European Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

timepass

Brigadier
A Standard Missile-2 (SM-2, Surface to Air Missile) failed to leave the MK. 41 vertical launch system


A Standard Missile-2 (SM-2, Surface to Air Missile) failed to leave the MK. 41 vertical launch system after the rocket booster burned out while the missile was still inside its canister during a live-firing drill conducted by German air defense frigate FGS Sachsen.

Nobody was hurt during the accident, the German Navy said adding that two sailors on the frigate were “stressverletzt” – which means the sailors likely experienced an acute stress reaction. Both have recovered and are ready to return to duty.

The SM-2 failure occurred on Thursday, June 21, off the coast of Norway. The F124 frigate FGS Sachsen was in a Norwegian exercise area together with ASW frigate FGS Lübeck when the accident took place.

“We stood in front of a glaring and glowing hot wall of fire,” Frigate Captain Thomas Hacken, the task group commander said.

The German Navy said the crew’s quick reaction brought the situation under control. The frigate’s water sprinkler system also immediately activated to extinguish the fire.

There had been no indication of a potential technical defect on the starter system, the navy further explained, adding that another SM-2 had been successfully launched shortly before the accident. The rocket had also been inspected prior to the launch and was assessed to be in a perfect technical condition.

Both frigates pulled into the Norwegian port of Harstad in the morning hours of June 22 where FGS Sachsen sailors will evaluate the damage, try to determine the causes of the failure and identify necessary repairs.
 

timepass

Brigadier
NATO Allies Italy and Greece began air policing over Montenegro.


Montenegro joined NATO in June last year. NATO air policing missions protect the skies of those Allies that do not have their own air force. There are currently several of these air policing missions across Europe. NATO air policing is a long-running, routine mission to safeguard the integrity of Alliance airspace, a core task of NATO’s collective defence.
 

timepass

Brigadier
The German MP40 Submachine Gun was a refined version of the revolutionary MP38 model intended for mass production.


The German MP40 Submachine Gun was a refined version of the revolutionary MP38 model intended for mass production. As the original German Army MP38 submachine gun series proving a success, it was also too expensive for war time production. As such, the MP40 was offered up as a slightly reworked design featuring more in the way of welded steel construction and pressed components. Modifications to the internal components were also made that attempted to decrease the number of jamming incidences being reported with operational use of the original MP38.

With these changes in hand, the MP40 became the definitive submachine gun for the German Army in the latter stages of World War 2. The weapon continued the revolutionary thinking behind the original German submachine gun approach including its folding stock and long magazine that doubled as the forward grip. The relatively compact size of the gun proved ideal for forces on the march, in particular, the German mechanized forces on all fronts. Its use, however, was not restricted as such for the submachine gun could stock the inventories of special operatives and logistical, second-line personnel as well.

Various attempts to produce specialized versions of the MP40 were made though few of these developments actually saw large-scale production. A dual-magazine version (MP40/II) did enter limited manufacture but did not see extensive action. A wooden butt version also existed as the MP41. The MP40, as success dictated, would go on to see service on a global scale after the war, a testament to its sound design and manufacturing. Some may even be encountered in operational service in far off places on the globe. Axis-aligned forces benefitted from the relationship by receiving stocks of MP40 submachine guns during World War 2 and many German victim-nations also took up the type in the post-war years.

Manufacturers of the Maschinenpistole 40 (MP40) submachine gun included Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH, C.G. Haencl Waffen-und Fahrradfabrik AG and Osterreichische Waffenfabrik-Gesellschaft.

Features specific to the MP38/40 series (long magazine/foregrip, simple production measures and folding metal stock) went on to be utilized in foreign developments during the war, principally the American M3 Grease Gun and the Soviet PPS-43.
 

Hyperwarp

Captain
Dassault Aviation - Wings for Europe

Glimps of 6th gen fighter? As well as a Franco-British FCAS


TQW6GjW.jpg

NmUitce.jpg
 

Pmichael

Junior Member
This is just a random design study at best.

The next gen fighter is actually in the non technical phase to determine future conflict scenarios and requirements.
 
funny how Trump hit the NATO today, but he's right about money: if the spending is mandated be two (2) %, it shouldn't be in fact one (1) % ...Trump's barrage of attacks 'beyond belief,' reeling NATO diplomats say
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 
it's past the edit time of the above post ... here's a summary I've now read:
Trump claims NATO victory after 'go it alone' ultimatum

Updated 17 minutes ago
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Donald Trump claimed a personal victory at a NATO summit on Thursday after telling European allies to increase spending or lose Washington’s support, an ultimatum that forced leaders to huddle in a crisis session with the U.S. president.

Trump emerged declaring continued commitment to a Western alliance built on U.S. military might that has stood up to Moscow since World War Two.

People present said he had earlier warned he would “go it alone” if allies, notably Germany, did not make vast increases in their defense budgets for next year.

“I let them know that I was extremely unhappy,” he said, but added that the talks ended on the best of terms: “It all came together at the end. It was a little tough for a little while.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called the summit “very intense”, and other leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, played down the extent to which they had pledged to accelerate spending plans as fast as Trump wanted.

“He said they must raise spending by January 2019 or the United States would go it alone,” one person said of the clash at NATO headquarters when Trump spoke in a debate that was meant to move to other matters after rows over spending on Wednesday.

Macron and others said they did not interpret Trump’s words as a direct threat to quit the alliance Washington founded in 1949 to contain Soviet expansion. Trump, asked if he thought he could withdraw from NATO without backing from Congress, said he believed he could but it was “unnecessary”.

Others say Congressional approval would be required — and would be unlikely to be forthcoming.

Trump hailed a personal victory for his own strategy in complaining loudly that NATO budgets were unfair to U.S. taxpayers, and the emergence of what he said was a warm consensus around him.

Several diplomats and officials said, however, that his undiplomatic intervention — including pointing at other leaders and addressing Merkel as “you, Angela” — had irritated many.

As the drama unfolded, a day after Trump launched a virulent public attack on German policy, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cleared the room of many officials and the invited leaders of non-members Georgia and Afghanistan so that the other 28 leaders could hold a closed session with the president.

SPENDING TARGETS
NATO members have committed to spending at least two percent of their national income on defense by 2024, though the terms allow for stretching that in some cases to 2030. The United States, far the biggest economy, spent 3.6 percent last year, while Germany, the second biggest, paid out just 1.2 percent and only a handful of countries met the 2 percent target.

Trump told leaders he wanted them all to hit that target by January, prompting consternation. Many have already settled their 2019 budgets and the sums involved are immense — even if they wanted to, many would struggle to make useful purchases.

Merkel told reporters there followed a discussion with assurances to Trump that spending was increasing — something he later acknowledged was happening at an unprecedented rate.

“The American president demanded what has been discussed for months, that there is a change in the burden sharing,” Merkel said. “I made clear that we are on this path. And that this is in our own interests and that it will make us stronger.”

Asked when exactly the allies would now reach their two percent of GDP target, Trump said it would over the coming years. Macron said France, which last year spent 1.8 percent on defense, would meet the target by the 2024 deadline.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who like the summit host, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, was singled out in the room by Trump for spending less that 1 percent of GDP on defense, said Madrid would also meet the target by 2024.

“We have a very powerful, very strong NATO, much stronger than it was two days ago,” Trump said. “Secretary Stoltenberg gives us total credit, meaning me, I guess, in this case, total credit. Because I said it was unfair.”
 
Top