a potential restructuring of four remaining active-component heavy combat aviation brigades and one light combat aviation brigade to full-spectrum design.

"This decision is being considered along with a decision to restructure the armed reconnaissance squadron to a design featuring three troops of OH-58 Kiowa Warriors and two platoons in Shadow tactical unmanned systems," Thurman added.

"The manned/unmanned teaming concept will serve to provide real-time ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) support within the CAB and fully maximize the capabilities for both systems so we meet the ground commanders' needs," he said.

Thurman also addressed the 400-percent growth of unmanned aircraft systems flight hours, noting those hours to have increased from 500 hours flown by only three UAVs a decade ago to more than 180,000 flown hours by more than 1,700 UAVs in 2009.

Additionally, the aviation branch trained more than 1,800 unmanned operators in 2009 and expects to surpass 2,000 by the end of this year. Thurman said the exponential growth in the number of aircraft and trained professionals is coupled with providing more capable systems as the enemy adapts to current operations.

"Our unmanned aircraft systems are forecast to reach the milestone of 1 million total flight hours flown in the coming year of which 88 percent have been flown in support of combat operations, so it's huge growth," Thurman said. He said the Army expects to have all brigade combat teams fielded with Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft systems by 2011.

"We know the integration of unmanned aircraft systems with our maneuver forces into a single, cohesive combat capability is paramount," he said.

Un tué et un blessé grave français

d9pouces a écrit

Un tué et un blessé grave français

Les Invalides vont encore être le centre d'attention ces jours-ci…

Non. On n'y fait de cérémonie qu'à partir de deux morts. Et uniquement si les familles le souhaitent.

Cela fait environ 8 ans qu' on est en Afghanistan et c' est maintenant qu' on s' aperçoit que le camouflage Centre-Europe (forêt) n' est pas adapté

http://zonedinteret.blogspot.com/2010/01/le-camouflage-francais-peu-adapte.html

Quelle réactivité, c' est presque un réflexe à ce niveau (pour un caillou ou un fossile)
Immobilisme et inertie voilà le nouveau slogan de l'armée française ou de ses alliés de l' OTAN là-bas.

Ajoutons aussi que 50% des MRAP anglais sont en rade…
http://zonedinteret.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-moitie-des-mrap-britanniques-en.html

On est pas pret de la gagner cette guerre.

Ciders a écrit

Non. On n'y fait de cérémonie qu'à partir de deux morts. Et uniquement si les familles le souhaitent.

Autant pour moi, je n'avais pas vu que le deuxième soldat atteint n'était "que" très grièvement blessé.

Mea culpa, mais à suivre tout de même, si jamais d'autres assauts du même genre suivent…

Nico2 a écrit

Ciders a écrit

Non. On n'y fait de cérémonie qu'à partir de deux morts. Et uniquement si les familles le souhaitent.

Autant pour moi, je n'avais pas vu que le deuxième soldat atteint n'était "que" très grièvement blessé.

Mea culpa, mais à suivre tout de même, si jamais d'autres assauts du même genre suivent…

en fait, Nico, tu avais simplement anticipé légèrement la nouvelle. BFM TV et I-télé l'annonce : le 2ème soldat français est bien décédé des suites de ces blessures à l'hopital US de Bagram où il avait été transporté en urgence.

Cinétic a écrit

Cela fait environ 8 ans qu' on est en Afghanistan et c' est maintenant qu' on s' aperçoit que le camouflage Centre-Europe (forêt) n' est pas adapté

http://zonedinteret.blogspot.com/2010/01/le-camouflage-francais-peu-adapte.html

Quelle réactivité, c' est presque un réflexe à ce niveau (pour un caillou ou un fossile)
Immobilisme et inertie voilà le nouveau slogan de l'armée française ou de ses alliés de l' OTAN là-bas.

Ajoutons aussi que 50% des MRAP anglais sont en rade…
http://zonedinteret.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-moitie-des-mrap-britanniques-en.html

On est pas pret de la gagner cette guerre.

ouais, il y a un problème de gestion financière à long terme de l'équipement post-guerre froide de bon nombre de forces armées "occidentales". et les soucis de camouflage individuelles passe heureusement au second plan des priorités par rapport au reste.

car le problème est là : la France n'investie pas assez dans ces forces armés pour pouvoir renouveller à temps son matériel et disposé d'un matériel de qualité. je le dit depuis pas mal de temps que pour réussir une mission, il faut un matériel de qualité en quantité suffisante. pour cela, il faut le budget adéquat.

ainsi, après avoir observé la situation pour les autres pays, il faudra à la france 4 treillis différents :
- 2 treillis FELIN standard (1 Centre Europe + 1 Desert) pour remplacer nos deux treillis anciennes générations
- 1 treillis FELIN special permettant de combattre dans un milieu semi-desertique type Afghanistan
- 1 treillis FELIN arctique pour le combat en montagne et en milieu froid. ce treillis ne concernerait que la 27e BIM, le COS et quelques unités déployés en Afghanistan en hiver.

et par contre, quand je parles treillis, je parles kit complet avec le treillis, le gilet pare-balles, le casque, les genouillères et les coudières.

les mieux dotés actuellements sont les US Marines avec leurs camouflages MARPAT Woodland et Desert. cela leur offre un camouflage nouvelle génération très efficaces. son efficacité est cependant limité en afghanistan. et par contre, efficacité nulle en montagne l'hiver. voilà pourquoi j'annonce 4 schéma de camouflage.

Dans l'idéal tu as tout à fait raison pygargue… mais bon, les budgets ne le permettront jamais.
Pour pallier le problème de la couleure des équipements, les Marines se sont plutôt bien débrouillés en choisissant le Coyote qui passe aussi bien avec le MARPAT Woodland et Désert.
Cependant, leur camo passe plutôt bien, tout comme le CE en fait. L'Afghanistan est bien plus vert qu'on le pense.

Hier deux…aujourd'hui un.
Les serviteurs de la nation payent un lourd tribu en Afghanistan en ce début 2010.

R.I.P. Maréchal des Logis Diop

Chef de patrouille circulateur.
Pour tous ceux qui ne connaissent pas leur boulot, c'est simple: escorte de convoi. Je ne vous fait pas un dessin, le scénario est bien connu de tous, ils passent leur temps sur les routes… Contrairement à ce que l'on pense, ce n'est pas chasse gardée de l'infanterie, les régiments de circu ne font que ça là bas.