Latest news with #Laliberty
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
US firms eye partnerships to tap European defence spending boom
Agencies Top U.S. defence firms, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used this week's Paris Air Show to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending. Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region. That tension has been notably absent at this week's Paris Air Show, where U.S. lawmakers and arms manufacturers pledged greater transatlantic partnership as Europe ramps up spending on everything from artillery shells and fighter jets to missile defence systems. 'We understand that our allies and partners are a force multiplier, so we are stronger when we are working together,' U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a member of Trump's Republican party, told reporters at the show, the world's largest aerospace and defence gathering. Moran, whose delegation was supporting U.S. weapons makers, said it was in Paris to send a message that the U.S. 'is a dependable and reliable partner.' The conciliatory tone stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's recent string of disparaging remarks about Europe and its defence industry. 'I think antagonizing our allies does not make us stronger,' Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen told reporters in Paris, expressing her desire to cement defence relations with Europe. Despite pledges by many European nations to boost military self-sufficiency, the continent remains heavily reliant on U.S. defence manufacturers. For instance, Europe buys American-made fighter jets and missiles from Lockheed Martin, Patriot missile defence systems from Raytheon Technologies and military jets and helicopters built by Boeing. In emerging military areas, like artificial intelligence, drones and satellite constellations, U.S. tech firms like Anduril, Palantir and Elon Musk's SpaceX are far ahead. U.S. firms are hoping to press home their advantage as European military spending surges, including through partnerships, which are a way to soften any potential diplomatic tensions, delegates said. U.S. drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities. Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defence Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships. Laliberty said Raytheon was close to announcing a plan to manufacture Stingers – a lightweight air defence missile used by Ukrainian forces against Russia – in Europe. 'For immediate needs, Raytheon is well-positioned to support the European demand,' Laliberty told reporters in Paris. 'We have a very bright future here.' Boeing, which won a contract from Trump's administration to develop the next-generation F-47 fighter jet this year, said Europe and the U.S. would remain long-term partners despite political wobbles, partly to hold off the Chinese threat. 'Nobody can do it themselves – maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we are going to have to work together,' said Turbo Sjogren, Boeing's general manager for government services. 'To do otherwise takes too long and will be unaffordable.' The chairperson of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo, Stefano Pontecorvo, added that U.S. participation in some European programs would be 'unavoidable' in the coming years due to the defence technologies available to rivals were bullish about their future growth prospects but said budget constraints and a lack of regional alliances were holding back progress, conceding that they would continue to need significant U.S. support. 'National sovereignty matters, but fragmentation is detrimental. We need to find a way to hit a balance,' Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on Tuesday. Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power, defence and space at Airbus, said Europe's dependence on the U.S. was 'very high.' 'Zero dependency on the U.S. I believe, is a dream. We have a need for interoperability that drives some U.S. needs,' said Dumont, whose firm makes the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet with Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Leonardo, as well as Earth observation satellites and drones. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Europe had 'too much bureaucracy' compared to the U.S. and needed to adapt to a new military era of faster, cheaper and more nimble technology. 'Either Europe adapts its industry to these new parameters – different from those with which it has lived until four years ago – or it will have huge competitors, and not only the American ones,' he said.
Gulf Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
US defence firms chase European military spending wave
US defence giants, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending. Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as US President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region, reporter Reuters. That tension has been notably absent at this week's Paris Airshow, where US lawmakers and arms manufacturers pledged greater transatlantic partnership as Europe ramps up spending on everything from artillery shells and fighter jets to missile defence systems. "We understand that our allies and partners are a force multiplier, so we are stronger when we are working together," US Senator Jerry Moran, a member of Trump's Republican party, told reporters at the show, the world's largest aerospace and defence gathering. Moran, whose delegation was supporting US weapons makers, said it was in Paris to send a message that the US "is a dependable and reliable partner". The conciliatory tone stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's recent string of disparaging remarks about Europe and its defence industry. "I think antagonising our allies does not make us stronger," Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen told reporters in Paris, expressing her desire to cement defence relations with Europe. Despite pledges by many European nations to boost military self-sufficiency, the continent remains heavily reliant on US defence manufacturers, said Reuters. For instance, Europe buys American-made fighter jets and missiles from Lockheed Martin, Patriot missile defence systems from Raytheon Technologies and military jets and helicopters built by Boeing. In emerging military areas, like artificial intelligence, drones and satellite constellations, US tech firms like Anduril, Palantir and Elon Musk's SpaceX are far ahead, quotes Reuters. US firms are hoping to press home their advantage as European military spending surges, including through partnerships which are a way to soften any potential diplomatic tensions, delegates said. US drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities. Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships. Laliberty said Raytheon was close to announcing a plan to manufacture Stingers — a lightweight air defence missile used by Ukrainian forces against Russia — in Europe. "For immediate needs, Raytheon is well positioned to support the European demand," Laliberty told reporters in Paris. "We have a very bright future here." Boeing, which won a contract from Trump's administration to develop the next-generation F-47 fighter jet this year, said Europe and the US would remain long-term partners despite political wobbles, partly to hold off the Chinese threat. "Nobody can do it themselves - maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we are going to have to work together," said Turbo Sjogren, Boeing's general manager for government services. "To do otherwise takes too long and will be unaffordable." The chairman of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo , Stefano Pontecorvo, added that US participation in some European programmes would be "unavoidable" in coming years due to the defence technologies available to them. European rivals were bullish about their future growth prospects but said budget constraints and a lack of regional alliances were holding back progress, conceding that they would continue to need significant US support. "National sovereignty matters but fragmentation is detrimental. We need to find a way to hit a balance," Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on Tuesday. Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power, defence and space at Airbus, said Europe's dependence on the US was "very high".
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Analysis-US defence firms chase European military spending wave
PARIS (Reuters) -U.S. defence giants, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending. Many European nationshave pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region. That tension has been notably absent at this week's Paris Airshow, where U.S. lawmakers and arms manufacturers pledged greater transatlantic partnership as Europe ramps up spending on everything from artillery shells and fighter jets to missile defence systems. "We understand that our allies and partners are a force multiplier, so we are stronger when we are working together," U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a member of Trump's Republican party, told reporters at the show, the world's largest aerospace and defence gathering. Moran, whose delegation was supporting U.S. weapons makers, said it was in Paris to send a message that the U.S. "is a dependable and reliable partner". The conciliatory tone stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's recent string of disparaging remarks about Europe and its defence industry. "I think antagonising our allies does not make us stronger," Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen told reporters in Paris, expressing her desire to cement defence relations with Europe. RELIANCE ON U.S. Despite pledges by many European nations to boost military self-sufficiency, the continent remains heavily reliant on U.S. defence manufacturers. For instance, Europe buys American-made fighter jets and missiles from Lockheed Martin, Patriot missile defence systems from Raytheon Technologies and military jets and helicopters built by Boeing. In emerging military areas, like artificial intelligence, drones and satellite constellations, U.S. tech firms like Anduril, Palantir and Elon Musk's SpaceX are far ahead. U.S. firms are hoping to press home their advantage as European military spending surges, including through partnerships which are a way to soften any potential diplomatic tensions, delegates said. U.S. drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities. Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships. Laliberty said Raytheon was close to announcing a plan to manufacture Stingers - a lightweight air defence missile used by Ukrainian forces against Russia - in Europe. "For immediate needs, Raytheon is well positioned to support the European demand," Laliberty told reporters in Paris. "We have a very bright future here." Boeing, which won a contract from Trump's administration to develop the next-generation F-47 fighter jet this year, said Europe and the U.S. would remain long-term partners despite political wobbles, partly to hold off the Chinese threat. "Nobody can do it themselves - maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we are going to have to work together," said Turbo Sjogren, Boeing's general manager for government services. "To do otherwise takes too long and will be unaffordable." The chairman of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo, Stefano Pontecorvo, added that U.S. participation in some European programmes would be "unavoidable" in coming years due to the defence technologies available to them. EUROPE TOO SLOW European rivals were bullish about their future growth prospects but said budget constraints and a lack of regional alliances were holding back progress, conceding that they would continue to need significant U.S. support. "National sovereignty matters but fragmentation is detrimental. We need to find a way to hit a balance," Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on Tuesday. Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power, defence and space at Airbus, said Europe's dependence on the U.S. was "very high". "Zero dependency on the U.S. I believe is a dream. We have a need for interoperability that drives some U.S. needs," said Dumont, whose firm makes the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet with Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Leonardo, as well as Earth observation satellites and drones. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Europe had "too much bureaucracy" compared to the U.S. and needed to adapt to a new military era of faster, cheaper and more nimble technology. "Either Europe adapts its industry to these new parameters - different from those with which it has lived until four years ago - or it will have huge competitors, and not only the American ones," he said. (Reporting by Joe Brock, Giulia Segreti, Paul Sandle and Tim Hepher. Editing by Mark Potter)
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Next-gen air defense radar approved for low-rate production
The U.S. Army has formally approved a new air and missile defense sensor to replace its aging Patriot for low-rate production, according to its system developer Raytheon. The service has been working on replacing its aging Patriot air and missile defense system for over 15 years, initially running a competition for a full system before canceling those plans in favor of developing a new command-and-control system and a new radar separately. The Army's Lower-Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, 'is a huge, significant capability,' Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space, said in an exclusive interview with Defense News at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, last month. 'We anecdotally say it doubles legacy Patriot radar capability and not only does it double it, it provides you 360-degree capability.' The radar is a major modernization element for the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense system, along with a fully modernized — and already fielded — command-and-control capability called the Integrated Battle Command system. The Army awarded Raytheon a contract in 2019 to deliver prototypes over five years. Building the radar rapidly was an ambitious challenge, according to Lozano, and the service decided to keep the sensor in testing for an extra year to ensure it was fully mature and ready for prime time. Now, following several successful flight tests, including ones that combined other major air and missile defense elements over last fall and early this year, the system has been deemed ready for low-rate initial production and the service is preparing to send two prototype systems used during testing to Guam as it builds up the island's air defense capability. 'I've been at Raytheon almost 40 years and worked a lot of large development programs and I have to say, I really don't know of one that's gone better,' Tom Laliberty, the company's president of land and air defense systems, told Defense News. 'To go from ... contract award, build six prototype units, test them over a few years and ... now ready to deploy them into theater is just unprecedented.' LTAMDS went through eight major missile flight tests along with roughly 10,000 hours of other testing, including radiate time, radar tracking time and testing against wind, rain, dust and road marches, during which soldiers 'kind of beat on them a little bit to see how they stand up,' Laliberty said. Additionally, LTAMDS is part of a larger air defense system, so the company and the Army worked to mature interfaces with the Northrop Grumman-made Integrated Battle Command System and integrate two different missiles: Patriot Advanced Capability 2 and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement. 'That's really what that ... extra year was all about, the maturity of all that,' Laliberty noted. The Army's low-rate production lot will consist of roughly 10 radars. The service plans to build 94 radars total over the course of the program. Raytheon will also simultaneously build Poland's 12 LTAMDS radars on order. Poland is the first foreign customer for the system. Currently the time to build an LTAMDS is about 40 months on the production line, but the Army is working with Raytheon and has hired a consulting company to work on supply chain management in order to accelerate production time to 36 months (a formal program objective). 'From a cost perspective — [$13 billion across its life] — I think there's a huge win here,' Lozano said. 'It's a huge program, and it's likely going to be within the Army inventory for multiple decades. Because it's a digital radar that is software driven, it's going to mature and keep pace with the evolving threat.' 'We build the legacy Patriot radar for $110 to $115 million a copy,' he added. 'Right now, the initial cost of the LTAMDS radar is about $125 to $130 million a copy. That cost will continue to come down. We're building the newest, most advanced radar at almost the same exact price that we're building the legacy radar.' The Army's low-rate production period will last roughly two and a half years. The service is planning for the LTAMDS initial operational test and evaluation to take place in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. The service aims to reach full-rate production in 2028, Lozano said.
