-
Caros companheiros
Decidi criar este tema para nele colocarmos todas as notícias referentes à OTAN/NATO.
Cumprimentos
-
NATO Defense Chiefs Discussing Quicker Way to Raise and Deploy Troops
(Source: Voice of America news; issued Oct. 12, 2004)
NATO defense ministers are meeting this week in the Romanian mountain resort of Poiana Brasov to consider how the alliance can speed up the way it mobilizes and deploys troops to the world’s trouble spots. The United States wants the alliance to send more troops into Afghanistan and to quickly work out ways to boost its training mission in Iraq.
The alliance has been embarrassed by delays in rounding up troops and equipment to expand the operations of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan beyond the capital, Kabul. It has now succeeded in setting up five provincial reconstruction teams in the country’s north but is also committed to move into the troubled western part of Afghanistan.
U.S. officials say that deployment is not moving as fast as it should. And NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has frequently complained about having to go around allied capitals with a begging bowl asking for more troop commitments in the war-torn country.
Defense ministers of the 26-nation alliance will discuss on Thursday and Friday how to encourage its members to acquire the right capabilities as NATO adapts to its three-year-old mission to conduct operations outside its traditional Euro-Atlantic area. But NATO officials, like Assistant Secretary-General for Defense Planning John Colston, say getting the allies to contribute those capabilities to the alliance is even more important.
“Unless we can address these planning issues effectively, we are not going to be able to implement our operations successfully,” he said.
NATO nations agreed at a summit in Istanbul earlier this year that 40 percent of the alliance’s land forces should be trained, equipped and structured to be able to deploy on operations like the one in Afghanistan. They also agreed that eight-percent of every ally’s land forces should be deployable at any one time.
Mr. Colston says it is urgent that these targets be met in the months ahead.
“These targets seem modest, but, if we could achieve them across our allied nations, it would make a significant difference to our ability to put forces into the field,” he said.
NATO boosted its presence in Afghanistan from 6,500 troops to about nine thousand to provide protection for last weekend’s presidential elections there. But that was only a temporary deployment. The alliance needs more men and materiel for longer-term peacekeeping operations.
The allies also agreed last week on a draft plan to send about 300 instructors to train Iraq’s security forces. About 50 are already there. But NATO will need guards and support personnel numbering in the thousands to back up the trainers. NATO planners hope to wrap up the details of the operation by the end of this month, but U.S. officials have expressed their concern that the NATO mission may not be fully in place by the time Iraq holds elections in late January.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is also expected to urge his colleagues to close the military capabilities gap between the United States and its allies. The U.S. defense budget of $417 billion is twice as high as the combined defense budgets of the other 25 allies put together.
-ends-
-
NATO Capabilities Improving, but Time Needed
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 12, 2004)
WASHINGTON --- NATO capabilities are transforming, but the process will take time, said Marine Gen. James Jones in a recent interview.
Jones, the alliance’s supreme allied commander for operations, said that transformation is not just a U.S. process. “It’s all over the alliance, he said. “We have 26 nations, and we’re transforming the alliance toward the 21st century.”
NATO forces are in Afghanistan. They are going to be in Iraq to help train the Iraqi security forces. NATO assets helped safeguard the Athens Olympics. These are missions that would have been unheard of 15 years ago when the alliance was prepared to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union. “For NATO this is historic stuff,” Jones said. “But it takes time to turn that around.”
The general said that people should not be critical of the alliance in the global war on terror. “(The NATO nations) are making a big contribution,” he said.
Transformation in NATO is essentially a land problem. “The air forces are already pretty interoperable, the naval forces are completely interoperable and have been for years,” Jones said. “The third piece is the armies, and that’s where the mass is.”
Persuading countries to make their forces more usable and reorient the savings they realize into needed capabilities is working, he said. “The capabilities issue is interesting, because there is a list of high-end items like strategic lift to fix over a 10-year period,” he said.
Countries are making these investments. If they continue over the next five to 10 years, much of the technological gap between the United States and its European allies will close. However, this will be extremely expensive, and it means that there will be fewer than the 2.4 million Europeans that there are in uniform today.
“It’s the same problem the United States faced after Desert Shield/Storm,” Jones said. “We had excess capacity – too many bases, too much old equipment, too many people. To get to transformation, you have to shrink your personnel costs while maintaining the overall budget.”
Many of the allies are transitioning to a professional force – an all-volunteer force, he said. They are going after higher-tech weapons systems.
Jones said he would like to see “a little bit more commitment to national security on the part of members whose (defense) budgets are below 2 percent (of their gross national product).”
“My line in NATO is you can’t call it transformation if you are reducing your budgets and your force structure,” he said. “If you are holding the budget and fixing all else, that’s transformational.”
New members are doing well at this. NATO expressly asked Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia not to develop air forces. The alliance said it would be responsible for those countries’ air policing and air defense under Article V of the NATO charter. Right now, Danish fighters are over the Baltic republics, which allows the countries to develop other needed capabilities.
The Czech republic built a world-class chemical, biological, radiological defense capability that everybody wants to use. These examples are probably the way of the future, Jones said.
And Jones works closely with his friend U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund Giambasitani, the alliance’s supreme allied commander for transformation, based in Norfolk, Va. Jones said the men are “philosophical soulmates.” They are working together to further the work of transformation throughout the alliance, he said.
-ends-
-
Rumsfeld: Transformation Moving NATO Into 21st Century
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 13, 2004)
POIANA BRASOV, Romania --- Initiatives designed to expand NATO’s capabilities are helping the alliance to better confront 21st-century challenges such as global terrorism, the U.S. military’s top civilian said here today.
For example, NATO’s recently established rapid response force, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted to reporters during a roundtable discussion at a local hotel, “will help the entire alliance move into the 21st century.”
After meeting earlier today with senior Romanian government officials in Bucharest, Rumsfeld traveled to this
Transylvanian resort town to attend Oct. 13 and 14 NATO informal defense ministerial meetings.
Now with 26 member nations, Rumsfeld noted that NATO has also expanded its chemical-biological warfare capabilities. And, with NATO deployments to the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years, Rumsfeld pointed out, the alliance has moved outside of its traditional sphere of operations.
These developments, in concert with current NATO initiatives to streamline headquarters staffs and modernize capabilities, “gives the alliance a chance of really being relevant” to confront new threats to peace and stability, Rumsfeld pointed out.
If NATO cannot quickly respond to modern challenges such as those presented by transnational terrorism, Rumsfeld reasoned, then “you don’t have a military alliance for this century.”
Rumsfeld envisions that modern military practices that form the organizational backbone of NATO’s quick reaction force will spread across the alliance.
“As countries commit to that response force and as it is used,” Rumsfeld explained, “it will then back into the member countries the kind of transformation that’s necessary for those countries to reform the rest of their military capabilities.”
The secretary praised former Pentagon NATO specialist J.D. Crouch, now the U.S. ambassador to Romania, for the work he did on changing the NATO command structure.
Under Crouch’s watch, Rumsfeld noted, NATO had reduced its headquarters elements from 20 to 11. The alliance, the secretary added, continues to streamline staff operations to obtain more warfighters for duty on the front lines, thereby improving its “tooth-to-tail ratio.”
Ongoing NATO missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo will likely be discussed during the ministerial meetings, said U.S. Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, who accompanied Rumsfeld to the roundtable.
“And, there’ll be a lot of talk on transformation -- the issues the secretary referred to,” Burns observed, in the context of meeting 21st-century threats.
“How do you change the doctrine and capabilities of the alliance so that we can be successful meeting these new threats?” Burns asked. In confronting global terrorism, he added, NATO has “to go beyond Europe to defend Europe.” And that, Burns pointed out, “is the strategic shift that has occurred in NATO.”
Burns said NATO representatives at the ministerial meetings here would likely discuss expanding the alliance’s presence into western Afghanistan to bring about more stability with parliamentary elections slated for the spring.
In Iraq, NATO will accelerate training of Iraqi security forces at the request of the interim government, Burns noted. As part of fulfilling that mission, he said, 300 to 400 NATO-member officers will be assigned to instruct senior Iraqi leaders at a military academy to be opened in eastern Baghdad.
The Iraqis, Burns continued, also have asked NATO for more equipment for its expanding security forces. Trained and equipped Iraqi security forces now number about 100,000, DoD officials recently noted, with 40,000 to50,000 more expected to be added by January. The current goal, according to DoD, is to train and equip 200,000 to 250,000 Iraqi security forces.
Several NATO members, Burns pointed out, had once belonged to the Warsaw Pact and have old Soviet equipment in their warehouses. And much of that equipment, he noted, “fuels and runs” the Iraqi armed forces.
Therefore, a solution to the equipment issue, Burns suggested, could involve some eastern European NATO members donating or selling their surplus Soviet gear to the Iraqis.
Burns said another alliance issue involves the still-unstable situation in Kosovo, where about 20,000 NATO troops are deployed to keep the peace. Violence in Kosovo erupted again in March, he said. NATO defense ministers will therefore likely “reconfirm the need” to maintain current alliance troop levels there, he added. And, the NATO mission in Bosnia, Burns reported, will be handed over to the European Union in December.
NATO made the right decision to deploy its forces to Afghanistan and Iraq, Burns asserted. Now it’s the time, he added, for the alliance “to get on the ground and make a difference” in Afghanistan and Iraq, and “do it in a very strong way.”
-ends-
-
France, Germany Reject US Plan to Fuse Afghan Commands
(Source: Voice of America; issued Oct. 13, 2004)
France and Germany have turned down a U.S. proposal that the NATO peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and the bigger U.S.-led force fighting insurgents there be merged into one single command. No way! That was the French and German reaction to the U.S. suggestion that the two Afghan commands be unified.
NATO has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan who are mainly engaged in peacekeeping and reconstruction work in Kabul, the capital, and some northern provinces. The alliance wants to move into the more troubled western part of the country and is calling on its members to commit troops and equipment for that operation.
The U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom has twice as many troops and is concentrated in Afghanistan’s southeastern provinces, where it is engaged in combat operations against remnants of the Taleban and al-Qaida.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters after the meeting that the two commands have different missions and that it would make no sense to unite them.
She says there is some sense in trying to create synergies between the two forces, but, for France, there is no logic to merging their operations.
Her German colleague Peter Struck also rejected the idea of a fusion of the two commands, saying German troops are in Afghanistan to help stabilize the country and not to fight terrorists.
NATO officials have been touting the idea that the two commands could be brought under one general, but maintain their separate missions. But Ms. Alliot-Marie dismissed even that suggestion, saying it would be counterproductive. She did not explain why.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged the allies to provide NATO’s nascent training mission in Iraq with the instructors and additional personnel it needs so that the operation can be up-and-running by the time Iraqis hold elections next January.
But France reiterated its refusal to take part in the training mission, and German minister Struck backed away from a previous hint that his country might at some unspecified later date provide troops there. He was quickly slapped down by his own government, which has insisted it will not take part in any military operations in Iraq.
The flurry over Afghanistan overshadowed NATO’s announcement that its new rapid response force of 17,000 troops is ready to go into action. The force’s goal is to react to crises around the world in five days time.
-ends-
-
New Members Highlight Restructuring Plans for NATO
(Source: Forecast International; issued Oct. 13, 2004)
NEWTOWN, Conn. --- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is redefining itself in ways unforeseen just a few short years ago. In its latest round of expansion in March, seven new nations – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia – joined the defense alliance, expanding the membership to 26.
In that one move, three former post-communist Eastern European states became part of a defense organization that they opposed during the Cold War. The occasion will inevitably effect an augmentation of NATO’s defense spending, making the alliance more secure, and create cooperation between countries previously outside the Western sphere.
Even with the Cold War over, change has come slowly to NATO’s overall structure and purpose. However, the Prague Summit in November 2002 raised several issues that deserve special attention, including NATO’s place in a world no longer threatened by the Soviet Union, and the threat of international terrorism.
The relevance of large standing armies was another topic brought up for consideration. Without the threat of invasion, large armies within the NATO alliance are hardly necessary. Furthermore, much of what NATO member countries spend on defense is in personnel costs – funds that could be better used to upgrade aging technologies and on the research and development of new ones.
Many NATO countries still employ large numbers of poorly trained conscripts whose military terms last no more than a year at most and in some cases fewer than six months. Former NATO Secretary Lord Robertson considers most of these 1.4 million soldiers “useless” for the organization’s current missions. “The harsh unavoidable truth is that if our governments are to continue to take on political commitments to do more militarily, in Afghanistan or in Africa or anywhere else, then they must improve the usability of their armed forces,” Robertson remarked.
“Personnel issues notwithstanding, NATO planners are focusing on a restructuring plan that will work toward ensuring highly mobile ground, naval, and air forces capable of responding to a threat, and acting as part of the alliance, in any part of the world,” said Charles Falzone III, Forecast International defense analyst and author of “NATO Market Overview.” “Terrorism is receiving special attention, with an emphasis on the prevention, disposal, and location of weapons of mass destruction.”
Defense spending is expected to rise among the newest NATO nations as they modernize their forces to increase interoperability. In some cases it may take decades to bring former Warsaw Pact nations to U.S. standards. Indeed, with the United States developing military technology at such a feverish pace, this effort at modernization may prove tentative at best.
-ends-
-
Boeing Begins Flight Testing Upgraded Mission System Aboard NATO AWACS Aircraft
(Source: Boeing Co.; issued Oct. 14, 2004)
ST. LOUIS --- Boeing has begun mission system flight tests on the first of 17 NATO AWACS aircraft upgraded under the $1.3 billion Mid-Term Modernization program.
The tests culminate seven years of engineering, manufacturing and design, and through operational scenarios will demonstrate the upgraded capabilities of the NATO customer’s mission system.
Testing is scheduled to be completed in March 2005.
The modernization includes integration of state-of-the-art enhancements to the fleet’s computers, displays, communications, navigation and target identification systems. Hardware to retrofit the rest of the fleet is currently in production.
“This highly flexible mission system provides NATO AWACS aircraft with the ability to receive mission orders via software from a remote location and updates via satellite data links,” said Mark Ellis, Boeing NATO AWACS programs manager. “The system will electronically integrate the updates into the mission computing system, significantly enhancing the fleet’s capability.”
Another upgrade provides an improved picture of the battlespace with the integration of data from various sensors on board the AWACS, as well as from other sources, and an increased capacity in the number of targets it can track.
“The new capability also allows increased interoperability with more assets including other AWACS or AEW&C fleets, ground stations, fighter aircraft, UAVs, ships and satellites and is combined with an updated Identification Friend or Foe system,” Ellis said. “All of this results in improved air traffic and battle management.”
Ellis says five additional operator consoles integrated with the mission system enhancements will extend the entire fleet’s capability as well as the life of the aircraft by allowing two AWACS to cover the mission of three in certain situations.
Following successful mission system testing by Boeing, NATO will conduct an operational test and evaluation program. Retrofit of the entire fleet is expected to be completed in 2008.
-ends-
-
Response Force Ready For Missions
(Source: NATO; dated Oct. 13, published Oct. 14, 2004)
NATO’s cutting-edge Response Force (NRF) has reached initial operational capability and is now ready to take on the full range of missions where and when the Alliance decides to use it.
The announcement was made by NATO Secretary General, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, and the Alliance’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General James L. Jones, at the informal meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Romania, 13 October 2004.
This high readiness and technologically advanced force is a first for NATO. It combines elite land, air and sea units into a single force that can be deployed anywhere in the world in five days and sustain itself for up to a month on a wide range of missions.
These might include collective defence, managing the consequences of natural or man-made disasters, serving as an ‘initial entry’ force for a larger follow-on force, or to demonstrate the Alliance’s determination and ability to act effectively in the early stages of a crisis.
At present, the Force numbers about 17,000 troops.
Because the land, air and maritime forces of NATO member countries will rotate through the Response Force, it will serve as a catalyst for the Alliance’s overall military transformation.
“It is a test bed for advanced doctrines and technologies, and – as the Allies rotate their forces – lessons will be learned that can be applied, I think, across the full structure of the Alliance,” the NATO Secretary General told reporters.
The concept of the NATO Response Force was agreed at NATO’s Prague Summit in 2002. The force is expected to reach its full operational capability of approximately 21,000 troops by 2006.
-ends-
-
Second NATO Technology and Equipment Exhibition on “The Digital Battlefield”
(Source: NATO; issued Oct. 25, 2004)
The second NATO technology and equipment exhibition, organised in the framework of the bi–annual Conference of National Armaments Directors, will be held at NATO Headquarters on 28 and 29 October 2004.
This new Exhibition focuses on “The Digital Battlefield”. The Digital Battlefield is at the heart of modern military transformation: the past few years have seen an exponential increase in the speed and agility by which military operations can be conducted and by which forces can be deployed.
This CNAD exhibition brings an impressive number of companies together from twenty-one nations. These display a wide range of products that directly relate to the modern digital battlefield, such as state-of-the-art battle management systems for network centric warfare, recent advances in micro, miniature and vertical take-off and landing UAVs, and the latest developments in digitised soldiers systems.
This Exhibition welcomes not only a large collection of small and large companies and research establishments from throughout Europe and North America, but also companies from Partner countries as Austria, Finland, Sweden or Switzerland
-ends-
-
First NATO Course for Iraq Underway in Norway
(Source: NATO; issued Nov. 1, 2004)
STAVANGER, Norway --- Twenty Iraqi security personnel are here at NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre participating in the first training conducted outside of Iraq in support of the training mission announced by the Alliance at the Istanbul Summit in June.
The eight-day course, which started Monday, has been tailored to meet the needs of mid- to high-ranking Iraqi security personnel.
“Our NATO facility is well placed to offer our Iraqi guests training that will be extremely relevant to the challenges and opportunities they face in rebuilding their country’s security institutions,” said the centre’s director, British Army Major-General James Short. The centre specializes in joint headquarters-level training.
The Iraqi participants range from senior military officers to civilian staff with Iraq’s Ministry of Defense and Ministry of the Interior. They were specially selected by Iraqi authorities as “key leaders” from within Iraq’s security forces.
The course focuses on the function of an operational-level headquarters and includes instruction on crisis management, command and control of forces, the operational planning process, and integration of all aspects of civil-military cooperation, including liaison with the UN, Red Cross, and other international organisations.
“Our host nation, Norway, is providing excellent support to this training,” said Major-General Short.
The training will serve as a pilot project for possible follow-on training at the Joint Warfare Centre and back in Iraq. The ultimate aim is to help Iraq develop its own training capability.
Through the NATO Training and Equipment Co-ordination Group, led by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the Alliance is co-ordinating Iraqi requests for further training by NATO or other organizations.
The next NATO-led course to be attended by Iraqi security personnel outside their country will be at the NATO School in Germany later this month.
-ends-
-
EADS Modernizes Mission Computer System on NATO’s AWACS Early Warning Aircraft
(Source: EADS Defence Electronics; issued Nov. 4, 2004)
ULM, Germany --- EADS is participating in the modernization of NATO’s AWACS early warning fleet. As announced on Thursday, Boeing has awarded EADS Defence Electronics an order for the delivery of AWACS mission computers and Multi-Sensor Integration (MSI) computers for NATO’s E-3A AWACS aircraft following successful development.
EADS developed the MSI software in the run-up to the NATO E-3A modernization program. This software permits the automatic identification and tracking of targets as well as the generation of correlated target flight paths by including a variety of reconnaissance data on board the AWACS platform. This technology ensures a marked improvement in automatic target tracking and identification and significantly assists flight officers and their teams in airborne air surveillance.
Bernhard Gerwert, head of the EADS Defence Electronics business unit, noted: “EADS manages responsibility for the sensor-fusion software as well as the main computer. Thus we are able to supply the client with a fully integrated sub-system that considerably improves the capability of the early warning system.”
Within the scope of NATO’s “Mid-Term Modernization Program,” Boeing is carrying out the comprehensive modernization of the mission computer system, the displays and communication, navigation and target identification and tracking systems. EADS Military Aircraft integrates the systems supplied by EADS Defence Electronics into the AWACS aircraft at its Manching facility where it also tests the newly developed, modernized system. The first upgraded aircraft will become operational in 2006.
Aircraft in NATO’s E-3 fleet at Geilenkirchen near Aachen have been in operation for 20 years. Throughout operations, these flying reconnaissance platforms have been subject to constant modernization of sensors and deployed equipment. The upgrading of the radar and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) systems, as well as the installation of the Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), have been among the most significant projects in the past. The AWACS fleet is expected to remain operational until 2025.
EADS Defence Electronics, supplier of radar, avionics and electronic warfare systems, is an integrated part of the EADS Defence and Security Systems Division (DS). DS, with revenues of about EUR 5.2 billion in 2003 and roughly 24,000 employees across nine nations, forms the defence pole within EADS.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2003, the Group generated revenues of over EUR 30 billion and employed a workforce of more than 109,000.
-ends-
-
First NATO Course for Iraq Begins in Norway
(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov. 4, 2004)
WASHINGTON --- Key Iraqi civilian and military leaders arrived at the NATO Joint Warfare Centre in Norway this week to attend an eight-day pilot training course designed to teach them how to promote civil-military cooperation as they build their security institutions.
Nineteen mid- and high-ranking Iraqi security personnel are participating in the first training conducted outside of Iraq in support of the training mission announced by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the alliance’s Istanbul Summit in June. At the summit, 26 heads of state and government declared “full support” for the interim government in Iraq and pledged to help train Iraq’s security forces.
The Iraqi Key Leader training, which began Nov. 1 in Stavanger, Norway, focuses on post-conflict resolution and rebuilding, with an emphasis on interagency and civil-military cooperation, officials explained during a news conference today at the NATO Joint Warfare Centre headquarters.
The course addresses the function of an operational-level headquarters, including instruction on crisis management, command and control of forces and the operational planning process. It also covers civil-military cooperation, including liaison with the United Nations, Red Cross and other organizations, officials said.
The center staff offers this instruction through lectures, simulations and exercises that give participants the opportunity to “walk through” possible real-life scenarios under the guidance of NATO instructors, they said.
The Iraqi participants range from senior military officers to civilian staff with Iraq’s defense and interior ministries. Iraqi authorities selected them as key leaders from within the country’s security forces.
A senior Iraqi representative at today’s news conference said the training offered valuable insights into coordination between military and civil forces — a significant part of establishing a stable security environment in Iraq. He thanked the coalition for its support and expressed appreciation to NATO for hosting the session.
British Army Maj. Gen. James Short, director of the NATO Joint Warfare Centre, said the facility “is well placed to offer our Iraqi guests training that will be extremely relevant to the challenges and opportunities they face in rebuilding their country’s security institutions.”
He said the Iraqi leaders have demonstrated that they are “keen to learn” and eager to take their lessons back to Iraq to help them build the security forces that are considered vital to the country’s future.
Short said the training will serve as a pilot project for possible follow-on training at the Joint Warfare Centre and in Iraq, if requested by the Iraqi government. The ultimate aim is to help the Iraqis develop their own training capability, officials said today.
The NATO Joint Warfare Centre was activated in October 2003, replacing the former Joint Headquarters North. The new center is a key part of NATO’s transformation efforts, focusing on ways to streamline the alliance’s military command structure and develop new concepts and doctrine for current security challenges. It specializes in joint headquarters-level training.
-ends-
-
NATO Chief Criticizes Germany’s Iraq Stance
(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Nov. 9, 2004)
One week after the US elected President George W. Bush to a second term, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for improvements to trans-Atlantic ties and greater political consensus within NATO -- specifically addressing Germany’s intention not to send Bundeswehr officers to NATO-led training programs.
“The two sides must learn from each other,” said de Hoop Scheffer at the Berlin Press Club Monday. “Europe cannot unite against the United States, that would only end up dividing Europe.”
Late last month, US General James Jones, the supreme allied commander in Iraq, indicated that 16 or 17 of the 26 NATO countries were ready to participate in training Iraqi security forces.
Most of the countries which said they were ready to begin training are already serving as part of the US-led coalition in Iraq.
France and Germany, key opponents of the war in Iraq, agreed to contribute to a NATO security training program, but only outside of Iraq.
But Germany now faces a dilemma. The issue unleashed debate in Berlin about the government’s withdrawal of German officers from NATO forces set to be deployed in Iraq as advisers in January. The government stands firm on its decision not to allow its forces to set foot in the war-torn country, while the opposition wants to see Germany actively participating in NATO programs within Iraq.
De Hoop Scheffer said he understood Berlin’s position, but also pointed out that it undermined NATO solidarity.
A day after Iraq’s government declared a 60-day state of emergency, the NATO Secretary General emphasized the need for Iraq to gain stability ahead of January’s elections, saying this was the goal of the training program.
“I believe that for as long as we have a consensus on security policy, for example as far as the training missions in Iraq are concerned, then we cannot accept that member states signal political approval of the mission while refusing to allow their NATO officers to actually participate,” he said.
The former Dutch foreign minister also stressed that NATO’s role in overseas missions is set to expand.
“The demand on NATO to run missions will increase and not diminish,” he said. “I doubt if all parliaments and all parliamentarians understand this.”
Urging leaders to drive a debate on changing security needs to avoid a repeat of the transatlantic rifts exposed by the US-led strike on Iraq, De Hoop Scheffer said politicians had to accept the need for a stronger alliance.
“Everybody realizes that what happened a year ago should never happen again. Uniting Europe against the United States is a non-starter,” he said.
-ends-
-
Afghanistan: NATO Chief Affirms Expansion of Security Force in West of Country
(Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; issued Nov. 12, 2004)
NEW YORK --- NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said yesterday that the current situation in Afghanistan makes it logistically viable for the alliance to expand its operations there.
“We have lived up to our promises, and at the moment the signs are good that NATO is going to expand ISAF -- the International Security Assistance Force -- into the west of Afghanistan,” de Hoop Scheffer said. “We have covered the north now with a number of so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We will now go west, setting up what we call a ‘forward support base’ in Herat, and then we want to move counterclockwise to the south and the southeast of Afghanistan, as well.”
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO’s forces in the country have, in general, been received well by the Afghan people. Asked why NATO, originally created to provide security for Western Europe, is now operating in Afghanistan, the secretary-general said the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 brought about a major shift in NATO policy.
“What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Defending values at the Hindu Kush in the present day international climate,” Scheffer said. “We have to fight terrorism wherever it emerges. If we don’t do it at the Hindu Kush, it will end up at our doorstep. In other words, this perception gap in the long run must be closed and must be healed -- that is, for NATO’s future, of the utmost importance.”
Another priority for NATO in Afghanistan, he said, will be providing additional security during parliamentary elections, scheduled for April. The secretary-general said that extra NATO battalions will be committed.
De Hoop Scheffer described NATO’s operations in Afghanistan as a “moderate success.” But he warned that without deeper involvement by the international community in the fight against drug production and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, NATO’s ability to ensure the country’s stability will be limited.
Referring to Afghanistan’s neighbors, de Hoop Scheffer underlined the strategic role the Central Asian states play in the fight against terrorism. Having just returned from a trip to Central Asia and the Caucasus, de Hoop Scheffer said he envisions closer cooperation with these states.
“We need, by the way, Central Asian nations, and the Caucasian nations [to] play an important role in supporting the ISAF operation because we need the lines of communication -- to say in military terms -- [and] transit agreements with the Central Asians, to see that we can adequately run the ISAF operation in Afghanistan,” Scheffer said.
De Hoop Scheffer said Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have all expressed interest in closer cooperation with NATO in its Partnership for Peace program.
“They all want to extend their partnership with NATO. Even Armenia has now applied for the so-called Individual Partnership Action Program, which means that we are going to develop a tailored, Armenia-tailored partnership program with that country, with Yerevan,” Scheffer said. “That goes for the Central Asian nations, as well. So that partnership is developing very well.”
De Hoop Scheffer stressed that Turkey is playing a particularly active role in the Partnership for Peace program.
-ends-
-
Expeditionary software extends its reach during 'Destined Glory'
A US software application for amphibious command and control has been used for the first time by NATO commanders on Exercise 'Destined Glory 04', held in and around Sardinia in October 2004. They described it as "an extremely powerful tool in planning, presenting and monitoring the execution of inherently complex amphibious operations". During the exercise, the commander, Belgium-Netherlands Task Group (COMBNLTG), embarked in HrMs Rotterdam, was designated as the commander, Amphibious Task Force (CATF), with overall responsibility for amphibious operations.
[Jane's International Defence Review - first posted to http://idr.janes.com (http://idr.janes.com) – 11 November 2004]
-
Analysis: NATO States Divided Over Iraq
(Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; issued Nov. 16, 2004)
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe General James Jones has said that 10 member states have refused to send troops to Iraq as part of the alliance's new training mission there, ft.com reported on 15 November. Jones said the move by the 10 states, which he refused to name publicly, could undermine the alliance itself and threaten the long-term viability of the operation.
The website reported that the U.S. government has already complained that France and Germany have ordered their staff seconded to NATO headquarters in Belgium and to Norfolk, Virginia, not to participate in Iraq missions. Both countries were opposed to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Opponents to the NATO program have argued that a larger NATO presence in the country equates to putting the alliance into the battlefield through the back door, Reuters reported on 14 November.
Germany's ddp news agency reported that the German government has "consistently refused to send German soldiers directly to Iraq." However, according to a 15 November ddp report, 32 Bundeswehr instructors will be training Iraqi security forces to operate five-ton trucks in the United Arab Emirates. Germany has also committed to training Iraqis at a NATO center in Oberammergau, Germany. Norway is training Iraqis at the Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger
NATO committed itself last month to sending 300 trainers to Baghdad and 1,000-1,500 soldiers to the capital to provide protection for its in-country program, which will train 1,000 Iraqi officers a year at a military academy currently being set up near Baghdad.
Jones's statements came just days after NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met with U.S. President George W. Bush and addressed the UN Security Council in New York. De Hoop Scheffer supported the war in Iraq before becoming head of NATO in January. The secretary-general suggested to reporters after his 10 November meeting with Bush that the NATO alliance is strong, saying, "It is a very important sign that I was the first foreign visitor, indeed, to meet President Bush in the Oval Office" following Bush's reelection, international media reported. He told the UN Security Council the following day that NATO's decision to assist Iraq was based on the security interests of its member states, which are "affected by events" there.
He took a more critical view of European member states in the war on terror at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on 12 November. "In Europe, we still have complicated discussions, be it in the European Union or be it national discussions, of how far governments could go in the relationship with their citizens in the fight against terrorism. I think Europe should catch up here," independent.co.uk quoted him as saying in a 13 November report.
De Hoop Scheffer went a bit further in a 14 November interview with Italy's "Corriere della Sera," saying that Europeans need to "wake up" to the terrorist threat. "The average U.S. citizen perceives terrorism as being by far the most serious threat. That is not the case in Europe. A large part of the population has to wake up to the fact that everything has changed," de Hoop Scheffer said.
He added that Europeans "find it difficult to understand that something might happen in some far-off region of Asia which might place their own personal security in jeopardy." "This gap in perception compared to the United States gives me cause for concern," he said. De Hoop Scheffer said his goal is to turn NATO into an institution for political dialogue on security issues between the United States and European member states.
Of the 18 NATO member states that individually committed (outside of NATO) troops to Iraq, only about half remain committed to keeping troops there. Most Western European states have said they will pull out altogether in the coming months.
Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia have all opted to stay indefinitely. Hungary announced on 16 November that it may send military trainers to Iraq as part of the NATO contingent. Prospective NATO members Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia said on 13 November that they too are eager to support the NATO training mission in Iraq.
-ends
-
Interview: Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation, and Commander, Joint Forces Command
BY HUNTER C. KEETER
Giambastiani: Change in Culture Key to Joint Transformation
Since Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld endorsed the term “transformation” in 2000, it has become the watch-word for the prioritization of investment in technologies and concepts of operation that enhance the military forces’ ability to act in an integrated fashion. From the battlefields of Iraq to the halls of the Pentagon, the DoD leadership gradually has clarified a vision of future military capability in which interoperability, not only of systems but of various service and agency cultures, is the key to success in coalition operations.
As the executive agent charged with ensuring the future of transformation, the U.S. Joint Forces Command at Norfolk, Va., oversees the interoperability of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. At the helm is Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. He wears two hats as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation, and Commander, Joint Forces Command. His mission is to lead the way for the transformation of U.S. and NATO alliance command-and-control capabilities.
Giambastiani is a submariner whose earlier commands included NR-1, the Navy’s nuclear-powered research submarine, and the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Richard B. Russell. He commanded Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force, NATO’s Submarines Allied Command Atlantic, and was Rumsfeld’s military assistant. He became the leader of Joint Forces Command in 2003.
Giambastiani recently discussed his command’s challenges and priorities with Sea Power Associate Editor Hunter C. Keeter.
Does the military develop capabilities, plan operations and carry out missions better today as a result of joint transformation?
Giambastiani: Is the military doing much better at this? The answer is, yes. Is it where we should be? The answer is, no. The reason why I say this is we keep striving to know how to better integrate our existing capabilities.
What is Joint Forces Command’s role to ensure a closer integration of capabilities?
Giambastiani: What we don’t want to do is have all the services and agencies out trying to build their own systems and then not be able to perform operational level command and control when they get together. We have been given significant authority to work with services like the Navy, for example, in management initiative decisions. That allows us oversight in programs that involve joint command and control.
Once joint command and control is working, how does it address the challenge of diverse requirements for fires?
Giambastiani: There are a lot of people and capabilities that provide fires. There are aviation fires; there are ground combat fires from artillery, rockets, missiles; and fires can come from at sea in the form of rockets, missiles and guns. The question is how do you put all that together? We are becoming more integrated with regard to joint fires, particularly in reference to the delivery of air-dropped munitions.
How do better-integrated joint aerial fires affect changes in the structure of forces that depend on those capabilities?
Giambastiani: One of the things happening is that Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker [Army chief of staff] is reducing the amount of organic artillery that he has in a number of units. He is using the personnel to, in fact, create additional military police, civil affairs and a whole series of other functions that are important. He also is using these personnel to fill out combat divisions, where they are, in fact, creating a fourth brigade in some cases. Take the 3rd Infantry Division, for example. When it fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom, it had three brigades. The next time we use it, it is going to have four brigades.
Is the trend in joint interoperability to make the uniformed services more dependent upon one another?
Giambastiani: If you make each of the services more interdependent on each other, you can, in fact, invest money or re-invest personnel in the capabilities that you need, to make this joint force better equipped to do its job in the future.
What is the next step for interservice cooperation?
Giambastiani: When you start talking about moving to a coherently integrated force, there are some very important enablers. The integrated force has got to be interdependent; it has to be capabilities-based, collaborative and network centric.
How do you create this kind of cohesiveness?
Giambastiani: You have to have the ability to conduct high-level, or large-scale, vertical and horizontal collaboration. That means up and down the chain of command and across all of your capabilities and forces. The ability to collaborate is what allows you to do command and control, plus collecting and sharing information, and then you have a better understanding of the commander’s intent.
From the perspective of your NATO role, what is the challenge of interoperability?
Giambastiani: We have coalition information sharing, not only through trading pieces of paper, but digitally, to share knowledge and do it in a manner that doesn’t create an incredible amount of fire brakes or delay the process so that you can actually work toward outcomes and end-states.
Is this a change in philosophy for both U.S. and allied forces?
Giambastiani: It is not so much a change in philosophy; but a change in culture. Culture is a very important part of being able to do anything in any organization. One must know what is the established culture and how to change that. The culture of understanding joint warfighting today is significantly advanced over what it was a few years ago. In fact, think about how far we have come with regard to joint warfighting. It is pretty remarkable.
Could joint force integration expand beyond the traditional spheres of the military?
Giambastiani: The Goldwater-Nichols Act [which reorganized the Department of Defense command structure] happened in 1986 and here we are, 18 years later, moving toward that. Guess what? Now you get the 9/11 Commission talking about having a Goldwater-Nichols for the rest of the government. This is about changing cultures to integrate. That is one of the points we make all the time. We are working on the questions of how we bring in the interagency process; how we bring in allies, nongovernmental organizations and other agencies.
What are some of the technological challenges remaining in the arena of joint warfare?
Giambastiani: Fratricide prevention is big, and that means Blue Force tracking [knowing where friendly units are on the battlefield] in addition to combat identification. Knowing these things is very important for situational awareness, not only to have a good idea of what is happening on the battlefield, but to keep from killing each other.
Are there shortfalls in today’s information management capabilities?
Giambastiani: We need technologies that allow us to do a more effects-based [long-term results] assessment that is real-time, instead of what I call attrition-based battle damage assessment. One of the findings that we put out in an unclassified testimony before the House Armed Services Committee is that our ability to do battle damage assessment is far outpaced by our ability to move on the battlefield. We were way behind this [during Operation Iraqi Freedom].
Based on lessons learned from Iraqi Freedom and other actions, what are your views on collaborative access to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities?
Giambastiani: The only way you can do ISR is to do it in a joint fashion. The questions are: how ubiquitous is the information? Is it useful? How real-time is it? And how can you help it enable quick operations? Judging the old paradigm of battle damage assessment, we are not quick enough at turning information around. We are very good at getting static looks at a battlefield or some kind of operation. What we are not good at is getting someone a picture of what is happening in real-time when we get very dynamic and everybody is moving very quickly. Through efforts like Blue Force tracking we are beginning to understand where our forces are. The question is, where are the enemy forces? From the fratricide point of view this is critical.
What are some of the tools for collecting information and how are you using these technologies today?
Giambastiani: The Air Force now has built up a pretty substantial capability within Air Combat Command to support Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. Those vehicles are in Air Combat Command, under Joint Forces Command, and we provide them to locations around the world. Many are deployed to the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility [including the Middle East]. The Predators are actually driven and controlled from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The Air Force has a complete system there to support joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and also attack. We are doing this through reach-back [from the field to the continental United States] and this is a big deal.
What else concerns you, from your perspective on joint force technical capabilities?
Giambastiani: We are [deploying] huge numbers of forces and our ability to … do this [efficiently] today is not particularly good. We are spending a lot of time working in this area, for example with the U.S. Transportation Command, developing new ideas about joint [logistics].
Do you have a long-term vision for joint force support and sustainment capabilities?
Giambastiani: How do we deploy but logistically sustain the force in a way that makes sense, without costing the taxpayer huge bundles of money? We need to be able to make sure we are applying our dollars in the right locations without wasting them on piles of stocks in certain areas. We are trying to get rid of those iron mountains of the past.
Going forward with joint force transformation, what are some of your other priorities?
Giambastiani: If you look at what is important to the leadership in the Defense Department … [they] talk about creating a joint concept of operations for air, land and sea. How do you integrate all of this stuff? Translating that into a joint concept of operations and then into a joint acquisition strategy is a little different than the way we are doing business today.
Would new approaches to joint operations and acquisition have an impact on force integration?
Giambastiani: Think about the implications. This effort should help us drive toward what we want: doing things in a joint way as opposed to having organizations go forward and arbitrarily acquire capability by themselves.
-
Commander Slams NATO Iraq No-Shows
Associated Press
November 24, 2004
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military commander in Europe criticized NATO countries who refused to provide military instructors for a training mission in Iraq, saying the result will be an increased burden on allies who are contributing.
"It's important to recognize that once the alliance gets involved in an operation, it is important that all allies support the operation," Gen. James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe said Tuesday.
He said "nine or 10 or 11" of NATO's 26 countries would not send instructors, even though they voted to approve a mission there.
"This is disturbing. I hope it is a one-time event, because it really will be a limiting factor in the long term in terms of generating forces and successive rotations," Jones said in a speech at the National Press Club.
He did not identify the countries, but France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece have refused publicly to contribute personnel. It is unlikely Iceland could provide a contribution because it has no military, although it does have technical experts who have accompanied other NATO missions.
The project to train Iraqi officers will not involve offensive combat duty and is part of a broader program aimed at creating an Iraqi security force capable of protecting the country without the need for U.S. and other foreign forces.
As designed, it would involve 400 instructors and about 1,200 troops to protect them, a State Department official said last week
The United States will bear a large share of the costs and contribute a sizable percentage of the instructors and the protective force, the official said. An advance contingent of 60 to 65 officers will go to Baghdad in four to six weeks to begin the training program.
While NATO long has played a postwar peacekeeping role in Afghanistan, many European governments and their constituencies still disapprove the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq.
The decision to use soldiers of NATO nations to train Iraqi officers is the first collective action on Iraq by the alliance, the official said, although individual NATO members have contributed troops.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon, called the refusal by certain NATO countries to send personnel a problem.
"It's kind of like if you've got a basketball team, and you have five people train together, week after week after week, it comes to be game time and two of them stick up their hands and say, `Gee, I don't think I'm going to play this week.' It would be better if they were on the bench, and somebody else had been training for the last period of weeks," he said.
-
Memorandum of Understanding for the Provision of a Satellite Communications Capability Signed
(Source: NATO; issued Nov. 23, 2004)
NATO completed on 22 November the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Governments of France, Italy and the United Kingdom for the provision of a satellite communications capability for fifteen years, commencing 1 January 2005.
This new NATO satellite capability will primarily be used to provide the communications support of NATO’s deployed forces.
The capability will be provided through the use of the French SYRACUSE, the Italian SICRAL and the United Kingdom SKYNET Satellite constellations. They will provide SHF and UHF capacity and coverage to meet NATO’s operational requirements.
The programme will be coordinated through a Joint Programme Management Office located in Paris.
Follow-on enhancement of the current NATO ground equipment will be acquired by NATO through the process of international competitive bidding.
-ends-
-
Another NATO Country Buys RBS 70
(Source: Saab AB; issued Nov. 25, 2004)
Saab Bofors Dynamics has signed a contract with Latvia regarding the RBS 70 Air Defence Missile System. The order is worth MSEK 185 for Saab. The Latvian Air Force is the end customer and user of the system.
Latvia is now the seventeenth country to acquire RBS 70. In recent years major orders for the system have also been received from Finland and Australia.
“It is very pleasing and an excellent testimony to the system that yet another NATO country has chosen the RBS 70 Air Defence Missile System. The system has been on the market for a long time and the upgraded version is now enjoying a renaissance. The recent sales success shows that it is still a world-class system,” comments Tomas Samuelsson, President of Saab Bofors Dynamics.
The Latvian contract is a combination of donated materiel from Sweden and new materiel from Saab Bofors Dynamics. The Latvian RBS 70 system will be upgraded to the most modern version with a night sight and aircraft identification equipment. The system fulfills the necessary requirements for operational use within NATO.
Deliveries will take place in 2006 and 2007.
Saab is one of the world’s leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defence, aviation and space. The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capabilities in systems integration.
-ends-
-
Lithuanian Airspace to be Safeguarded by Air Defence Armaments Donated by Norway
(Source: Lithuanian Ministry of Defence; issued Nov. 15, 2004)
On Monday, 15 November an official ceremony will be held at the Air Defence Battalion when short-range air defence missile system RBS-70 will be handed over by Norway to Lithuania.
The equipment to be received by the Lithuanian Armed Forces free of charge is estimated at approximately 135 million Litas.
Between October-November of this year, a dispatch including 21 short range anti-aircraft missiles RBS-70, Mk-1 missiles, 5 training simulators, as well as surveillance radar systems Giraffe IV, others spare parts was handed over to the Air Defence Battalion, situated in Mumaiciai, near the country’s northern city of Siauliai. The handed-over equipment is brand new.
The received RBS-70 anti-aircraft system will be used to safeguard the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant and other strategic objects. The equipment will be sufficient to equip two air defence companies.
At the beginning of next year, two simulator classes are expected to be equipped and training curriculum developed. Up till now some 20 instructors have been undergoing training in Norway on how to operate and maintain the air defence systems.
The handover ceremony will be attended by Undersecretary of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, Mrs Jūratė Raguckienė, the Norwegian Ambassador to Lithuania, HE Kaare Hauge, Logistic Command Head of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Major General Arne Dahlberg, Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force, Colonel Jonas Marcinkus, and other high-ranking officials from the Lithuanian National Defence System.
-ends-
-
Norwegian Fighter Aircraft on a Temporary NATO Mission in the Baltic
(Source: Norwegian Ministry of Defence; issued Nov. 26, 2004)
In response to a request from NATO, Norway is offering four F-16 fighter aircraft as a contribution to NATO's policing of the airspace in the Baltic area. Since the three Baltic countries became members of the Alliance in April, NATO has been responsible for "air policing" in the Baltic area, and the task is taken on by member states in rotation. So far, fighter aircraft have been contributed by Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom, and other NATO countries will take over when the Norwegian aircraft are brought home.
The background to NATO's involvement is that the three Baltic states do not possess the necessary military air control capabilities of their own. Since NATO now has a clear collective responsibility for the security of the new member countries, the present interim solution will be extended until permanent arrangements for the control of Baltic airspace have been put in place.
NATO has based its Baltic airspace policing on the provision of fighter aircraft, equipment and personnel by member countries on a 3-monthly rotational basis. This ensures an equitable sharing of the burden. So far this year, aircraft have been made available by Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom while Norway will be ready to take over during the first quarter of 2005. Plans are being made in Norway to make available four F-16 fighter aircraft together with the necessary aircrew and ground staff to operate them.
Norway has also contributed an Air Control Unit which has been on deployment in the Baltic area since April. This deployment is to be extended until the end of March 2005.
-ends-
-
NATO Discusses Expansion, New Political Role
(Source: Voice of America; issued Dec. 2, 2004)
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has told the 50th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association in Rome the alliance must play a stronger political role and change its military capability to face new threats.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the assembly of some 350 delegates NATO is undergoing a full transformation both militarily and politically. He said the alliance must play a stronger global political role and adapt its military capability to the modern-day threats - terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and rogues states.
"Protecting our security today sometimes necessitates addressing the security and threats that arise far from our homes," Mr. Scheffer says. "If we do not tackle these programs at their source, they will end up on our doorstep. Not only in the form of illegal migration, trafficking or terrorism, but also in the form of instability that will inevitably affect us in an increasingly interdependent and globalized world."
NATO is no longer a Euro-centric alliance, Mr. Scheffer said, and will continue to engage in operations outside of its area wherever the need arises. It is for this reason, he added, that NATO forces are in Afghanistan, its naval forces are engaged in an anti-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean Sea and it contributes to the stability of Iraq through training the Iraqi security forces.
The NATO Secretary General also spoke of the political stand-off in the Ukraine, saying that the democratic future and territorial integrity of that country are of direct and vital interest to NATO.
"The situation that came about after the elections should not be characterized as a West versus East rivalry but as an issue of democracy and respect for peoples' will," Mr. Scheffer says. "And whatever different approaches among the Ukrainians the sense of belonging to one nation is very important and it is on that basis that a non-violent democratic solution should be found within the territorial integrity of that country."
The President of the Atlantic Treaty Association, U.S. Ambassador Robert Hunter, said NATO is encouraging Russia to ensure that a free and fair solution emerges from the Ukrainian electoral process.
"This is a decisive moment for Ukraine, economic advance, building a civil society," Mr. Hunter says. "It would be tragic for the people of Ukraine and I think tragic for people all over Europe, including in Russia if somehow this process were short-circuited. This is not just about Ukraine. It's about democracy all over the European space."
NATO's Mr. Scheffer described the alliance's handover of peacekeeping troops in Bosnia to the European Union Thursday as a milestone in its relationship with the European Union. He said it has been an extremely successful operation, which began with 60,000 troops in a period of instability in 1995 and is ending with seven thousand.
He said NATO will continue to maintain a reduced presence in Bosnia to support the country's defense reforms, help to hunt down war crimes suspects and fight against terrorism.
Mr. Scheffer also said that in the Balkans, Kosovo still remains volatile and fragile and that Nato will remain there with its 17,000 troops to secure stability until a political solution is found.
The three-day assembly meeting, which is focused on the future of Euro-Atlantic security, is being attended by presidents of the three Balkan countries which are candidate nations to join the alliance: Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.
"Even as NATO engages further away from home, our engagement in the Balkans is strong and getting stronger," Mr. Scheffer says. "Some have already become members. Three more whose presidents are here today are working to join as well, as we are working with them. We share that goal of Euro-Atlantic integration."
Ambassador Hunter said the role of the alliance has changed from containing the Soviet Union and its Communist allies to building security and democracy in Europe and reaching out beyond Europe's borders. To achieve this, he told the gathering, the Atlantic Treaty Association must play a key role in educating a new generation of people in NATO's 26 member countries.
-ends--
-
NATO Buys Underwater Navigation
(Source: Kongsberg Gruppen; dated Dec. 8, web-posted Dec. 10, 2004)
Kongsberg Maritime Limited's Waterlooville (UK) facility has entered into a contract to provide underwater navigation, tracking and communications systems to the new NATO Submarine Rescue System.
The NATO Submarine Rescue System will enter service at the end of 2006, replacing the current UK rescue vehicle, LR5, which was dispatched to the scene of the last major accident, involving the Russian submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea in August 2000.
Kongsberg will provide an integrated suite of systems providing the rescue forces with vital information to expedite the rescue mission. Kongsberg will provide networked command information systems that will integrate a multitude of underwater and above water sensors and communications systems.
Mike Topp, the site manager at Waterlooville, said: "This provides us with the opportunity to select the very best subsystems from our extensive marine products portfolio and integrate them in a way that provides the customer with a highly competent and cost effective solution".
"That we have been selected also recognises our ability to utilise commercial off the shelf systems in a military environment, and our significant experience with naval underwater platforms, from small unmanned vehicles, to fully crewed submarines".
The rescue system will comprise:
--A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) - an unmanned craft which will locate the submarine within 56 hours, to check for signs of life, take air quality measurements, provide emergency supplies to survivors, and prepare the submarine for the rescue stage by removing debris.
--A three-man operated Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV) which will, within 72 hours, dive up to 600 metres below the sea to rescue up to 150 survivors in groups of up to 15 at a time.
The 10m-long SRV will be flown out, together with a portable launch and recovery system and other specialist equipment, and fitted onto a suitable ship at a port near the incident. The ship will sail to the submarine location, where the 27-tonne SRV will be deployed and dive to dock with the submarine escape hatch, allowing crew to be transferred and raised to safety.
On its return to the ship, the SRV will transfer those rescued to special decompression units to ensure submariners do not suffer the 'bends' - a potentially fatal disorder resulting from nitrogen bubbles forming in the bloodstream.
The contract covers ten years of design, build and operational support for the system, which will be based at Her Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde, in Scotland. HMNB Clyde was selected because it has modern facilities, access to both shallow and deep waters for training exercises, and access to civilian and military airfields.
The new rescue system will primarily support the three partner nations, but will also be on standby to assist any nation anywhere in the world, complementing other systems operated by Sweden, the USA, Italy and Australia.
-ends-
-
USAF and European Air Forces Adding Important New Capabilities to their Lockheed Martin F-16s
(Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Dec. 16, 2004)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS --- The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and five European Participating Air Forces (EPAFs) - Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal - are receiving new technologies for their F-16s that will ensure the latest combat capabilities, along with an unprecedented degree of interoperability and cost savings among these NATO allies. The capabilities are being implemented mostly through software developed by Lockheed Martin.
The U.S. Air Force and five European Participating Air Forces are adding new software capabilities to their F-16s to ensure an unprecedented degree of interoperability and cost savings among these NATO allies. Upgraded F-16 Block 50s have distinctive electronic interrogation antennae in front of the canopy.
The new software packages for the USAF F-16s, designated M3+, and the corresponding EPAF version, designated M3, were released this summer and are being implemented on aircraft having received appropriate avionics upgrades (described in text below). There is a high degree of commonality in the software, with some differences owing to features that are unique to the various aircraft models.
The most notable common new capabilities are the Link 16 data link and a helmet-mounted cueing system (HMCS). The USAF F-16s also will be receiving a capability to deliver the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and have compatibility with the Lockheed Martin Sniper XR targeting pod, both recently certified on the F-16. The European F-16s will gain the capability to deliver the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).
"This M3/M3+ software release is an important event for both the USAF and EPAF operators," said Col. Scott W. Jansson, F-16 Systems Group commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "Not only will they receive the latest enhanced capabilities, the common systems path they are following is providing significant cost savings in development, fielding and support."
The M3+ software is being installed on the 200-plus USAF Block 50 F-16C/Ds that are receiving the F-16 Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) modification, which is providing a common hardware upgrade to the cockpit and avionics of these and approximately 400 Block 40 F-16C/Ds. This M3+ software update is being installed as a field retrofit to Block 50 aircraft already modified with CCIP hardware, and the rest of the aircraft will receive the software loads during the initial depot modification at the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Utah. Modification of the Block 40 aircraft will begin in 2006.
The M3 software will be installed on approximately 350 EPAF F-16A/Bs that have already undergone the F-16A/B Mid-Life Update modification and are now receiving hardware changes associated with the M3 upgrade. The M3 modification will take place at depot facilities in each country.
"The USAF/EPAF joint software development program has been a great success," said June Shrewsbury, vice president, F-16 programs. "The M3/M3+ update has been on schedule since it was initiated in March 2000. We are currently in work on M4/M4+ to be released in 2007 and M5/M5+ to be released in 2009. This commonality ensures a high degree of interoperability among these NATO allies. It also means these capabilities are available for other F-16 customers."
The Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) provides a secure, jam resistant, high-capacity data communications link with other fighters, airborne control aircraft and ground control centers. The NATO-standard Link 16 ensures a high degree of interoperability between the USAF and allied air forces, increased battlefield control, and excellent situational awareness for the pilots. Link 16 ensures that F-16s will be at the leading edge of network-centric warfare initiatives and that they will interface well with next-generation combat aircraft, such as the F/A-22 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The helmet-mounted cueing system allows various weapons and sensors to be cued to the pilot's line of sight, and the pilot's eyes to be cued to targets that sensors are tracking, or targets data-linked from other sources. The system is particularly useful in cueing and launching agile weapons, such as AIM-9X, at high angles off the aircraft's nose.
The value of these enhancements was made evident during separate initial operational test and evaluation activities performed in the United States and in Norway earlier this year.
-ends-
-
Maritime Patrol Aircraft Solutions
(Source: Frost & Sullivan; issued Dec. 23, 2004)
Originally designed to counter the Soviet Submarine threat that existed at the height of the Cold War, the fleets of NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) were originally seen as ‘blue water’ maritime specialists. However, the traditional ‘sub-hunting’ role for the MPA has radically changed since the end of the Cold War with an increased focus on littoral warfare and operations other than war.
These platforms are now conducting increasingly complex and versatile missions, and although the main role for a MPA is predominantly maritime, the MPA can find itself operating overland as a significant asset in an air campaign. The crews of MPA have found themselves conducting missions as varied as search and rescue, maritime interdiction, launching stand-off land-attack missiles and long-ranged armed intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) sorties across the globe.
The evolving role of the MPA means that the platforms must demonstrate increased flexibility and have a broader range of capabilities than they were initially designed for. This fundamental requirement for more adaptable platforms has created significant problems for the operators of aircraft that were introduced into service over thirty years ago. Therefore, the MPA community is currently experiencing a significant period of development and acquisition, as there is a significant requirement to replace and upgrade the current MPA fleets.
However, there appears to be more than one solution to the universal problem and several nations have taken distinctly different approaches with regard to their ageing MPA fleets. As always there a number of different elements that affect the programme adopted by a country, but in a period of increased operational tempo and restructuring of armed forces towards network centric warfare there simply is less capital available for research and development of new MPA platforms. It appears that only nations with significant budgets have the resources to develop new technologies and platforms, whilst others are looking at more affordable solutions and some nations have no replacement strategy in place.
Currently the US is operating 150 Lockheed Martin P-3C at a cost of $ 36 million each. The P-3C is an Anti Submarine Warfare, Anti Surface Warfare and Maritime Patrol aircraft. The US Navy fleet has been reduced from 246 in 1990 to the current number and eventually the whole fleet will be replaced by the Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA). The US Navy has allocated $ 3.89 billion for system development and demonstration phase of the MMA based on the 737-800ERX. The total programme is estimated to cost $20 billion, with 108 platforms proposed, and the first aircraft is due in service in 2013. The USN is considering using a systems approach for their MPA replacement programme that would involve a UAV component known as the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS). As yet there is no commercial strategy for BAMS but it is believed there will be competition between General Atomic Predator B and a UAV variant of the Gulfstream G500 series long-range business jet.
The UK have decided to conduct extensive upgrades to their existing BAE Systems MR2 Nimrod fleet. The MR2, which is due to be replaced in 2009, will now under go extensive refurbishment to become the BAE Systems MRA4 (British Replacement Patrol Aircraft) BRPA, at a cost of between $4.1 billion and $5.3 billion. This maritime reconnaissance attack (MRA) platform will be an upgraded MR2 with 80% of the airframe been replaced to create essentially a new aircraft. At present there are three design and development airframes and BAE Systems are waiting for the British Government to announce the actual number required, but it is thought to be ‘around 12’.
This delay in the announcement could create a capability gap if it has not been finalised by the end of 2004. Unlike other nations the UK are not considering a UAV component to operate in the maritime environment because they believe that UAVs in their current form do not have the weapon carriage and mission system capability, and are focusing their attention towards large scale upgrades of an existing platform.
The UK has also identified a future requirement for a Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC) to be operated from the Royal Navy future carrier the CVF. The UK MOD has not announced how many MASC will be required but the indicated number is between 6 and 12 platforms at an estimated cost of $1-1.5 billion. The MASC will provide sensor coverage against air and surface threats, together with command and control for other air operations. Potentially the MASC capability will be filled by either a fixed wing aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye series, a helicopter such as the EH-101, the V-22 ‘tilt rotor’ or a UAV. At present the fixed wing option appears the more favourable, because a fixed wing aircraft would allow for a larger radar horizon to intercept sea-skimming missiles. However, the capability is still in the concept stage and no solution has been announced.
Germany are currently operating their 16 Dornier and Siebel Br 1150 Atlantics. First introduced in 1966, these platforms will continue with their current roles until 2012 with 12 platforms configured for Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Maritime Patrol (MP) whilst the remaining 4 are used for Electronic and Signals Intelligence (ELINT / SIGINT).
As a replacement for the ASW / MP Br 1150s Germany have purchased 8 P-3C Orions from the Royal Netherlands Navy for $355 million, and will take delivery of these platforms between November 2005 and March 2006. The ELINT / SIGINT Br 1150s will most likely be replaced by either High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) or Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV programme.
The Canadian Air Force uses the CP-140 Aurora for maritime reconnaissance (MR) and the CP-140 Aurora A for environmental control operations. Both types of aircraft were first introduced into service in 1982 and the fleet was purchased for $ 670 million. The Canadian government wants to keep the maritime reconnaissance variant in service until 2025 and conducted a series of upgrades in 2004 including the upgrade of the avionics, communications and air frame under the Aurora Incremental Modernised Programme (AIMP). All 18 maritime reconnaissance variants will be upgraded by 2011 with the first 2 used as prototypes and test articles, and then retired in 2011. The 3 CP-140 Aurora A aircraft will not receive any upgrades and will be retired soon.
Italy is operating 13 Br1150 Atlantics (Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA 2000]) and an additional 5 in store. These aircraft are due to be replaced in 2012, but Italy has not announced how it intends to proceed. Initially they were working in conjunction with Germany to achieve a combined MPA replacement programme for their Atlantic fleets. However, the coalition has been discontinued because of budget problems. The replacement solution could involve a limited life extension of the existing fleet or a longer term solution of some 14 aircraft with a UAV component. It is likely that the Italian solution could be similar to the German replacement programme.
The Netherlands are operating 10 P-3C Orion platforms that conduct Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) and Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW). However, a cut in the country’s defence budget of $ 411 million is forcing the Netherlands to scrap their MPA fleet. Therefore the Orion fleet is due to be withdrawn from Dutch service in 2005 and sold. Germany has purchased 8 platforms and Portugal has purchased the remaining five Orions, but there is no planned replacement for the Dutch armed forces. This decision is seen by observers as short-sighted, because the Dutch Orions have experienced a high level of activity since the end of the Cold War, and the decision will create a capability gap in a nation that has a long tradition of maritime operations.
The age of the platforms and the increased adaptability to multi role missions have combined to create an active market for the maritime patrol aircraft industry. However, the solutions that are been adopted by some NATO nations cannot be described as long-term in their concept.
The Netherlands decision to just ‘live with’ a capability gap is a decision they could learn to regret, and Italy will have to focus their efforts if they want to make a timely decision and avoid the possibility of having no platforms available to perform this vital role. The Germans appear to have a more rounded approach to the solution with their aircraft and UAV combination, but eventually they will be faced with major decisions about the aircraft they operate, as the Orion continues to age.
The US MMA and UK MRA4 are investing in products that potentially will influence the domestic markets in these countries. If these platforms are successfully developed and fielded there is little doubt they could have an increased influence in the larger global markets, where the age of maritime aircraft is an issue. Finally, UAVs will undoubtedly play an increasing role in the future of MPA development. As UAV technology continues to become more sophisticated and their payloads increase they will have the ability to conduct MPA missions on an equal par as the aircraft.
-ends-
-
Poland agrees to transfer vessels to Latvian Navy
Poland and Latvia reached an agreement in late December to handover five Polish Navy Pilica 918M Class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol boats to the Latvian Navy. Latvia currently has a small navy, equipped with about 18 vessels. Since joining NATO and the EU last year, Latvia has been looking to modernise its 5,170-strong armed forces.
-
NATO/PfP Trust Fund Project to Destroy Surplus Weapons and Ammunition in Ukraine
(Source: NATO; issued Feb. 19, 2005)
A NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Trust Fund project has been established to help Ukraine destroy stockpiles of surplus munitions, small arms and light weapons, and Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). The project – the largest single demilitarisation effort in the world - is a practical demonstration of NATO’s continuing commitment to support Ukraine’s defence reform.
The Trust Fund project responds to Ukraine’s request for assistance in eliminating 133,000 tonnes of munitions and 1,5 million small arms and light weapons. Much of this material is stored in the open, posing a major security threat to local civilian population and infrastructure. Safe destruction of these stocks also eliminates potential proliferation risk.
The Trust Fund project will be executed in four phases, over 12 years. The voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund, estimated to be in excess of EUR 25 million will be used to purchase new equipment and improve Ukraine’s demilitarisation capabilities. Ukraine will contribute in-kind to the demilitarisation costs.
The United States has agreed to act as Lead Nation for the first phase of the project. The initial phase is estimated to cost EUR 7 million over three years. This is the first time the US has taken on the role of lead nation of a NATO/PfP Trust Fund project. In addition to the US , the United Kingdom and Norway have pledged funding for this project.
The PfP Trust Fund policy was established in September 2000, five projects have been completed to date. This is the second PfP Trust Fund project to be executed in Ukraine. The first project in 2002-2003 destroyed 400,000 Anti-personnel landmines (APLs). In total, Trust Fund projects have destroyed more than 2 million APLs in Albania, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
-ends-
-
NATO Forces Gather in the Mediterranean for the World’s Largest Annual Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise
(Source: NATO; issued Feb. 25, 2005)
Ten NATO nations will provide six submarines, ten maritime patrol aircraft and 16 surface ships to take part in NOBLE MARLIN 05 (NM 05), the world’s largest anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise from 03 to 16 March 2005.
The exercise will take place in the Ionian Sea to the Southeast of Sicily. Forces are provided by Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Six submarines from France (1), Germany (1), Greece (1), Spain (1) and Turkey (2) are scheduled to join the exercise. Each submarine will have the opportunity of being a hunter as well as the prey. NATO surface ships from Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 2 will take part, as well as a French Frigate and surface ships from the Italian Maritime Force (ITMARFOR).
The exercise will demonstrate NATO’s determination to maintain proficiency in coordinated anti-submarine, anti-surface, and coastal surveillance operations using a multi-national force of ships, submarines and aircraft. In addition to traditional submarine roles and missions, this year submarine capabilities will also be exercised in support of defence against terrorism.
Maritime Patrol Aircraft from Canada, France, Italy, Portugal and the United States of America will operate from Sigonella, Sicily. Italian shore-based ASW helicopters from Fontanarossa, Sicily will also participate. Over 65 air missions are planned, and on average this will result in a crew briefing every four hours, day and night, throughout the exercise.
NM 05 will be directed from the co-located multi-national Headquarters of the Commander Submarines Allied Naval Forces and the Commander Maritime Air Naples, Italy.
-ends-
-
Launch of NATO’s Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme
(Source: NATO; issued March 16, 2005)
NATO’s Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) Programme has reached a key milestone in Alliance efforts to field an Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) capability by 2010.
As a practical example of the ongoing transformation of NATO’s military capabilities, on 11 March 2005 the North Atlantic Council approved the Charter for the ALTBMD Programme Management Organisation (PMO). This decision launched the Alliance’s ALTBMD Programme, which will provide protection against the threat of ballistic missiles to our soldiers deployed on NATO missions.
The importance of being able to defend deployed troops against theatre-range ballistic missiles, such as SCUD missiles, was made apparent during the 1990s. As a number of foreign nations continue working on ballistic missile programmes, as well as developing chemical, nuclear, and biological warheads for those missiles, the need for effective defences has increased.
To counter this threat, NATO has, for the past several years, worked to design a battle management system for theatre missile defences. The system will be able to integrate different TMD systems (such as PATRIOT, the NATO MEADS system, SAMP-T) into a single coherent, deployable defensive network able to give layered protection against incoming ballistic missiles.
The detailed specifications of the NATO system were agreed by Defence Ministers in Istanbul last June. With the approval of the Charter, the NAC has formally established the TMD Programme Office, paving the way for the financing and purchase of the NATO TMD system.
The launch of the TMD program is the result of a decade of work by NATO in the theatre missile defence area, and provided to the Alliance a new collective capability for common defence.
-ends-
-
Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States to be Taken Over by Dutch Troops
(Source: Lithuanian Ministry of Defence; issued March 30, 2005)
On Thursday, 31 March a rotation of NATO forces engaged in an air-policing mission in the Baltic States is scheduled to take place.
Norwegians troops who are completing their mission in Lithuania will be replaced by troops from the Dutch Royal Air Force. The first two out of four Dutch aircraft fighters F-16 landed at Zokniai on 30 March. On 31 March, the second pair of the Dutch fighters will land at the Lithuanian Air Forces Base in Zokniai, where a mission handover ceremony is also scheduled to take place.
The rotation ceremony will be attended by Chief of General Staff of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, Brigadier General Vitalijus Vaiksnoras, Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force, Colonel Jonas Marcinkus, Commander of the Norwegian Royal Air Force, Major General Arnvid Brage L?vbukten, Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force Airbase, Lieutenant Colonel Art?ras Balynas.
Four Norwegian officers who are completing mission in Lithuania will be conferred on commemorative medals of the Lithuanian Air Force. The medals will be conferred on Commander the Norwegian Detachment, Colonel Ingard Moe, Major Martin Tesli, Captains Eirik Lundemo and Hans Magnussen.
The Dutch contingent consisting of some 50 troops will be deployed for a three-month mission at Zokniai Airbase.
After three months in July the Dutch Air Force detachment will be replaced by German Air Force pilots.
-ends-
-
Meet Focuses on NATO-EU Defense Efforts
(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued April 13, 2005)
A conference on European security has opened in Berlin. It's focusing on ways to effectively strengthen European defense efforts with a view to improving joint missions in crisis areas on the continent and elsewhere.
The two-day conference in Berlin has drawn high-ranking politicians, NATO officials and EU defense experts and aims to highlight efforts to further harmonize defense cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance and the EU's own defense initiatives.
It's being held at a time when both the EU and NATO are in the process of building up rapid reaction forces, or battle groups, as European strategists prefer to call them. Both organizations are potentially drawing upon the same pools of soldiers which indicates that rivalry can never be ruled out.
But in a bid to further heal transatlantic relations after the controversy over the US-led war in Iraq, assurances are being heard ever so often that the EU’s own security efforts are invariably intended to complement -- not duplicate or rival --NATO.
"It would be totally wrong to view the development of European defense capabilities separately from advances within NATO," said Germany's Social Democrat Defense Minister, Peter Struck (photo). He added that both NATO and the European Union are currently making efforts to be better prepared for out-of-area missions in a bid to adapt to a fast changing security environment.
"NATO must be open to reform"
There can be no doubt whatsoever that in future NATO has to be the place where dialogue on transatlantic security strategies must be intensified, Struck added. "The alliance has to be open for reform," Struck added.
This is what German chancellor Gerhard Schröder demanded at a recent security conference in Munich, and his words are being taken seriously by NATO leaders.
Struck’s message to the conference was taken up by Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, deputy secretary-general of NATO. He made it clear that it had been wrong to try and sweep different threat perception levels on both sides of the Atlantic under the carpet and demanded that a fresh initiative be made to debate security strategies more openly within NATO.
"We need to understand that NATO is not only a forum for action. We must also understand that it’s a forum for debate," said Minuto Rizzo. "During the Iraq controversy, NATO was manifestly under-utilized as a consultative forum, and we paid a high price for that," he said. "I’m confident that we’ve learned our lesson. If we want to preserve NATO as a central framework for effective multilateralism, we must engage in multilateral debate."
Focus on rapid response forces
Defense minister Struck said it would be in the interest of all to see the European Union reinforce its own military capabilities alongside those of NATO.
He pointed to the EU’s successful peace-keeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and parts of Africa. He announced that Germany would be willing to contribute 50 military observers to the 250-strong EU contingent to become active in Sudan soon.
The chairman of NATO’s military committee, General Harald Kujat, himself German, left Mr Struck’s remarks uncommented and focused on the capabilities of NATO’s future rapid response forces instead.
"A great proportion of the alliance’s forces will need to be deployable well away from their own territories and have the flexibility to switch rapidly between war fighting and peace keeping," Kujat said. "Future forces must be more capable of operating within a networked environment. There will be a greater need for specialist skills in areas such as engineering, communications, special operations, civil-military cooperation, logistics, medical services and intelligence."
More money needed
Several speakers complained about EU defense programs being gravely underfinanced.
They noted that the 16 European NATO member countries together currently spend only $200 million on defense capabilities annually -- which amounts to only half of the US defense budget.
-ends-
-
NATO, Russia Military Cooperation Pact (Apr. 22)
(Source: Radio Netherlands; issued Apr. 21, 2005)
The conference of NATO members, currently taking place in the Lithunanian capital, Vilnius, has seen the conclusion of a military cooperation agreement between the military alliance and Russia.
The deal - hailed as a milestone by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - will make it easier to hold joint military exercises and for NATO troops and Russian forces to cross each other's territory. It now requires the approval of the Russian parliament.
Speaking at the conference, a senior NATO official said the alliance has no desire at the moment to get involved in the Middle East peace process. However, he added that it is not ruling out the possibility that it may do so in the future.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk was also at the NATO meeting, where he announced that his country hopes to join NATO within the next three years. He said Ukraine could contribute to greater stability and security in the region.
-ends-
-
Signature of the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Contract
(Source: NATO; issued April 27, 2005)
On Thursday, 28th April, 2005, a contract will be signed between the NATO C3 Agency and the Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) consortium, taking forward the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) project.
This contract, valued at over 20 million euros, will address a number of key issues leading to the design and development phase of the AGS programme (valued at around 4 billion euros).
At the centre of this programme is a development of a new, cutting-edge radar that will be a joint effort by six countries and ultimately integrated onto manned aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
In the presence of the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Ambassador Minuto Rizzo, the contract will be signed by Mr. Doshier, Senior Vice President Northop Grumman Integrated Systems, on behalf of TIPS and by Mr. Dag Wilhelmsen, NC3A General Manager, on behalf of NATO.
Mr. Tom Enders, who is currently Vice President of EADS Defence and Security Systems, will also act as a witness.
The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Harald Kujat, Mr. Marshall Billingslea, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment and the National Armaments Directors will attend the ceremony.
-ends-
-
NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Programme Gains Momentum
(Source: NATO; issued April 28, 2005)
This morning, as a result of work done at the twice-annual meeting of NATO’s Conference of National Armaments Directors, NATO signed a 23 million Euro contract with the Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) consortium, as a key part of the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme.
This crucial, first major contract with NATO’s chosen industrial partner, represents a break-through for the Alliance. It moves NATO, and NATO nations, one step closer in the AGS programme to fielding a state-of-the-art airborne ground surveillance capability. With an estimated cost of 4 billion euros, AGS will be one of the most expensive acquisition programmes ever undertaken by the Alliance, and one of the most sophisticated, technologically.
The goal of AGS is to enable military commanders and decision-makers to have near-real-time radar imagery that is able to spot grounds targets and track them. This will be done through a mix of both.
The contract was signed, in the presence of NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Allessandro Minuto Rizzo and the Chairman of the CNAD, Marshall Billingslea, together with General Harald Kujat, the Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee. Mr Dag Wilhemsen, General Manager of the NATO Command, Control and Consultation Agency, and Mr Alan Doshier, Senior Vice President of Northop Grumman Integrated Systems, on behalf of the TIPS companies, signed the contract. Dr. Tom Enders, Executive Vice President of European Aeronautical Defence and Space (EADS), and CIO of Defence and Security Systems, witnessed the signatures.
The TIPS consortium brings together the transatlantic expertise of Northop Grumman, EADS, Thales, Galileo Avionica, General Dynamics Canada and Indra, to provide NATO with a leading edge Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability, both manned (Airbus A/321) and unmanned (Global Hawk) air platforms, along with ground stations that will present the data from the AGS core. Interoperable, nationally provided ground surveillance assets work with the core, as part of a system of systems. An initial AGS Operational Capability is expected by 2010.
When the current definition phase effort has been successfully completed, NATO will take to the next stage a 500-million euros Design and Development contract. This is planned for the end of this year, or early in 2006.
-ends-
-
Comando de Oeiras da NATO conduz exercício com 3400 militares
O comando operacional de Oeiras da Aliança Atlântica vai conduzir a partir de hoje (17.05.2005) e durante 2 semanas um exercício identico a uma operação de paz ao serviço das Nações Unidas que envolve 3400 militares de 30 países.
O exercício "Allied Action", que decorre também em Espanha, França e Mediterrâneo, é um dos maiores realizados por um quartel-general da NATO este ano e visa testar as capacidades da estrutura militar da aliança
com sede em Lisboa, informa o comando de Oeiras em comunicado, citado pela Lusa.
No contexto do processo em curso de transformação da NATO, o quartel-general da Aliança Atlântica em Oeiras vai passar a comandar a partir de 1 de Julho, pelo período de un ano, a força de resposta rápida da NATO (NRF), cuja criação foi decidida pelos líderes de organização na cimeira de Praga, em 2000.
No próximo ano, esta força - cuja chefia é exercida de forma rotativa pelos diferentes comandos operacionais - deveréa atingir a sua operacionalidade plena e reunir nas suas fileiras 60 mil elementos.
No mar, Oeiras vai contar com uma segunda instância de comando da força, através do navio norte-americano "USS Mount Whitney", considerado uma das plataformas marítimas de comando e controle mais avançadas do mundo.
O vice-almirante português Fernando Melo Gomes (que chefia o quartel-general de Oeiras) vai estar, por isso a comandar o exercício a partir do "USS Mount Whitney".
O comando da componente marítima do exercício, que decorre até ao próximo dia 1, vai ficar, por seu turno, embarcada no porta-aviões italiano "Giuseppe Garibaldi", ainda segundo o mesmo comunicado.
fonte http://www.publico.clix.pt
-
US, Europe Still Split on NATO's Role
(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Jun 9, 2005)
At the NATO Summit on Tuesday, Europe and the US will discuss the direction the alliance will take. Behind all the talk of harmony are some major differences on how much political power the organization should have.
In the days after he made them, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's comments that NATO was no longer the "primary venue" for discussing global strategy offered a cue for every one to jump into an increasingly controversial debate.
US President George W. Bush saw in them a threat to sideline the security organization and told German television that he "looked forward to reminding Gerhard Schröder that NATO is an active institution."
NATO head Jan Hoop de Schaeffer, while rejecting Schröder's call to set up a panel of experts to look at rehauling the organization, said it reflected efforts he has made in recent years to make NATO more politically active.
Behind the semantics are very real questions about what shape the 26-nation institution will take as Europe grows closer to forging a security and defense policy that could supplement some of NATO's tasks. It is an issue on which parts of Europe and the United States are still divided. France, for example, favors making the European Union ever stronger in defense matters, part of a grander strategy of providing a counterweight to the United States in the world.
US: No NATO competition
The United States, encouraging but at the same time wary of the European Union's military ambitions, is on edge when talk of changing the alliance comes up. Thierry Balzacq at the Center for European Policy Studies said the paranoia stems from plans Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg drew up at a summit last year calling for a military planning council that Washington saw as competition to NATO.
Every time one of these countries says something, even if they're supporting NATO, the other side will always come and say 'oh, they are trying to undermine NATO's policy'," he said.
When he meets with President Bush in Mainz on Wednesday, Schröder will take care to distance himself from the French position without selling out completely on Europe, said Henning Riecke, a transatlantic security expert.
A certain ambiguity
"I think NATO is very important for the Germans, but they aren't able to issue this NATO first principle the Americans would like to hear," said Riecke, who works for the Berlin-based Council on Foreign Relations. "So there has to be a certain ambiguity."
Schröder himself left nothing to doubt when he defended his remarks two days after his defense minister read them out at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14. He lobbied again for an expert panel to look for ways to expand the organization's involvement in policy discussions.
"I really believe that it contributes to a strengthening of NATO and transatlantic relations if we speak more openly on political issues than we have tended to in the past," he said.
Providing troops - and strategic direction?
At issue is whether NATO, an organization that provides the troops, weaponry and logistical support for peacekeeping missions from Afghanistan to Sarajevo, will have a greater say on how that weaponry and manpower gets used.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the organization has made great strides in increasing its military prowess, investing in technology and creating a rapid response force which is able to deploy anywhere in the world within a few days. But differences between some NATO allies -- like France and the US -- over the Iraq war, kept the alliance from discussing ways to increase NATO's say in strategic planning, said Riecke.
"What is lacking is a strategic understanding of what these troops should be used for," he said.
While NATO improved its capabilites, the EU for the first time got serious about developing a military wing. They pledged to develop a military response force simliar to NATO's and took over the organization's policing mission in Bosnia.
No clear resolution
Some in Washington worry that the steps taken both by NATO and the European Union are on a collision course. In the best of both worlds, the NATO would serve as the big stick to the European Union's well-intentioned diplomacy, say some observers. But NATO, and its biggest member, America, will not always have the same interests in a crisis region as the European Union.
The Europeans "might need (military) capabilities to keep the neighborhood in order, like in the Balkans," said Riecke.
No one expects any clear position to emerge from the NATO discussions Tuesday. Most analysts agree that Bush's visit will be a charm offensive designed to show European allies that the United States still cares. But many don't expect a more substantive indication on how their differences on NATO will get resolved.
The visits by Condoleezza Rice and Bush are "clear signals that Europe is being taken seriously as a strong partner," said Reicke. We'll have to see what the wrangling on the working level will turn out to be, how this might poison the picture a bit."
-ends-
-
Quem irá suceder a Jens Stoltenberg na NATO?
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/ce/72/1c/MEMBE2S_o.png)
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/30/12/5e/MEMCDRJ_o.png)
-
Stoltenberg e Macron preparam cimeira da NATO
-
NATO decide prolongar pela quarta vez o mandato de Jens Stoltenberg
-
Turquia mais próxima de aceitar adesão da Suécia à NATO
-
Ucrânia procura apoios para acelerar adesão à NATO e Erdogan vai ter uma palavra
-
Zelensky em Praga à procura de apoio para a adesão da Ucrânia à NATO
-
Obrigado tio Putin!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F0be76LWcAAleqs?format=png)
-
Novo conselho NATO-Ucrânia, novas armas e a adesão: a cimeira de Vilnius promete
-
Zelensky condena falta de calendário preciso para adesão à NATO
-
NATO garante: "Israel não está sozinho" na guerra contra o Hamas
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/only-9-of-18-original-members-sign-up-for-germanys-european-sky-shield-essi/
-
NATO pede proporcionalidade na resposta de Israel ao Hamas
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/only-9-of-18-original-members-sign-up-for-germanys-european-sky-shield-essi/
Nada como o país com a pior defesa aérea de Europa, não participar numa iniciativa destas. ::)
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/only-9-of-18-original-members-sign-up-for-germanys-european-sky-shield-essi/
Nada como o país com a pior defesa aérea de Europa, não participar numa iniciativa destas. ::)
Do Wiki:
European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative.
Capability
Medium range: primarily IRIS-T SLM
Long range: MIM-104 Patriot
Very long range (exoatmospheric): Arrow 3
In December 2022, the German Chancellor expressed a hope that the system will be developed in the next five years.[9] In June 2023, the German Bundestag authorized nearly €4 billion for the acquisition of Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system from Israel.[10]
-
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/only-9-of-18-original-members-sign-up-for-germanys-european-sky-shield-essi/
Nada como o país com a pior defesa aérea de Europa, não participar numa iniciativa destas. ::)
E estragar este primeiro lugar :mrgreen:.
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/only-9-of-18-original-members-sign-up-for-germanys-european-sky-shield-essi/
Nada como o país com a pior defesa aérea de Europa, não participar numa iniciativa destas. ::)
Do Wiki:
European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative.
Capability
Medium range: primarily IRIS-T SLM
Long range: MIM-104 Patriot
Very long range (exoatmospheric): Arrow 3
In December 2022, the German Chancellor expressed a hope that the system will be developed in the next five years.[9] In June 2023, the German Bundestag authorized nearly €4 billion for the acquisition of Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system from Israel.[10]
Impossível por cá, iam derreter metade da LPM em meios SAM...
Melhor os Tucanos, NPO e mais KC...
:mrgreen:
-
Nós nem precisávamos de tanto, podíamos começar pelo "básico", que seriam SHORAD modernos e sistemas de médio alcance, e eventualmente "guarda partilhada" de uma ou duas baterias Patriot com a Espanha.
Agora, nem o básico temos, nem entramos nestes programas conjuntos que permitem dividir a despesa com entre vários países.
-
Nós nem precisávamos de tanto, podíamos começar pelo "básico", que seriam SHORAD modernos e sistemas de médio alcance, e eventualmente "guarda partilhada" de uma ou duas baterias Patriot com a Espanha.
Agora, nem o básico temos, nem entramos nestes programas conjuntos que permitem dividir a despesa com entre vários países.
Não deve dar para meter ao bolso
-
Tenho a certeza que estes eram perfeitamente possíveis de adquirir.
IRIS-T SLM
-
Com o orçamento actual para sistemas SHORAD, não, que no máximo dava para uma pequenas bateria com 1 radar e 2 lançadores. Agora se estivermos a falar de um programa novo, para sistemas de médio alcance, sim, não seria difícil, tanto o IRIS-T SLM como a alternativa NASAMS.
-
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/the-impact-of-the-oct-15-general-election-on-polands-defence-ecosystem/
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/spanish-defense-ministry-details-modernization-programs/
-
Só o nosso orçamento de Defesa é que é deprimente. De resto todos os outros países da NATO andam a avançar com programas relevantes, seja de que maneira for. ::)
Entretanto, a adesão da Suécia à NATO está mais próxima de se oficializar:
https://x.com/hoje_no/status/1716514330974335339?s=20 (https://x.com/hoje_no/status/1716514330974335339?s=20)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9JIqOgXwAAYl88?format=jpg&name=large)
-
NATO Allies train together with partner Moldova 🇲🇩
-
Só o nosso orçamento de Defesa é que é deprimente. De resto todos os outros países da NATO andam a avançar com programas relevantes, seja de que maneira for. ::)
Nos outros paises não são os traidores à pátria que governam
-
Security: a shared responsibility between NATO and industry
-
Vi num dos programas recentes do Nuno Rogeiro um mapa interessante, das varias forças maritimas NATO ou de países NATO que andam pelo Mediterrâneo, até por causa do conflito israel-hamas.
Então temos perto do Chipre, na zona oriental do Mediterrâneo.
Littoral Response Group South (Royal Navy)
- RFA Argus (A135)
- RFA Lyme Bay (L3007)
Ford Carrier Strike Group
- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN78)
- USS Normandy (CG80)
- USS Thomas Hunter (DDG116)
- USS Ramage (DDG61)
- USS Carney (DDG64)
- USS Rosevelt (DDG80)
UNIFIL Maritime Task Force
- FGS Erfurt (F262)
- FGS Oldenburg (F263)
- HS Adrias (F459)
- BNS Sangram (F113)
- KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (367)
USS Mount Whitney (LCC20)
A sul das ilhas gregas está o SNMG2
- HMS Duncan (D37)
- ITS Carlo Margottini (F592)
- ESPS Mendez Nunez (F104)
- TCO Yavuz (F240)
- HDMS Niels Juel (F303)
- HS Psara (F474)
- FGS Frankfurt am Main (A1412)
- ESPS Patino (A14)
A sul de Itália o Ike Carrier Strike Group
- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN69)
- USS Philippine Sea (CG58)
- USS Gravely (DDG107)
- USS Mason (DDG87)
- ITS Virginio Fasan (F591)
No Mediterrâneo ocidental o Tonerre ARG da França
- FS Tonnerre (L9014)
- FS Surcouf (F711)
- FS Alsace (D656)
No mar Vermelho o Bataan ARG
- USS Bataan (LHD5)
- USS Mesa Verde (LPD19)
- USS Carter Hall (LSD50)
Outros navios que estão na região mas não estão atribuidos a nenhuma força, estando de reserva.
- USS Stephen (DDG63)
- USS McFaul (DDG74)
- USS Arleigh Burke (DDG51)
- USS Paul Ignatious (DDG117)
- USS Bulkeley (DDG84)
- USNS Laramie (TAO 203)
- USNS Medgar Evers (TAKE 13)
- USNS Yuma (TEPF8)
- USNS Trenton (TEFP5)
PS: É possível que algum nome ou número possa ter erros pois isto foi copiado de uma imagem parada na tv :mrgreen:
-
O Nuno Rogeiro na sexta corrigiu e completou algumas posições de forças navais.
No Mediterrâneo Oriental
- Ike CSG
- Ford CSG
- SNMG2
- Mount Whitney CCS
- Tonnerre (França)
- RNTG/RAF
- USS Mesa Verde/26 MEU (Bataan ARG)
Entre a Itália e a Grécia (exercicio Dynamic Mariner 23)
- Cavour CSG
- NRF
- SNMCMG2
Entre a Itália e a Tunísia
- operação Mares Aperto (Itália)
Mediterrâneo Ocidental
- Dixmude (França)
Atlântico a sul de Portugal
- exercito Naptune Strike (STRIKEFORNATO)
Mar Vermelho
- USS Carney DDG (Rota)
- USS Hudner DDG
- Bataan ARG/26 MEU
Golfo Pérsico
- USS Stethem DDG
- USS McFaul DDG (Rota)
- TF59 5a Esquadra (NAVCENT)
- 4a PATFORSWA (USCG)
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/7c/79/de/MEQ1T3C_o.jpg)
-
-
-
NATO’s first-ever gaming tournament in Warsaw, Poland | #ProtectTheFuture
-
NATO in 2023
-
Denmark signs major defence agreement with the US
Denmark will allow US troops to be stationed on its soil, according to a deal announced by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that marks a significant shift in Danish defence policy but mirrors similar agreements signed by neighbouring Norway, Sweden and Finland.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/denmark-signs-major-defence-agreement-with-the-us/
-
Congress approves bill barring any president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO
Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval from the Senate or an Act of Congress.
The measure, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed out of the House on Thursday and is expected to be signed by President Biden.
The provision underscores Congress’s commitment to the NATO alliance that was a target of former President Trump’s ire during his term in office. The alliance has taken on revitalized importance under Biden, especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“NATO has held strong in response to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine and rising challenges around the world,” Kaine said in a statement. He added the legislation “reaffirms U.S. support for this crucial alliance that is foundational for our national security. It also sends a strong message to authoritarians around the world that the free world remains united.”
Rubio said the measure served as a critical tool for congressional oversight.
“We must ensure we are protecting our national interests and protecting the security of our democratic allies,” he said in a statement.
Biden has invested deeply in the NATO alliance during his term, committing more troops and military resources to Europe as a show of force against Putin’s war. He has also overseen the expansion of the alliance with the inclusion of Finland and ongoing efforts to secure Sweden’s full accession.
Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, has sent mixed messages on the alliance ahead of 2024. The former president’s advocates say his tough talk and criticisms of the alliance served to inspire member-states to fulfill their obligations to reach 2 percent of defense spending, lightening the burden on the U.S.
But Trump’s critics say the former president’s rhetoric weakens the unity and force of purpose of the alliance. And they expressed concerns that Trump would abandon the U.S. commitment to the mutual defense pact of the alliance or withdraw the U.S. completely.
Fonte: The Hill (https://thehill.com/homenews/4360407-congress-approves-bill-barring-president-withdrawing-nato/)
-
NATO anuncia maiores manobras militares na Europa em décadas
-
-
NATO investe mais de mil milhões de euros em munições de artilharia
-
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2024/02/norway-expands-defense-agreement-american-troops (https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2024/02/norway-expands-defense-agreement-american-troops)
Acordo bilateral Noruega-EUA prevê a cedência de 8 bases militares na fronteira do Ártico, e da Rússia.
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/5f/ad/e6/MERZE82_o.jpeg)
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/5e/65/e9/MERZM4Z_o.jpg)
-
Se Mark Rutte, for nomeado secretário geral da NATO, as probabilidades de uma 3 guerra mundial, não está longe de uma realidade muito próxima....
-
Se Mark Rutte, for nomeado secretário geral da NATO, as probabilidades de uma 3 guerra mundial, não está longe de uma realidade muito próxima....
Se estamos em numa espécie de paz "quente" é porque um certo país invadiu outro, certo?! Que país invadiu e qual foi o país invadido?
-
PONTO DE SITUAÇÃO NAS DESPESAS MILITARES
(ANO 2023)
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/953747485304713356/1206894313003556894/4emjado5v7ic1.png?ex=65ddaaeb&is=65cb35eb&hm=329790b00c0848f4b1d6239ec4ad30b0f85bda415f90430beb777d4ed483d8a8&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=747&height=676)
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/a1/3e/80/MES14FY_o.jpg)
-
A nossa ministra não se pode comprometer com nada...está na fase de gestão...
-
A nossa ministra não se pode comprometer com nada...está na fase de gestão...
Pelo menos tirou a fotografia de grupo para recordação...
-
Orbán compra caças suecos e anuncia estar preparado para dar luz verde à adesão da Suécia à NATO
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHDeMjEWIAAi5fL?format=jpg&name=small)
-
Submarinos da NATO realizam exercícios de guerra no Mediterrâneo
-
https://www.publico.pt/2024/02/26/mundo/noticia/parlamento-hungaro-aprova-entrada-suecia-nato-2081698 (https://www.publico.pt/2024/02/26/mundo/noticia/parlamento-hungaro-aprova-entrada-suecia-nato-2081698)
Parlamento húngaro aprova entrada da Suécia na NATO
Adesão da Suécia à NATO: mais meios, mais ambição (e mais riscos) no Báltico e no Árctico.
https://expresso.pt/internacional/2024-02-26-Suecia-esta-pronta-para-assumir-as-suas-responsabilidades-na-NATO-garante-o-primeiro-ministro-4ab48dda (https://expresso.pt/internacional/2024-02-26-Suecia-esta-pronta-para-assumir-as-suas-responsabilidades-na-NATO-garante-o-primeiro-ministro-4ab48dda)
Saudações
P.S. É agora que os Gripen vão para a Ucrânia?
xpresso.pt/internacional/europa/2023-07-11-Uma-poderosa-Forca-Aerea-e-um-historial-de-cooperacao-com-a-NATO-como-a-Suecia-vai-contribuir-para-a-defesa-coletiva-dos-aliados-afb23dac (http://xpresso.pt/internacional/europa/2023-07-11-Uma-poderosa-Forca-Aerea-e-um-historial-de-cooperacao-com-a-NATO-como-a-Suecia-vai-contribuir-para-a-defesa-coletiva-dos-aliados-afb23dac)
P.S. 2 - Mais Gripen para a Hungria?
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/02/hungary-sweden-reach-deal-for-additional-gripen-fighters-with-nato-clearance-looming/ (https://breakingdefense.com/2024/02/hungary-sweden-reach-deal-for-additional-gripen-fighters-with-nato-clearance-looming/)
(https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/bee87d8d41078615_org-scaled-e1708699883436-2048x1154.jpg)
-
Parece cada vez mais provável a entrada da NATO na Ucrãnia, estando já vários países a afirmarem abertamente o assunto:
"Tudo é possível". Macron admite envio de tropas ocidentais para a Ucrânia
https://www.msn.com/pt-pt/noticias/ultimas/tudo-%C3%A9-poss%C3%ADvel-macron-admite-envio-de-tropas-ocidentais-para-a-ucr%C3%A2nia/ar-BB1iVTzN?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=4f07ba9fff69415c97965bf3dbfb54a8&ei=17
Vários membros da NATO e da UE ponderam enviar soldados para a Ucrânia: as notícias que marcaram o 733º. dia de guerra
https://www.msn.com/pt-pt/noticias/ultimas/v%C3%A1rios-membros-da-nato-e-da-ue-ponderam-enviar-soldados-para-a-ucr%C3%A2nia-as-not%C3%ADcias-que-marcaram-o-733%C2%BA-dia-de-guerra/ar-BB1iVBEJ?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=516f326c9a2a4ee29315ca96d8c24cf9&ei=12
-
Alemanha vai colocar 5.000 soldados na Lituânia
-
PREPARAÇÕES PARA EXERCÍCIO
(STEADFAST 2024)
-
NATO inicia exercícios militares para proteger novo território nórdico
-
https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/mundo/nato-arranca-com-exercicios-em-larga-escala-para-proteger-novo-territorio-nordico_n1554999
A tropa fandanga não participa?
-
Sem calhar se tivéssemos centrais nucleares... :mrgreen:
https://www.forte.jor.br/2024/03/04/sem-o-samp-t-italianos-eslovaquia-de-fico-ficara-sem-defesa-antiaerea/ (https://www.forte.jor.br/2024/03/04/sem-o-samp-t-italianos-eslovaquia-de-fico-ficara-sem-defesa-antiaerea/)
A Itália deverá retirar o seu sistema de defesa aérea de superfície SAMP/T da Eslováquia, uma medida que levanta preocupações sobre a protecção dos activos críticos da Eslováquia, como as centrais nucleares, anunciou o primeiro-ministro eslovaco, Robert Fico.
(https://www.forte.jor.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/SAMP-T-1024x662-640x414.jpg)
Saudações
-
https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/mundo/nato-arranca-com-exercicios-em-larga-escala-para-proteger-novo-territorio-nordico_n1554999
A tropa fandanga não participa?
Sim, com 37 almas, ou seja 0,04 % dos efetivos.
-
Bandeira da Suécia já foi hasteada na sede da NATO
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/bc/a5/4d/MESTIDI_o.jpg)
-
Programa NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE): NATO Allies strengthen cooperation on military aviation training (https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_223953.htm) (25 de Março de 2024).
Factsheet de 2022: https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2021/2/pdf/2102-factsheet-nfte.pdf (https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2021/2/pdf/2102-factsheet-nfte.pdf)
España y otros once países de la OTAN se comprometen con una formación conjunta de sus pilotos
(8 de Abril de 2024)
Doce miembros europeos de la OTAN han acordado ampliar sus lazos de entrenamiento en aviación militar. El compromiso, suscrito por doce países, se enmarca en la iniciativa de Entrenamiento de Vuelo en Europa de la OTAN (NFTE, por sus siglas en inglés), lanzada en 2020 con la firma de una carta de intención por parte de once ministros de defensa aliados, y que ahora amplía sus objetivos.
El pacto rubricado ahora por Alemania, Bélgica, Chequia, España, Grecia, Hungría, Italia, Macedonia del Norte, Montenegro, Reino Unido, Rumanía y Turquía "incluye la colocación por primera vez de alrededor de cincuenta estudiantes pilotos en cuatro ubicaciones a partir de este año, la incorporación de nueve nuevos campus de capacitación, así como el establecimiento de un organismo asesor dedicado a la industria", según el comunicado emitido por la OTAN sobre la iniciativa.
[continua]
Fonte: https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4781695/espana-otros-once-paises-otan-comprometen-formacion-conjunta-pilotos (https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/4781695/espana-otros-once-paises-otan-comprometen-formacion-conjunta-pilotos)
Cumprimentos,
-
(https://images4.imagebam.com/bc/a5/4d/MESTIDI_o.jpg)
Mas quando se fala em investir em meios de defesa aqui d'el rei...