Military Technology 04/2022

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MT 4/2022 · 1 Is there a ‘LinkedIn’ job search website for statesmen – or stateswomen? Are there, indeed, any statesmen or women out there – or are there just politicians? Because it is apparent there is a big difference. A truly worrying difference that may pose an insoluble problem. Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson finally accepted the inevitable on 7 July, confronted with a rebellion in the British government that had seen resignations from almost 60 cabinet-level and junior ministers plus a variety of Conservative party officials: he resigned as Prime Minister though – in fairly typical fashion – he intends to stay in office till the party conference in October, by which time a new party leader should have been elected. It remains to be seen what events over the summer recess period may result in an election being called sooner than the current schedule calls for. In resigning, Johnson has arguably done something statesmanlike for the first time in his disastrous tenure as Prime Minister – putting the interests of the country before those of his party or, indeed, himself. His experiment in autocracy – based on what he saw as an overwhelming mandate from the electorate at the last election – has failed spectacularly and the resulting elevated levels of distrust (disbelief?) in government will resonate at the polls and in the streets for years to come. On the other side of the Atlantic, America remains, arguably, as deeply divided as it has been at any period since the War Between the States. The Republican/Democrat, north/south, rich/poor, white collar/blue collar, liberal/ conservative divides continue to fracture cohesion, damage public confidence and affect the economy and wellbeing of the nation as a whole. All this against a backdrop in which a staggeringly high number of people genuinely, sincerely and whole-heartedly believe that only Donald J Trump – or a clone – can rescue the land of E Pluribus Unum from the wicked grasp of the Global Liberal Conspiracy. Even those of us who have had the privilege – and the unalloyed pleasure – of living as a guest in the United States find this mindset difficult to fathom. Held to a standard that should be applied to any elected official, let alone one with his or her finger on the nuclear button, former President Trump Help Wanted Editorial Alliance’s history, it must be confessed – still fall short of any mechanism that stands a realistic chance of bringing the human suffering and political turmoil in Ukraine to an end any time soon. Germany’s new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who made similarly laudable statements in announcing Berlin’s volte-face over defence budget levels and assistance to conflict areas, has also fallen foul of domestic politics that are giving the lie to some of the very public undertakings he made on behalf of his nation. Xi Jinping, Viktor Orbán, Nicolás Maduro, among others – national leaders with increasingly autocratic and decreasingly democratic modus operandi are proliferating and statesmen on the decline. The bottom line is we are ill-served by many of our leading politicians. And that is our fault for indulging in the voter apathy, the culture of celebrity and the laissez-faire attitude to national policies that have characterised much of the last several decades. We did not get here overnight. We will not resolve the issues that have so destabilising an effect on international security in short order either. But we do need to take unprecedented action. Possibly even unpresidented. Tim Mahon Editor-in-Chief of MilTech fails miserably to measure up even to an average assessment. Irascible, intemperate, intolerant, impulsive, impolitic, impervious to criticism and staggeringly ill-informed, ‘the Donald’ is still seen by many Americans as the only hope for making America great again. Other worrying signs that the next several years of America’s political travails may contribute further to uncertainty and chaos elsewhere in the world include recent decisions by the US Supreme Court that indicate a continuing shift to the right. Overturning the iconic ‘Roe v Wade’ decision recently holds the potential for civil unrest and conflict that could provide a dangerous spark in a political powder-keg that appears to be leaking badly. Back east again and the occupant of the Kremlin seems to be moving from ‘pretty bad already’ to ‘decidedly worse.’ Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, not satisfied with having launched an illegal, immoral and ultimately ill-fated invasion of a sovereign state, is now using every means at his disposal to taunt the West, even going so far as to challenge NATO to attempt to defeat Russia directly, according to reported statements made in early July. Unsatisfied at the spectacle of his grand design being thwarted, he has been quick to blame others for his failed ambitions – like both Johnson and Trump – though, unlike them, he actually has exercised the power to have those he deems responsible suffer. Confronting Putin has similarly thrown a spotlight on the ineffectual nature of would-be statespersons. As NATO’s Secretary-General, to take an entirely non-random example, Jens Stoltenberg has indulged in some admirably robust rhetoric and sent absolutely unequivocal messages to Moscow about the consequences for Putin’s actions. But the actions to back the rhetoric – though unprecedented in the

Contents 2 · MILITARY TECHNOLOGY 4/2022 Features A New Dawn for Germany? – How Does Italy’s F-35 Experience InformGermany’s Choices?.............. 6 André Forkert Not Another Procurement Programme – JADC2 Offers Radical Overhaul................................................................ 12 Angus Batey EDA’s HEDI: the First EU Innovation Hub................................................. 15 Caterina Tani An Uncrewed Wingman in the B-21’s Mission Package?. ...................... 18 Marty Kauchak Responding to Fire with Fire – New Products fromNexter Arrowtech..................................................... 19 Marco Giulio Barone Every Generation Needs a New Revolution Gen 4 Tanks and the Future of Heavy Armour.......................................... 23 Samuel Cranny-Evans COMMUNICATION Modern Warfare Game-Changers............................................................ 26 Letters Letter from America: Southeast Asia Still Wants – and Needs – the US..................................... 27 Marty Kauchak Letter from Brussels: NATO’s Strategic Concept A Manifesto for an Alliance 2.0.................................................................. 28 Caterina Tani Strategic Focus: Mission Possible: Russia Defeated and Crippled for Good.................... 29 Tomás Chlebecek Cover As Germany prepare for the F-35, the Italian Air Force shares its experience with the Joint Strike Fighter and shows how it may be of assistance to the Luftwaffe. Our exclusive interview starts on page 6. (Italian Air Force, Troupe Azzurra) Small inserts on cover depict - Rheinmetall showed the Caracal light airborne vehicle at ILA in collaboration with Mercedes Benz and ACS. (André Forkert) - As counter-UAS demand continues to escalate at an ever-increasing rate, solutions such as Netline Communications’ DroneNet RD (rapid deployment) attract greater and greater interest. (Netline Communications) - Germany received its second C-130J at the close of the Berlin Air Show in June. It will be transferred direct to its squadron in France. (Bundeswehr) Editorial Help Wanted................................................................................................. 1 TimMahon, Editor-in-Chief Comment Reflections on Indo-Pacific 2022................................................................ 4 Tim Fish Wicked Games: Chinese Corporate Espionage. ....................................... 5 Samuel Cranny-Evans PARS III 8x8 armoured vehicles in Omani service. (Photo: FNSS)

MT 4/2022 · 3 Mönch Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (Mönch Publishing Group) Editor-in-Chief, Military Technology: TimMahon Editor-at-Large: Dr Ezio Bonsignore North American Bureau Chief (NewOrleans): Marty Kauchak NATO & EU Affairs Correspondent (Brussels): Caterina Tani Publishers: Uta & Volker Schwichtenberg US Office: 1326 St Andrew Street, Unit B, NewOrleans, LA 70130-5124 Correspondents: Massimo Annati (Italy); Marco Giulio Barone (France); Angus Batey (UK); Dr Theo Benien (Germany); Philip Butterworth-Hayes (UK); Atul Chandra (India); Tomás Chlebecek (Czech Republic); Dr Robert Czulda (Poland); Peter Donaldson (UK); Arie Egozi (Israel); Tim Fish (New Zealand); Kubilai Han (Turkey); Eugene Kogan (Georgia); Denys Kolesnyk (France); Edward Lundquist (USA); Georg Mader (Austria); Stephen WMiller (USA); Jörg Muth (Estonia); Trevor Nash (UK); Dr Stefan Nitschke (Germany); Santiago Rivas (Argentina); David Saw (France); AndrewWhite (UK); Dr Thomas Withington (France) Executive Associate and CEO: Volker Schwichtenberg Executive Associate, CEO and Lawyer: Uta Schwichtenberg Founder: Manfred Sadlowski Deputy Managing Director: Christa André Cover and Layout: Frank Stommel Mönch Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: Christine-Demmer-Straße 7 Tel.: +49-2641 / 3703-0 53474 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Fax: +49-2641 / 3703-199 Germany E-Mail: miltech@moench-group.com www.monch.com The views published are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor. 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Your MILITARY TECHNOLOGY Contact Asian Eastern Pacific (ASEP) Mr. Vishal Mehta PO Box 11328 Mobile: +91 99 999 85 425 IARI, New Delhi 110012 E-Mail: vishal.mehta@ India moench-group.com Belgium, France, Pakistan Mr. Georges France Mönch Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Tel.: +33 1 60 82 98 88 6, impasse de la Grande Fax: +33 1 60 82 98 89 F-91510 Janville-sur-Juine E-Mail: georges.france@ wanadoo.fr Italy Mr. Franco Lazzari RID Tel.: +39 01 85 30 15 98 Via Martiri della Liberazione, 79/3 Fax: +39 01 85 30 91 71 I-16043 Chiavari (GE) E-Mail: franco.lazzari@rid.it lazzari@moench-group.com Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Middle East Mr. Antonio Terol Garcia Tel.: +34 91 3 10 29 98 Fax: +34 91 3 10 24 54 E-Mail: antonio@terolgarcia. e.telefonica.net terol@moench-group.com Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, UK, USA Tel.: +44 7968 714280 Mrs. Sally Passey (Director) E-Mail: sally@bspmedia.com BSP Media Nations in Focus A Long and Winding Road … Armoured Vehicle Procurement in Central & Eastern Europe................ 30 Robert Czulda COMMUNICATION Tatra Always Gets Users Further.............................................................. 33 Poland’s Defence Industry – Crossroads or Blind Alley?........................ 34 TimMahon Armoured Fist – India’s MBT Scene.......................................................... 37 Atul Chandra From the Bridge Leveraging Unmanned Maritime Systems in Mine Countermeasures......................................................................... 39 George Galdorisi Loitering With Intent. ................................................................................. 43 Massimo Annati Evolving Marine Markets – an Israeli Perspective................................... 46 Interviewwith Oded Breier, VP Marketing and Sales for Israel Shipyards Interview Limited Land for Training – Singapore’s Readiness Conundrum........... 47 Edward Lundquist Saving Lives for a Decade Interviewwith Dan Kalfus, Managing Director of EuroTrophy GmbH. .. 60 TimMahon Special Feature Leading-edge Technology born in Patagonia – INVAP Under the Microscope. .................................................................. 50 Santiago Rivas Don’t Decommission Surface Ships – Yet................................................ 52 Marty Kauchak Kärcher Delivers Modular Mobile Accommodation to Bundeswehr. .... 53 André Forkert Un Rendez-Vous Formidable! – Eurosatory 2022 Retrospective................................................................. 54 TimMahon Berlin Zeitgeist – An ILA 2022 Retrospective........................................... 57 TimMahon Industrial Focus. ............................................................................... 61 Index of Advertisers EMBRAER......................................................................................... 4th cover FUTURE FORCES Exhibition & Forum. ....................................................... 35 Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd....................................................... 2nd cover IDET............................................................................................................. 25 I/ITSEC........................................................................................................... 8 LAAD............................................................................................................ 11 MBDA. ......................................................................................................... 17 MS&D/SMM................................................................................................. 41 Weibel Scientific A/S................................................................................... 31

The Indo-Pacific 2022 exhibition in Sydney was notable for three reasons. First – nobody was really talking much in an official capacity about Australia’s new nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) programme. The 18-month study into how best these platforms can be delivered is still underway, but outside of an announcement in March that a naval base to host the nuclear submarines would be built on Australia’s East Coast, there has been little else in the way of comment about potential design options and capability, skills and the industrial strategy, or training and crewing the boats. Australia’s new Labour government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese only took office on 23 May, just weeks after the conference closed. Labour is committed to the nuclear submarine project and the new Defence Minister, Richard Marles, has been more honest than his National government predecessor Peter Dutton about the prospects for an early delivery of the SSNs. He stated in June that it was unlikely that they could be delivered before 2030, and that a date in the 2040s was more realistic, meaning there is the prospect of a submarine capability gap lasting almost a decade. This is more realistic than earlier promises by Dutton on deliveries – he, incidentally, has since claimed he had planned to buy two US-built Virginia-class SSNs to plug the submarine gap. This is unlikely, as the US Navy needs all its SSNs and would be loathe to export any. Meanwhile, Marles said the Labour government is looking at all the options to fill a submarine gap. Any thaw in relations between Australia and France – which was unceremoniously ejected from the SEA 1000 Future Submarine project – was not in evidence. French shipbuilder Naval Group was absent and, outside of Thales and ECA, there were few French companies present at the exhibition. It may take some time for Paris to accept any overtures from Canberra to repair the damage, but a new government may help speed up that process. The emphasis on uncrewed maritime systems is the second reason Indo-Pacific 2022 was of note, highlighting the growing urgency for the RAN to adopt them to supplement its capabilities and address its growing maritime security commitments across a vast area in the wider region. As the exhibition kicked off, it was announced that the RAN’s SEA 129 Phase 5 Maritime UAS (MUAS) project had been abandoned, and that the MoD has instead selected Austrian company Schiebel to provide its S-100 rotary-wing UAS. This will speed up the acquisition of UAS for the RAN, as the company is already delivering the S-100 under the NMP1942 project. Other highlights from the show include the news that recently decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat ex-HMAS Maitland is being re-configured by Austal Ships as an autonomous vessel for trials under the RAN’s Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), due to start in 2023. Underwater, the RAN is testing a new autonomous UUV – an 8m-long Light Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (L-UUV) demonstrator from C2 Robotics, designed to meet future requirements for large numbers of low-cost UUVs will be trialled this year. The MoD has also partnered with Anduril Australia to develop three prototype Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (XL-AUVs). Furthermore, a Request for Tender is expected this year for the RAN’s Project SEA 1905 Phase 1 for an autonomous Mine Countermeasures (MCM) system. ECA and Saab Systems are offering uncrewed underwater and surface vehicles equipped with an array of sensors and a C2 system. Australia has been an early adopter of uncrewed systems, because the ADF does not have the personnel or crew for the ships and aircraft to undertake the ISR missions required of it. This trend appears to be accelerating in the maritime domain, although with much of its defence budget tied up in expensive projects for manned platforms for the next 20-30 years, there is little room for manoeuvre if additional requirements emerge. The third focus of the Indo-Pacific 2022 exhibition was the Land 8170 project for a new Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel – Medium (LMV-M). A number of companies were at the show touting their designs, but the project indicates a change of focus for Australia’s amphibious warfare capability. The new LMV-Ms will not necessarily operate with the RAN’s existing Canberra-class LHDs, as they are designed mainly for long-range shore-to-shore transport. Land 8710 seems to taking its cue from the US Navy’s Light Amphibious Warfare project, that seeks to deliver a capability to rapidly transport small-sized forces into forward areas in the Western Pacific and SE Asian regions. This is seen as a preferred tactic to ensure deployments are made in advance of a conflict, and can operate undetected in a contested environment. LMV-M seems to be the Australian contribution to this capability, and the industrial solutions will reflect the requirement to deliver and sustain an amphibious Joint Force into theatre at range. This is definitely a programme to watch. Tim Fish Reflections on Indo-Pacific 2022 4 · MT 4/2022 Comment Now resident in New Zealand, Tim Fish has long experience as a journalist and editor and reports on a variety of regional and international issues for Mönch publications.

Samuel Cranny-Evans Wicked Games: Chinese Corporate Espionage Ken McCallum and Christopher Wray, directors of MI5 and the FBI respectively, warned on 6 July that it is “the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security,” before extending the caution to Europe and the West’s allies elsewhere. According to British newspaper The Guardian, the speech was an unprecedented announcement from the intelligence chiefs. It walked a hard line explaining that China is “set on stealing your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry tick, and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market”. MI5 alone is already running seven times the investigations into Chinese companies that it was four years ago, McCallum said, adding that capacity to investigate China’s espionage had doubled in three years, and would double again before long. Wray claimed that the FBI opened a new investigation into Chinese espionage every 12 hours on average. The threat is clearly broad, and the pair warned that China uses every available tool to steal commercial secrets and undercut western businesses. Several unusual examples of Chinese espionage have emerged over the years, including a remarkable 2011 encounter in which a Chinese man was confronted while stealing seeds from US company Pioneer. He worked for a Chinese company, Kings Nower Seed, and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2016. Other methods have followed more traditional forms of corporate espionage. A Chinese intelligence officer was convicted in 2021 of attempting to steal engine technology from a US aviation company: he was charged with handing the technology over to a Chinese company so that it could compete with Airbus and Boeing, the US intelligence services said. Other more modern capabilities have been employed, such as cyberattacks aimed at compromising the systems on which intellectual property is held. The targets and victims of these attacks are many, and it is likely in most cases that the attacks are conducted by China’s own intelligence services. Perhaps the most prominent example is the 2012 cyberattack against BAE Systems, which is thought to have led to China gaining access to details of the F-35. National strength in science and technology are thought to be “a sharp weapon for development,” according to Xi Jinping. As such, corporate espionage serves two purposes for China: it provides the IP and technology to compete with US and Western companies; and it provides sources of information that contribute to modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). For example, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, has an overseas presence in many universities, including Manchester University in the UK. Its staff have conducted research into hypersonic glide vehicles and heat resistant materials. The university proudly announced in 2017 that, working with Chinese scientists from Central South University, its researchers had created a ceramic coating that could “revolutionise hypersonic travel,” including in defence applications. Espionage is not limited to corporate entities. The Carnegie Endowment wrote in April that China assembles and analyses large quantities of data on US citizens in a bid to identify suitable individuals for intelligence collection and access to secret information. This might go some of the way to explaining the West’s concern around the use of Huawei components in 5G networks. It has also been identified in US political campaigns as a means to identifying future policy trends. “When you deal with a Chinese company, know you’re also dealing with the Chinese government – that is the Ministry of State Security and the PLA – too, almost like silent partners,” the Financial Times quoted Wray as saying. It follows that, despite the benefits of international cooperation derived from placements at universities and inter-business cooperation, there is considerable risk of dual-use technologies fuelling PLA modernisation. The West is not alone in suffering from Chinese corporate espionage: Russian defence manufacturers have grown reluctant to sell their weapons to China, because of the likelihood of them being reverse engineered. The Tor air defence system, for example, was reverse engineered and manufactured in China as the HQ-17. A more prominent example is the J-11 air superiority fighter used by the PLA Air Force, which is widely accepted to be an unlicensed copy of the Russian Su-27. Overall, the threat posed by China’s corporate espionage is not new – it has been a clear threat for some time. However, the dire warnings issued by MI5 and the FBI are designed to inspire action. Despite the improvements in the PLA’s conventional forces that have been realised since the 1990s, they may still lag behind the US in areas such as artificial intelligence, despite matching the US in investment. AI is seen as one area in which China can reasonably compete with the US, and is also seen as critical to the PLA’s attempts to conduct joint all-domain operations. It follows that there might be certain areas that are more at risk than others, although, plainly – the risk is significant for many. A research analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, London, Sam Cranny-Evans is a regular contributor to MilTech on matters Russian, Chinese and land warfare-related. Comment MT 4/2022 · 5

of the F-35 programme, Italy has collected several ‘first time’ events: in 2015, Italy delivered the first F-35 ever assembled outside the continental US, at Cameri, from the Euro-Med Regional Trivalent Hub. Italy was also the first non-US nation to activate a Main Operating Base (32nd Wing, Amendola Air Force Base in 2016). The Italian Air Force (ItAF) crossed the Atlantic for the first time for the global JSF programme, with a national air-to-air refueling event in February 2016. It was also the first service in Europe to declare Initial Operational Capability (IOC), validating the achievement during the Tactical Leadership Program (TLP) multinational exercise in Amendola in November 2018, when 5th-generation and earlier aircraft had the opportunity to demonstrate the level of integration already achieved. Since 2018, ItAF F35s have been integrated into the National Air Defence system, and Italy was the first to employ the 5th-generation aircraft in a real NATO operation, fulfilling the Air Policing mission in Iceland in 2019. The ItAF, along with the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force, is to date a rare example of a single service using both F-35A and F-35B variants. In addition, the Italian F-35As have provided NATO Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) services since January this year. We are now at work for the second F-35Main Operating Base activation, at Ghedi ItAB (6th Wing) and, exploiting the relevant experience accumulated over the years and tremendous programme support, both from the industry and the US government sides, progress to plan is more than encouraging. As an example, on 16 June 2022, the emergence of the first F-35A aircraft bearing the insignia of the 6th Wing, entirely managed and supported by Ghedi Air Force Base personnel. One of the main discussion points at ILA 2022 was the Bundeswehr’s recent decision to procure Lockheed Martin’s 5th-generation combat aircraft, the F-35, to replace its remaining Tornados. Major drivers in the selection process were to ensure ‘Nationale Teilhabe’ (national participation) and the capability to deploy nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, for Germany, the decision involves the induction of a brand-new aircraft type. Italy was one of the earliest European nations to select the F-35, ordering 131 aircraft (109 F-35A and 22 F-35B) and receiving the first in 2015. In addition, Cameri is the only production site for the aircraft outside the US. André Forkert had the opportunity to speak at length with Col Luca G Vitaliti on Italy’s experience with the aircraft and how it might be able to help Germany introduce it. He is Head of the F-35 Management, Sustainment and Integration Office, responsible for the in-servicing and implementation of new-generation capabilities, definition of operational needs and requirements, strategic planning and management of site activation, coordination of Operational Test and Evaluation activities and international cooperation in all these domains. [The extensive interview with Col Vitaliti appeared on he Mönch Online News (MON) website on 25 and 26 June – Editor] MilTech: Can you expand on the missions and tasks the F-35 fulfils for Italy, please? Vitaliti: Italy has played and will play a relevant role in the growth of the F-35 5th-generation capability among users. In fact, among the partners 6 · MT 4/2022 Feature André Forkert A New Dawn for Germany? How Does Italy’s F-35 Experience Inform Germany’s Choices?

MilTech: Italy was also a Tornado operator. What are the principal advantages of the F-35 – other than stealth technology – when comparing the two aircraft? Vitaliti: The comparison between Tornado and F-35 is evidently inclement, even though the Tornado is still a multi-role combat aircraft with important capabilities in its tactical roles. In fact, between the two aircraft systems there is a gap of two generations. In addition, the F-35 is surely a unique weapon system, capable of achieving air supremacy over current and future air and ground threats. This superiority can be found in every aspect of the platform: flight characteristics, avionics, quality of embedded sensors, span, width and RF spectrum, self-protection, communications and datalink, and sustainability. Compared to the Tornado, the F-35 offers a quantum leap in terms of effectiveness, survivability and sustainability. The F-35 is superior in every respect. The JSF has low radar and thermal signatures. Low observability allows the execution of high-risk missions, to penetrate deeply into an Area of Operations, neutralising threats well before they become a factor for the F-35 and for friendly forces in a multi-domain environment. Low observability contributes to reducing risks, increasing survivability and effectiveness for the F-35 and for the whole force package. The F-35, from this perspective, is a strategic system. The F-35 is an omni-role combat aircraft with its operational capability based on sensor fusion. The Tornado can normally conduct one, maximum two tactical roles within the same mission. To be able to do that it needs to be prepared and configured before the mission, often with dedicated external stores. The crew is trained and qualified for specific tactical missions. As a simplified example from my own experience, we could say that in flight, in most complex air operations, 60% of crew attention is dedicated to overlay, fuse and filter data and information coming from onboard independent sensors and instrumentation, with an additional 30% of crew cognitive resources used to integrate situational awareness with information and perceptions from human senses – primarily visual, auditory and physical. This means that some 90% of total effort is required for ‘observation and orientation,’ with the residual 10% available for the ‘decide and act’ aspect of mission fulfillment in the specific tactical role The F-35 is a 5th-generation omni-role tactical aircraft system, designed to successfully face the most challenging present and future scenarios. It can simultaneously carry out all tactical mission roles, fully integrated into a multi-domain mission environment. It is equipped with a spectrum of capabilities that ensure strategic superiority in operations. State-of-the-art technology applied to high-­ performance on-board sensors, sensor fusion, low observability and net-centricity are distinctive elements. They support an exponential increase in operational effectiveness, as well as exceptional levels of survivability against dense, advanced, and synchronised threats that only the F-35 can identify and engage with precision and extreme accuracy, ensuring a high level of awareness of the tactical scenario that can be shared, to support the forces and decision-makers. Net-centricity, with the ability to acquire and exchange essential information, is key, because, progressively, freedom of movement and the possibility of access to the area of ​operations will be precluded for other air platforms, land vehicles and ships by increasingly effective defences. Moreover, new concepts inspire development of appropriate logistical support and maintenance. The global pooling of logistic support and spare parts management allows, through an artificial intelligence-powered info-logistics system, prior estimation of the need for maintenance on the basis of statistical analysis and surveys. The application of this concept minimises the need to stock spare parts in the warehouses, and supports maximum efficiency on the flight line. It follows that spare parts are always available on a global scale, and delivered ‘just in time’. Furthermore, the concept of ‘follow on development’ ensures the continuation of aircraft system operational capability development after initial production, for the entire life cycle of the machine, predictably up to fifty years. In this way, operational effectiveness is assured, despite increasing and ever-­ changing threat scenarios. A former paratrooper and Bundeswehr officer, André Forkert covers a varied beat for Mönch Group’s publications. Feature MT 4/2022 · 7 The F-35 has brought reliable operational flexibility and mission agility to the Italian Air Force. (Photo: Aeronautica Militare ‘Troupe Azzurra’) Italian Air Force F-35s have been integrated into the National Air Defence System since 2018. (Photo: Aeronautica Militare ‘Troupe Azzurra’) f

8 · MT 4/2022 Feature MilTech: Take us with you into a simulated combat flight, if you will. How is it flying the F-35 and what improvements over Tornado and Eurofighter do you most value? Vitaliti: In combat, F-35 pilots experience an immediate feeling that pilot and aircraft system are integrated as a single fighting organism, in complete symbiosis. The F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) provides a remarkable contribution. It gives immediate and intuitive access to flight, tactical, and sensor data to enhance situational awareness, precision, and safety of operations. The HMDS is the primary display system for the pilot, and provides sight through the bottom of the fuselage or directly at a target with virtually enhanced capabilities supporting visual targeting. The pilot can target by simply looking at targets, correlating the cues with the onboard sensors or datalink. Additional capabilities, in relation to previous generation aircrafts, certainly include: • the ability to collect large amounts of data and information in real time, from a variety of sources: ships on the surface, aircraft in flight, fighters, support or Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, satellites, ground forces. Collected data are distributed in real time to other platforms or forces, and to the C2 This ensures a unique contribution to overall situational awareness, at tactical, operational, and strategic levels, for information superiority and a strategic advantage in current and future military operations; • the possibility of stowing weapons internally, which preserves low visibility and improves aerodynamic performance, compared to previous generation aircraft, whose load hung externally; • the significant quantity of fuel in internal tanks gives an unmatched operational range and endurance, limiting the need to use tankers or Forward Operating Bases; assigned. This gives a rough idea of crew workload in building adequate situational awareness, and of how reaction time is thus reduced for crews of Tornado and previous generation tactical aircraft. The JSF is natively omni-role. It does not need to be specifically configured for the mission, except for the weapon load. The tactical role changes in flight depending on mission tasks, situations/mission phases, or arising contingencies. The capacity of the aircraft, in fact, allows it to carry out multiple roles, allowing a more agile, flexible employment within the same mission, in which it can always ensure mission tasks such as air superiority, strategic reconnaissance, data collection and high precision or surgical engagement of targets. The pilot is trained, qualified, and prepared to face the whole span of tactical missions and needs to be always ready to understand when the situation requires to switch tactical role. The F-35 is powered by artificial intelligence that allows it to process, overlay, and fuse the radar air picture, data and information acquired by sensors, communication suites and datalink, and to present the whole package in a recognized, comprehensive picture. Therefore, the pilot can reduce to less than 40% the effort to properly ‘observe and orient,’ and can have over 60% of his or her cognitive resources to dedicate to the ‘decide and act’ function, a fundamental requirement to face and manage the more and more complex and challenging tactical scenarios of today’s and tomorrow’s battlespace. Its advanced net-centric capabilities make the F-35 intrinsically multi-domain, and a fundamental data source to reconstruct and share a strategic and tactical air and surface recognized picture. Regarding fleet management and logistic support, among JSF partners and users the commonalities between the different versions of F-35 and the level of standardisation are so high that, theoretically, it will soon be possible to deploy the aircraft to other F-35 bases with either limited or no organic maintenance and support personnel.

Vitaliti: F-35 users work closely together. Being part of the JSF programme makes cooperation, integration, interoperability, and standardisation a lot easier. We have activities and forums going on in Europe, involving also North American and Pacific F-35 users. Our focus is on sharing lessons learned and solutions to enhance operational effectiveness in joint and combined operations, in a multi-domain environment. The F-35 also enhances the capabilities of previous generation systems. I see strong potential for additional collaboration in Europe, because the F-35 is becoming, globally, one of the backbones of our defence and security. The Italian OTI can respond to 5th-generation system requirements for training and exercise. Important components of our infrastructure are airspace, air-to-ground and EW ranges, providing adequate fidelity and density of threats, procedures, and C2 structures. The level that we have reached makes Italy an ideal place for large fleet flying exercises and cross-servicing activities in the fields of maintenance and sustainment. In fact, in June last year, the ItAF organized Falcon Strike 2021 at the Amendola base, a multinational flying exercise taking place in the national OTI. This year, the 2022 iteration will take place in November, also at Amendola. The exercises provide joint and combined training in a multi-domain environment, with the primary objective of providing valuable training for 5th-generation systems, conducting air operations in a highly contested and congested multi-domain tactical environment, and practicing maintenance cross-servicing between F-35 users. The last Falcon Strike exercise saw participation from F-35s from the US (USAF and USMC aircraft operating from a British aircraft carrier), the UK and Israel. Considering the high-end objectives of the exercise, Belgium and Poland also participated as observers. Overall, some 60 aircraft participated, flying over 450 sorties over ten days, including 350 air-to-air refuelling operations and accumulating about 1,500 flight hours. The ItAF wants the National OTI infrastructure to be seen by partners and allies as the ‘European OTI South Pole,’ aimed at providing a modern training environment capable of replicating the challenging present and foreseeable scenarios characterising air and space operations, specifically in the multi-domain environment. The infrastructure already ensures the availability of adequate airspace, the presence of ranges (EW, air-to-ground, air-to-air) in close proximity to MOBs. The Italian OTI also provides training opportunities through modeling and simulation facilities. With such a combination of features, therefore, OTI represents the ideal playground to host major national and international exercises. Regarding aircraft sustainment and modernisation, the F-35 programme offers partners and FMS customers a strategic approach on a scale never reached before – the Global Support Solution. The construct is based on three main regions (North America, Euro-Mediterranean and Asia-Pacific) within which the program – based on best value – has • as already mentioned, in addition: –– The F-35 is stealth by design. Shape, engine, materials, onboard systems and surfaces are designed to keep radar and IR signatures at the minimum possible level. Very advanced on-board sensor technology and low observability are distinctive elements that enhance effectiveness, survivability and situational awareness; –– data fusion technology ensures achievement of complete situational awareness more quickly. MilTech: Germany will be seeking partners to assist with the introduction of the F-35, and maybe also training and maintenance afterwards. How could Italy be the preferred partner? What can you offer? Vitaliti: Among the European partners, Italy offers strong potential for pilot, maintainer, and support staff training, for the development of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs), integration, interoperability, and standardisation. The national Operational Training Infrastructure (OTI) is certainly the most tested and most responsive to 5th-generation standards in the Euro-Mediterranean. The F-35 programme is a (US) Special Access Program, through which access to state-of-the-art technology has been granted to a set of partner countries first, and, subsequently, to FMS Users. It redefines the standard of concrete and operational cooperation in a secure environment, under strong US government and industry leadership. Italy has been one of the major contributors to the partnership since its earliest stages of development, subsequent production, and now support and modernisation – over almost quarter of a century. Thanks to the relevant investments, Italy has managed to provide the programme with a Regional Technological Trivalent Hub, contributing to production activities, major components and assemblies manufacture, and for activities in support and continuous modernisation of the regional fleets. Italy believes it has already contributed – not just financially – and, in synergy with all other nations, can continue doing so in an even more significant and decisive way, to further increase the success of the global programme, especially at the Euro-Med regional level; it is also convinced that the collective success of the entire programme coincides with that of the individual participating nations. So we firmly believe that, under US government and industrial leadership, we can certainly meet Germany›s requirements: first in the US, for initial training needs then, eventually, in Europe, should user and prime elect to do so. MilTech: With Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland and Germany as users, where do you see additional potential in Europe for collaboration? What are you doing together with other partners already? Feature MT 4/2022 · 9 An F-35 on display at ILA 2022 at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. (Photo: Stefan Nitschke) Italy operates a fleet of 109 F-35As, having received its first aircraft in 2015. (Photo: Stefan Nitschke) e

10 · MT 4/2022 Feature In this context, if Germany elects to produce its aircraft in Cameri, the Joint Program Office, Italy and Lockheed Martin will discuss and agree with Germany the best solution to best accommodate the nation’s requirement. MilTech: Why is Italy operating both F-35As and F-35Bs? Vitaliti: The JSF aircraft is produced in three variants: The A variant, Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL): in active service in many Western air forces, including the US Air Force and the Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF). The ItAF fleet will consist of 75 F-35As; The B variant, Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL): designed both for operations on austere runways and embarked operations on naval units, such as LHA/LHD/CV (amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers). Used, in addition to the Italian Navy and Air Force, by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the USMC and the JASDF. Italy will operate a fleet of 30 F-35Bs, 15 each for the ItAF and the Navy; The C variant, Carrier Variant (CV): a naval version with foldable wings, reinforced landing gear and increased fuel capacity. Used on USN aircraft carriers equipped with a catapult system. 32 Wing, at Amendola, operates the F-35As and, from February 2020, the F-35Bs that provide advanced air expeditionary capabilities for Italian defence. The B version provides additional flexibility for air power projection in the Area of Operations. In fact, in operational theatres in general, there is normally a limited number of runways suitable for use for conventional take-off jet aircraft. Normally, there is a larger number of smaller airfields – approximately ten times more. Therefore, the STOVL capabilities of the F-35B add additional flexibility and agility. They give the option to deploy in proximity to the crisis area from the very early stages, to operate and to collect information, preparing for the subsequent operations of the whole force package on its deployment. For the F-35B, Italy has developed a specific ‘Air Expeditionary’ concept, and a force package dedicated to support the rapid projection of the F-35B. This package is composed of air mobility assets, also providing air-landed aircraft refuelling points, force protection, communications and information systems, and command and control. established collective depot level facilities for airframe, engine, components, training, and warehousing, as well as global transportation and delivery solutions. Exploiting decades of ceaseless commitment, the F-35 partnership is now delivering and sharing in Europe and across the globe an unprecedented level of operational success, and we expect this trend to continue in the future, with more nations joining the programme, to improve even further the already unmatched economies of scale of the F-35 programme. More specifically, the programme has lived out its first 20 years mainly within the continental US, with the aim of developing the weapon system we now are equipping our forces with. It is now time to rebalance the programme, by investing in the Euro-Med and Pacific regions. In this respect, we believe, under the US government and industry leadership, there will be plenty of opportunities for contributing to greater and greater programme success, both in the field of interoperability and for solutions to make sustainment increasingly affordable and effective. MilTech: What can you tell us – even though you do not represent the manufacturer – about the Italian production site and the potential options for production slots for Germany? Vitaliti: Italy plays a relevant role in the European Region with the Cameri F-35 Trivalent Technological Hub, which makes a state-of-the-art Final Assembly and Check Out Facility continuously available to the enterprise, together with the Wing Factory and the Regional Maintenance Repair Overhaul and Upgrade Facility. While F-35 demand is increasing rapidly, especially in the European Region, with many potential customers with broadly similar delivery timeframe requirement, this asset represent a resource for the enterprise, as it effectively contributes capacity to Lockheed Martin global production rate and goals, which will soon be over 150 aircraft per year. More specifically, Lockheed Martin and the enterprise optimise their production planning, to best satisfy the F-35 nations’ requirements, regardless of where aircraft are ultimately delivered. Customers could take advantage of this opportunity by requesting, for instance, US production for aircraft that, based on the initial training requirements, will operate in the US, while European customers in particular, in exchange for minor flexibility to meet Lockheed Martin’s available production capacity, could choose the Regional Final Assembly Facility for those aircraft intended to remain in Europe, thus avoiding costs and risks associated, for instance, with transoceanic transfers, while also starting to build up relevant relationships in the region, further strengthening the European leg of the programme, to their own benefit and that of the entire enterprise. If operational circumstances allow it to forsake its low observable characteristics, the F-35 can mount an impressive array of external ordnance. (Photo: Aeronautica Militare ‘Troupe Azzurra’) Although Germany has no requirement to operate carrier-borne F-35s, the aircraft’s capability for such operations is part of the platform’s inherent robustness and flexibility. (Photo: Lockheed Martin) f h

“Smart”; “scale”; “speed” - it is no coincidence that Crall uses buzzwords beloved of the commercial technology sector to help explain and expand on JADC2’s scope and potential. The mobile communications revolution has placed considerable strain on the military’s relationship with its suppliers, because the pace of change in technological capability is brought home daily to individuals who serve: if, the average service member might argue, I can easily and instantaneously share information in my private life using an easy-to-operate handheld device, why is it so difficult to do in the workplace? Classification and security provide some of the answer, but by no means all of it. JADC2 may not be the first programme to try to tether the pace of the tech disruptors – and their global user base’s expectations of ongoing and iterative enhancements – to the lumbering machinery of the defence-­ industrial base: but this time, it seems, the US military is committed to squaring up to what has hitherto appeared to be an insoluble problem. This has profound potential consequences for companies supplying the US military. Learning by Doing The reasons for adopting this stance now are less to do with commercial tech’s ubiquity, and more about the results of a lengthy process of self-examination that the Pentagon has undertaken, as it sought to understand why and how it was having difficulty projecting its considerable power against smaller, nimbler adversaries. “In very simple terms, [the May 2021 strategy] was the recognition that data and data-centricity was at the heart of success in our next war fight,” Crall says. “We are awash with sensor data, unable to keep up the human-intensive labor, and at the pace we’re moving we couldn’t take advantage of it. We could not bring in machine learning, artificial intelligence to really look at the ‘make-sense’ aspect of the data that we were receiving. Much of it hit the cutting room floor. And we couldn’t get to the most critical point – of making sure that information was distilled so that warfighters and decision-makers could make the best decision at the speed of relevance that was needed”. The strategy that made sense of all this - and which, Crall says, has signposted the Pentagon through this previously impenetrable maze – is classified. The unclassified summary published in March does, however, “at least provide a sense of [the] lines of effort, and where the Department There are established norms and cultural practices that attend any long-running business relationship, and it would be naïve to assume the defence industry’s interactions with its nation-state customers would be any different. But not every large defence programme will best be served by suppliers who treat it as merely the most recent in a long history of equipment-procurement projects. Sometimes – perhaps often – doing so might be counterproductive, or even consign a programme to failure. The wide-ranging, well-funded and expansive Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) programme is a case in point. In the works for some time, the programme crossed the starting line for real in May 2021, when US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, signed off on the strategy, placing the US Air Force as lead service for a programme that promises to radically overhaul almost every aspect of how the US military interoperates from a networked-computing standpoint. JADC2 promises many things: streamlining of the interconnectivity of sensors, systems platforms and personnel across different military branches; enabling the swift and seamless sharing of battle-winning information across (as well as up and down) command echelons; and generally providing “the ability of the US military to regain and maintain information and decision advantage,” according to an unclassified summary of the JADC2 strategy published in March. The one thing it is not is another equipment procurement programme. This remains true even though turning JADC2 from a series of documents, briefings and conference presentations into an operational reality will require some new equipment, as well as significant revisionary work on extant systems. This was no accident, and has shaped every aspect of the programme’s evolution and delivery, including its centralised project management set-up. “One of the reasons this did not end up in a typical program office, as the department has often done, is speed,” explains Lt Gen Dennis Crall, the US Marine Corps officer who directs the Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber function of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff J6, is also its Chief Information Officer, and is tasked with leading JADC2. “The Deputy Secretary and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs wanted this to move quickly but smartly, and also wanted to accept more risk that we take in traditional programs, meaning that we have an appetite and expect to fail fast and then fix and then scale.” Angus Batey Not Another Procurement Programme – JADC2 Offers Radical Overhaul 12 · MT 4/2022 Feature

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