Daily Archives: June 16, 2017

BRUSSELSWhile the American military isforging ahead with a new helicopter replacement program, Europe islagging behind in exploiting the potential of its helicopter sector, according to the European Helicopter Association,the voice of the majority of helicopter operators in Europe.

The U.S. Army is working toward its Future Vertical Lift, and this initiative is well underway, with the first prototypes already built for the future helo.

In an effort to keep pace with the U.S., NATO set up a group of experts to run a two-year program meant to identify, analyze, assess and document advanced rotorcraft technologies.

The Industrial Advisory Group, or NIAGa high-level consultative and advisory body of senior industrialists from NATO member countriesis due to deliver its conclusions next year.

But what can be expected fromthis ambitiousplan?

A NATO official told Defense News: Many allies are due to refurbish or retire their current helicopter fleets in the 2025-2030 time frame. As the cost of technology rises, nations are consolidating the number of different aircraft types. Government- and industry-funded research shows that flight performance can be increased. Compound helicopter and tiltrotor systems show an increased range and speed compared to traditional helicopters.

"As new operational requirements are introduced, allies will need to ensure that new systems are interoperable with the legacy fleet.

This work is informed through direct interaction with the NATO Industrial Advisory Group, which has also initiated a study group, commissioned by the Conference of National Armaments Directors. Their recommendations are expected in the spring of 2018," the official added.

In supporting the next-generation rotorcraft road map, the advisory group will, according to NATO,examine configuration changes that provide a step change in range, speed, endurance and payload combined.

The aim is to ensureby the mid-2020s, when partner nations decide on their future platform requirements, thatthere has been sufficient knowledge sharing and capability awareness to develop optimal configuration across all platforms and missions.

As systems become more complex, consideration at the design stage becomes increasingly important. This requires an early identification of clear requirements with options set out that enable forces to choose the optimal solution for their mission requirements,"a source at NATO offered.The future operating environment requires the development of a new vertical lift platform unencumbered by the restrictions of traditionally designed rotorcraft, meaning the new platforms will need to perform unfettered by the limited physical perspectives of existing designs.

NIAG has reportedly concluded that a single main rotor is not the future. However, the future could be coaxial; or compounded with pusher props; or fans; or propellers; or advanced tilt rotorswhichever will deliver optimal configuration for future missions.

The recent use of rotary assets during operations has identified the need for each platform to provide a multitude of capabilities for each individual mission. Original platform requirements have often been disregarded in order to achieve mission success on the modern battlefield.

Jaime Arque, chair of theEuropean Helicopter Association, says he is concerned at the lack of interest at the European Union level regarding the exploitation of helicopter operations and their integration into the intra-EU connectivity.

The sole attention to commercial airline activity shows that the rotocraft industry has not been considered. Our sector employs over 100,000 people and helicopter operations have transformed many areas of our lives," Arque said.Current U.S. modes of operations highlight the need for strong connectivity between rotorcraft and other means of transport.

Dan Bailey, a NATO program director and chair of itsfuture rotorcraft capability team, is expected to provide an update on the alliance's next rotary fleet when he addresses "Combat Helicopter 2017," an international gathering for armed forces and industry, running from Oct. 17-19 in Krakow, Poland.

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NATO's future helicopter: The alliance's strategy to modernizing its rotorcraft capability - DefenseNews.com

The belief that NATO would lose a conventional conflict did nothing to contradict the notion that NATO could play a valuable role in deterring war. For one, NATO could certainly make things more difficult for the Soviet Union; overwhelming combined British-German-American forces would prove far more costly than defeating a West Germany that stood alone. Moreover, by triggering an expansion of the war NATO could create costs for the Soviets in other parts of the world. Overwhelming NATO superiority at sea and in long-rangeairpowerwould prove devastating for Soviet interests outside of Eurasia, even if the Soviets prevailed on the Central Front.

Arecent RANDwargameon a potential Russian offensive into theBalticsbrought talk of a new Cold War into sharp focus. The game made clear that NATO would struggle to prevent Russian forces from occupying theBalticsif it relied on the conventional forces now available.

Thesewargameshave great value in demonstrating tactical and operational reality, which then informs broader strategic thinking. In this case, however,the headlines generatedby the game have obscured more about the NATO-Russian relationship than they have revealed. In short, the NATO deterrent promise has never revolved around a commitment to defeat Soviet/Russian forces on NATOs borders. Instead, NATO has backed its political commitment with the threat to broaden any conflict beyond the war that the Soviets wanted to fight. Today, as in 1949, NATO offers deterrence through the promise of escalation.

The Early Years

Lets be utterly clear on this point; from the creation of NATO until the1970s, Western military planners expected the Warsaw Pact to easily win a conventional war in Europe. Conventionalwarfightingplans by the major NATO powers often amounted, almost literally, to efforts to reach the English Channel just ahead of the tanks of the Red Army. NATO expected to liberally use tactical nuclear weapons to slow the Soviet advance, an action which would inevitably invite Soviet response (the Soviets also prepared for this dynamic).

The belief that NATO would lose a conventional conflict did nothing to contradict the notion that NATO could play a valuable role in deterring war. For one, NATO could certainly make things more difficult for the Soviet Union; overwhelming combined British-German-American forces would prove far more costly than defeating a West Germany that stood alone. Moreover, by triggering an expansion of the war NATO could create costs for the Soviets in other parts of the world. Overwhelming NATO superiority at sea and in long-rangeairpowerwould prove devastating for Soviet interests outside of Eurasia, even if the Soviets prevailed on the Central Front.

Most importantly, the threat that France, Britain and the United States would launch strategic nuclear strikes on the Soviet Union in response to a successful conventional assault was supposed to give Moscow pause. Even if an American President refused to exchange Berlin for New York, the Soviets would have to worry about the rest of NATOs nuclear deterrent.

Active Defense/AirLandBattle

Theexpectation that NATO could defeatthe Warsaw Pact in battle only emerged after the Yom Kippur War. In that conflict, precision-guided conventional munitions exacted such a toll on advancing forces (both in theGolanand in Sinai) that American military planners began to believe that they could stop a Soviet attack. Drawn up in defensive positions that would channel oncoming Red Army armor into large kill zones, NATO forces could sufficiently blunt and disrupt a Soviet advance, and prevent the collapse of positions within Germany. The defense would buy time for NATO to transit additional forces and equipment from the United States to Europe, to carry out in depth attacks against Warsaw Pact logistical and communications centers in Eastern Europe, and to attack Soviet interests in the rest of the world.

After 1982,AirLandBattle would return maneuver to the battlefield, as American commanders grew more confident of their ability to defeat the Red Army in a fluid engagement. Cooperation between the Army and the Air Force would allow attacks all along the depth of the Soviet position, turning the formidable Red Army (and its Eastern European allies) into a chaotic mess. At the same time, the U.S. Navy prepared to attack directly into the Soviet periphery withairstrikesand amphibious assaults, as well as into the cherished bastions of the Soviet boomer fleet. None of this depended on the protection of any given piece of NATO territory; planners accepted that the Soviets could make at least some gains at the beginning of any plausible war scenario.

In this context, news that Russia could win a localized conventional conflict against small NATO nations on its border becomes rather less alarming than it sounds at first blush. Apart from (perhaps) a brief window of vulnerability in the1990s, Russia has always had the capacity to threaten NATO with conventional force. Indeed, NATO did not even begin to plan for the conventional defense of theBalticsuntil well after their accession, on the belief that the faith and credit of the alliance, and in particular its ability to retaliate against Soviet interests in the rest of Europe, would prove a sufficient deterrent.

See more here:
Until the 1970s, NATO Thought It Would Lose a Conventional War With Russia - The National Interest Online (blog)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Surrounded by little hands and waving flags from countries all over the world, Lieutenant Colonel Jens Assum was one of nine NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) members who visited Holland Elementary School on Wednesday.

Assum, a Danish officer, and eight other members of NATOs ACT were able to reach nearly 300 students in grades 1 through 4 by giving cultural presentations.

Students met staff members from all over the world and learned about cultures different from their own.

Lieutenant CommanderMario Bobeth andMaster Sergeant Christopher Crowley, both from Germany, talked to the children about European currency in Germany, France, Spain and other countries.

This cultural presentation marks the last school visit for NATO ACT, and included officers and other staff members fromAlbania, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Portugal and Romania.

The visit came at the request of Holland Elementary Schools principal, Dr. Callie Richardson, whosaw NATOs close proximity as a way to provide his students with an enriching multi-national experience.

We see NATO ACT as a unique cultural opportunity for the students, Richardson said. Many people dont even realize that we have people from 28 NATO countries literally serving in our back yards, and they enjoy sharing their culture with the community.

NATO ACT plays an active role in the Hampton Roads community by sharing aspects of their culture and finding ways to help others better understand how NATO helps preserve peace and security.

Each year, NATO ACT hosts the Model NATO Challenge for high school students, which is a scholarship competition where 28 students participate in a mock global crisis simulation and confront issues facing NATO today.

This years challenge was held in March. Student diplomats discussed the Syrian civil war crisis and whether it was an issue that needed to be discussed or not, what actions needed to be taken, and voted on what actions they thought should be put into effect.

To learn more about NATO ACT, visit http://www.act.nato.int/. To learn more about the Model NATO Challenge, visithttp://norfolknatofestival.org/.

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NATO staff members teach VB students about different cultures - WAVY-TV