Laying NH-90 to Mali - Part 1: From Leipzig to Bamako

First flight of German Air Force A400M

The first German Airbus A400M took off for its maiden flight of Airbus Defence and Space in Seville, southern Spain.
The A400M will replace the Transall. A total of 40 machines will receive the Air Force, which will then be stationed at the Air Transport Wing 62 in Wunstorf.

Germany wants to revive Euro Hawk

Photo - Wikimedia commons

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants to revive the high-altitude reconnaissance drone Euro Hawk after the government backed away from plans to buy some last year, a German newspaper said on Saturday.Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) said it had learnt from the defence ministry that it wanted "to get the Euro Hawk drone out of the garage" to be able to test a reconnaissance system for it.

In an advance copy of a report due to be published on Sunday, the newspaper said that was the result of a defence assessment due to be handed to the ministry on Monday.Germany backed away last year from its 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion) plan to buy four more Euro Hawk drones, which U.S. defence company Northrop Grumman Corp developed with Europe's Airbus based on the Global Hawk design.Back then Germany said meeting the standards required to win aviation approval would cost 500 million to 600 million euros. But Northrop remains in long-running talks with the country about the stalled purchase.

FAS said the German armed forces had in recent months tested whether the reconnaissance system could be used on other platforms but had found that they could not be.It said if tests with the Euro Hawk prototypes proved successful, a carrier would need to be purchased and a new version of the Global Hawk was probably the only system that would be considered. The Euro Hawk is based on the Global Hawk.German news magazine Spiegel also said the Euro Hawk was under discussion again after consulting firm KPMG recommended in a report due to be presented this week remedying gaps in reconnaissance technology equipment in the armed forces with an 'unmanned' aircraft as a carrier.

The magazine cited experts as saying the only possible solution for this in the foreseeable future was the 'Triton' drone which is developed by Northrop and is the successor to the Global Hawk.

First A400M for German Air Force runs it´s engines for the first time

The first Airbus A400M new generation airlifter for the German Air Force has begun final tests towards its delivery. The four engines on the aircraft, known as MSN18, were successfully run simultaneously for the first time

New €84 million order of 64 more systems Gladius future soldier equipment for German Army

Moves by the German Bundeswehr to equip its infantry forces with the state-of-the-art Gladius soldier system are gathering pace. In January 2013, the Düsseldorf, Germany-based Rheinmetall Group was awarded an order to supply a further sixty systems. The procurement programme began in 2012 with an initial order of thirty systems, enough to equip 300 troops.

This follow-up order is worth €84 million, and encompasses equipment for 60 infantry sections with a total of 600 soldiers.

Delivery of the new systems will take place in two lots consisting of thirty systems each, the first one in the middle of 2013, another at the end of the year. This will ensure that the next two contingents of Bundeswehr troops due to deploy to Afghanistan will receive the new equipment well in advance.

As planned, the Bundeswehr is currently taking delivery of the thirty Gladius systems it ordered in 2012. The troops will have until June 2013 to train with the new system before going to Afghanistan.

Developed by Rheinmetall and originally known as “Infanterist der Zukunft (IdZ 2)” or “Future Soldier”, Gladius is the most advanced system of its kind anywhere. Its introduction is a major step forward for the Bundeswehr, which will significantly improve the overall operational effectiveness of German infantry units while simultaneously enhancing the survivability of individual soldiers.

Germany Boosts Multirole Capability of Shrinking Tornado Fleet

BONN — The German Air Force is pushing ahead with an upgrade of its Panavia Tornadoes even though a plan to nearly halve the fleet is being significantly speeded up.
The company leading the upgrade effort, EADS’s defense and security subsidiary, Cassidian, said its first production aircraft with the new capability standard ASSTA 3.0 (Avionics System Software Tornado Ada) performed its maiden flight from its Manching site last month.

If the testing runs as scheduled, delivery of the first upgraded Tornado to the German Air Force is planned for mid-2012, said Germany’s biggest defense contractor. The Air Force expects the outfitting of all planes to be finished by mid-2015.
The testing milestone comes in the wake of the country’s military restructuring effort, which includes a cut in the number of Tornado fighter jets from 185 to 85 planes. That process has been sped up and is supposed to be finished by the end of this year.

The remaining aircraft get the technical upgrade, which could keep them multirole combat-ready beyond 2025.
ASSTA 3.0 includes the integration of NATO’s Multifunctional Information Distribution System, (MIDS) Link 16 communication standard, as well as outfitting them with a new radio and a digital video and data recorder.

Besides their improved communication with NATO installations and aircraft, the upgraded Tornadoes will also be able to deliver Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions (LJDAM), which can be guided to its target by satellite navigation or laser designator. Currently, German Tornadoes are only able to deliver the laser-guided GBU-24 Paveway II, and in the future the laser- or GPS-guided GBU-54 LJDAM.