European Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head said:

Which, IMHO, is the type of upgrade the US Navy should have done to about 24 of the Perrys.

Oh well...can't cry over spilled milk. It's gone now.

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Bltizo said:

In the age of sail, F125 might have been considered a frigate, considering the definition back then was for any fast, ocean going, independent ship.

But for today, I don't see why the Germans didn't just call F125 a destroyer and be done with it.

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FORBIN said:

The 4 F125 replace the 4 F122/Bremen, 4 yet Decommissioned from 2012, German Navy will have 11 FFG/DDG before 15.

Use 2 crew ( as LCS ) who take turns for long expeditionary deployment .

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MC-27J takes aim for June firing trials
By: CRAIG HOYLELONDON Source: 12:01 29 Apr 2014
An Alenia Aermacchi/ATK demonstrator for the armed MC-27J has completed its flight debut in a full intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance configuration.

Performed from the Italian airframer’s Turin flight test centre, the sortie was the first to be flown since the installation of an L-3 Wescam MX-15Di electro-optical/infrared sensor – fitted beneath the aircraft’s nose – and Link 16 datalink equipment.

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Alenia Aermacchi

“The installation of the ATK-developed modular roll-on/roll-off mission and weapon system, and a modified side door for the GAU-23 30mm cannon installation will be completed in May,” Alenia says. Flight trials, including firing the sideways-mounted weapon, will be performed the following month, it adds.

Italy’s air force is to modify six of its C-27J medium transports to this so-called “Praetorian” configuration, which can also be used to support search and rescue tasks. The service will also acquire three more of the roll-on, roll-off mission kits to be installed with its 12-strong Spartan fleet, if required.

Alenia and ATK also hope to secure export sales of the MC-27J, and exhibited demonstrators at the Paris and Dubai air shows in 2013. The Royal Australian Air Force – which has 10 Spartans on order – is understood to be interested in the adaptation.

Additional future enhancements to the MC-27J could include the integration of precision-guided air-to-surface weapons.

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French 'flying car' undergoes testing for special forces
Apr. 30, 2014 - 05:02PM |

By Pierre Tran
FILED UNDER
News
Military Technology
PARIS — In “Live and Let Die,” a black-clad James Bond silently flies in the night in a black hang glider and lands on a mountain.

More than 40 years later, French special operations forces seek to do something similar, this time using a combination hang glider-dune buggy under development.

A prototype flying dune buggy designed for the military is going through tests at an air base, said Jerome Dauffy, chairman of Vaylon, a start-up company that developed the vehicle.

The prototype is a light all-terrain vehicle that can take off and fly in powered flight and paraglide.



The need for a stealthy air transport was apparent in an attempted night rescue of a French secret service agent held hostage in Somalia in January 2013. Insurgents heard the French helicopters flying in and were armed and ready to thwart the mission.

France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) procurement office placed a December 2012 order worth €200,000 (US $276,000) to build the prototype, which was delivered in early December 2013.

Vaylon designers see the vehicle filling missions such as reconnaissance, hostage rescue, transport of equipment and air drop.

The company would supply the vehicle, leaving the special forces to decide what equipment to install, Dauffy said.

“One of the options would be to arm later versions of the vehicle with a bigger payload with weapons such as machine guns, 2.75mm rocket, or the light multi-role missile from Thales UK,” said Francis Rodriguez, business development director for Vaylon. That larger payload would be 200 to 300 kilograms.

The prototype carries two seats. The design allows taking out the passenger seat out to allow arms and equipment to be stored for the mission, Dauffy said.

Vaylon pitched the Pegasus concept to the DGA in 2010, he said. As the special forces had a requirement for an all-terrain vehicle, the procurement office agreed to back the project and inject €60,000 to partially fund two years’ development.

The company also raised finance from state-owned Banque Publique d’Investissement and its own funds. Total development cost is undisclosed.

Vaylon hopes to receive further funding for a second phase comprising pre-production and full-scale production in 2015.

Once on the market, the unit price is expected to be €100,000.

Meanwhile, the company is working hard to promote the vehicle. The company will have a stand at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition in Jordan, which opens May 6, showing a mock up and video footage.

The company also plans to put the Pegasus on display at the French Eurosatory land armaments trade show, opening June 16.

The flying car was on display in November, at the entrance of Ecole Polytechnique university, which played host to the DGA Innovation Forum, a technology showcase.

Vaylon is one of some 20 start-ups in Starburst Accelerator, which offers strategic marketing, help finds institutional funding and rents office space to the small company members, said François Chopard, a managing partner at Impulse Partners, a consultancy that set up the business angel.

Vaylon sees civilian applications for the vehicle, including civil security, crisis management and tourism.

The prototype runs on petrol, but a later version would also use diesel. On costs, flight would be €20 per hour, rising to around €50 including maintenance.

Pegasus can take off in 50-100 meters, fly at a height of 3,000 meters and land under 10 meters.

Vaylon is also a member of Astech, an association for aerospace industry competitiveness.

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The CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) successfully demonstrated its capability across several different maritime scenarios to Dutch Authorities in Den Helder, The Netherlands, on 29 April 2014. Consolidating its unmatched maritime position, the S-100 demonstrated its ability to support maritime commanders and decision makers in the North Sea, west of Den Helder. The North Sea is already one of the busiest maritime areas in the world and the Coast Guard expects this to increase over the coming years.

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