15th March 2017

Denmark chooses CAESAR

News 15th March 2017

2017 has begun well for Nexter Systems which has just signed a second export contract for its CAESAR 155mm self-propelled cannon in the space of a month. Following on the heels of an Indonesian order for 18 additional systems, Denmark will procure 15 CAESARs to replace the 32 M109A3 Paladins in service since 1965. “It […]

RAMBO and the U.S. Army

Focus and Analysis 14th March 2017

What soldier has never dreamed of having RAMBO as a combat companion? This could soon be a reality thanks to U.S. Army researchers, whose 40mm RAMBO grenade launcher, made using additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing), has just fired the first ammunition produced the same way. This is a world first, which confirms the relevance of […]

Berlin slips from NATO spending target

News 13th March 2017

With a 2017 budget up 7.3% to €37bn, €10bn for investment by 2020 and an army of 200,000 by 2024, the new trajectory announced in 2016 for Germany’s armed forces was enough – in theory – to arouse the envy of neighbouring armies. But new elements presented in a German 2018 Federal Budget draft should calm […]

Lockheed flying to MBDA’s rescue?

News 10th March 2017

Will MBDA play the Lockheed Martin card? The European missile group is reported to be forming a new joint venture with the U.S. company in order to reassure the German government that it can complete a €4bn contract for the delivery of the MEADS air defence system, according to Reuters. The two groups behind the design of […]

The DGA is France’s main investor

News 10th March 2017

Laurent Collet-Billon, the director of France’s DGA procurement agency, never forgets that he was once a rugby player and frequently refers to the game when explaining or commenting the DGA’s activities. His press conference earlier this week was no exception when, in order to explain that the DGA “is the leading investor in the nation” […]

New military tool for EU

News 9th March 2017

On 6 March the European Council approved the establishment of a Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC). In charge of the planning and execution of non-combatant military missions within the European Union (EU) Military Staff, this new structure is intended to improve the “EU’s capacity to react in a faster, more effective and more seamless […]

Sweden reintroduces military conscription

News 8th March 2017

There has been much talk in France since the terrorist attacks of bringing back the military conscription that ended in November 2001. It is even in the Socialist Party’s manifesto for the presidential election. But whilst in France it is still just talk, in Sweden they’ve gone ahead and done it. Six days ago the […]

New upgrade for UAE Leclercs

News 8th March 2017

It was hard to ignore the Leclerc tank, presented both at the Nexter stand and performing in the United Arab Emirate’s armed forces’ dynamic demonstration at IDEX 2017 in Abu Dhabi last month. Against the background of this high visibility, the French systems integrator is proposing a new “multiple-choice offer to meet a requirement from […]

Airbus H160 for French army

News 7th March 2017

By Nathan Gain and Christina Mackenzie Two years to the day after being presented at HAI Heli-Expo, the Airbus H160 helicopter has been selected by France’s ministry of defence as the “base of the future Joint Light Helicopter (HIL – hélicoptère interarmées léger),” said Jean-Yves Le Drian on 3 March at the Airbus Helicopter site in […]

Re-thinking the French soldier’s social services

Focus and Analysis 6th March 2017

Pauperisation, problems finding a civilian job, an explosive rise in the number of divorces… the intensity of recent operations is now putting military personnel under new pressures and these require a different sort of social accompaniment. “An army in times of peace does not require the same social support as a fighting army,” remarks Geneviève […]
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