Last July, a large part of the French defense sphere was furious, after the European Commission awarded the Spanish SENER Aeroespacial, supported by the German Diehl and several other European companies, the design of the EU HYDEF program for European Hypersonic Defense Interceptor, which should make it possible to create a system for detecting and intercepting hypersonic missiles, a threat that has now become much more precise since the use of Russian Kinzhals in Ukraine. Indeed, all of the companies selected by Brussels have no experience either in the field of ballistic interception or hypersonic weapons. Which is not the case for French companies,…
Read the articleCategory: United States China tensions
After the A-10, the US Air Force wants to withdraw its F-15Cs from service by 2030
The preparation of the annual budget of the American armed forces is a very rich period of lessons, allowing in particular the 3 forces of the country, the executive on the one hand, the Congress on the other hand, but also the armed forces themselves, to publicly express their vision and expectations for the coming year and beyond, in terms of investments but also of format and strategy. If, during the 90s, 2000s and 2010s, everyone's considerations were above all technological or economic, since the beginning of the decade they have taken on a new, very applied character, while tensions with Russia, China and also Iran or Korea...
Read the articleFaced with the Chinese navy, the US Navy aims for the asymmetrical balance of power in the Pacific
A few days ago, the shipyards of Dalian, in the northeast of the country in Liaoning province, simultaneously launched 2 new Type 052D destroyers, the 27th and 28th units of this class designated within NATO under the code Luyang III, while 5 other hulls were observed at various levels of finish on this site. As with previous years, there is little doubt that 2023 will see the arrival of 7-9 new destroyers to the People's Liberation Army Navy. 157 meters long for a displacement of 7.500 tons, these ships…
Read the articleThese 7 technologies that will transform warfare by 2030
Since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, many analyses, including on this site, have focused on the different lessons that these very high intensity combats have brought to light, such as the now indisputable role of the tank but also artillery, coastal or anti-aircraft defenses, and of course drones, to speak only of the technological question. And in fact, many armies have evolved their military planning in recent months precisely to respond to these lessons. This is how Poland embarked on an unprecedented effort to reconstitute a very powerful land force aligning 6 divisions,…
Read the articleCanberra, London and Washington presented a solid strategy to equip Australia with nuclear attack submarines
The acquisition of nuclear attack submarines (SNA) by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), announced 18 months ago now as part of the creation of the AUKUS alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, had raised many questions about the real feasibility of such a program, but also about the costs which will, without a doubt, be very high to allow the RAN to go from 6 conventional submarines from the Collins class to 8 SNAs of American or British design, even though the country does not have a civilian nuclear industry. The presentation, during the AUKUS Event in San Diego…
Read the articleStrategy unveiled regarding Australia's acquisition of nuclear attack submarines
Following the end of the SEA 1000 program awarded to the French Naval Group for the construction of 12 conventionally powered ocean-going submarines, and the announcement of the formation of the AUKUS alliance bringing together Australia, Great Britain and the States, one of whose objectives was to provide the Royal Australian Navy with nuclear attack submarines, speculation has been as numerous as the denials of the Canberra authorities. For many observers, indeed, and not without objective reasons, this changeover operated by Canberra would be both very difficult and very expensive to implement, not to mention the many technological and industrial ruts that it…
Read the articleAfter support aircraft, American fighters will also have to evolve profoundly in the years to come.
As is the case every year at the same time, the specialized US defense press has not lacked a subject to cover in recent days. Indeed, it is in March that the parliamentary hearings begin with a view to preparing the next armed forces budget, in this case the 2024 budget which will come into effect in the fall of 2023. Due to the political organization of the financing of the defense effort on the other side of the Atlantic, Congress having the last word on the subject well beyond the overall envelope requested by the executive, the debates preparing this budget are generally very precise and technical. However, they are also an opportunity for…
Read the articleThe Chinese defense budget will have increased by 30% between 2019 and 2023
On the occasion of the opening of the annual session of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), the budget report published establishes an annual budget of 1,5537 trillion yuan, or 210 billion euros, an increase of 7,2 % vis-à-vis the 2022 budget of 1,450 trillion yuan, and while this same report anticipates a growth of 5% for the Chinese economy for 2023. According to the numerous declarations of Chinese officials around this increase, this- This would remain reasonable given the $830 billion budget of the United States, and while all the states in Europe and Asia are significantly increasing their own investments. However, and even if it remains perfectly true that...
Read the articleJapan and South Korea plot rapprochement amid rising regional tensions
To deal with the rise in power of the Chinese but also North Korean and Russian armies in the Western Pacific theater, Washington can rely on 3 powerful allies, militarily efficient and modern: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. . Unfortunately for the United States, and contrary to the situation in Europe where yesterday's adversaries were able to put an end to their past tensions to face the Soviet Union from the end of the 40s, the risks in the Pacific theater were, if not less, in any case more localized, on the whole Cold War. In fact, far from being forced to…
Read the articleChina's fleet conducted its first long-range amphibious exercise
If the rapid reinforcement of the Chinese fleet is now known to all, the very important efforts made by the People's Liberation Army to train its crews and perfect their mastery of modern naval combat, are much less so. However, whether surface, naval air, amphibious, logistics and submarine units, all take part in numerous exercises according to increasingly advanced scenarios, and often calling on the firing of ammunition, precisely to increase the seasoning of sailors and their officers. Thus, it is now common for large naval units, destroyers, frigates, aircraft carriers or assault ships, to participate each year in several...
Read the article