28 May 2020
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht: BVerfG) ruled on 19 May that mass surveillance conducted by the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst: BND) had breached the constitution. The BVerfG ruled that the current practice of collecting, processing, and transferring telecommunications surveillance on foreign citizens violated their privacy. The judgement highlighted that foreign nationals under BND surveillance were protected under the German constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).
The review began on 14 January 2020 in response to a legal complaint by the local chapter of non-profit NGO Reporters Without Borders, claiming that mass telecommunications surveillance conducted by the BND violated Article 10 of the Basic Law and threatened the freedom of the press. Similar issues have been reported by Janes regarding the implementation of government oversight within the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst: AIVD) in December 2018, when intelligence services were scrutinised after failing to protect citizens’ privacy rights to the legally required standard.
17 May 2024
by Nicholas Fiorenza
OCCAR and MBDA have launched the HYDIS² concept phase. (MBDA)
The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and MBDA announced on 15 May that they signed a European Defence Fund (EDF) grant agreement and a linked procurement contract to launch the three-year HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study (HYDIS²) concept phase on the same day. MBDA signed the agreements on behalf of the 19 industrial partners in HYDIS². In its press release, OCCAR valued the programme at EUR140 million (USD152 million), EUR80 million of which is co-funded by the EDF.
The concept phase aims to mature critical technologies focusing on the operational requirements of participating countries France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, which will support the selection of a concept afterwards and will contribute to MBDA's Aquila counter-hypersonic interceptor concept. Another aim of the concept phase is to create an industrial network to develop future counter-hypersonic missile systems.
An MBDA spokesperson told Janes
16 May 2024
by Gareth Jennings
One of the last C-130Js in RAF service made its farewell flypast in June 2023. The MoD is continuing its search to find buyers for this and 14 other surplus airframes. (Crown Copyright)
The UK is continuing its search to find buyers for its fleet of retired Lockheed Martin C-130J/C-130J-30 Hercules airlifters, with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) telling Janes that it has identified several potential buyers.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) retired one ‘short' C-130J (C5 in UK service) and 13 ‘stretched' C-130J-30 (C4) airframes on 31 March 2023 (with the type's final farewell flypast following in June 2023), all of which, along with an additional C5 aircraft carried over from the previous round of retirements in 2015, are now available to overseas buyers.
“The Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) is managing the sales programme on behalf of the MoD and continues to actively pursue sales with a number of potential buyers,” the ministry said on 10 May.
16 May 2024
by Gareth Jennings
Currently scheduled to be retired in 2040, the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 could serve the UK as a force multiplier to its higher-end F-35 and Tempest aircraft well beyond that date, BAE Systems says. (Crown Copyright)
BAE Systems has touted the continued relevance of the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 to the UK, saying the ‘fourth-generation' combat aircraft can provide much-needed mass and resilience beyond its projected out-of-service date (OSD).
Speaking at the site of the BAE Systems' Warton production facility in northern England on 14 May, Mike Baulkwill, Combat Air Strategy director at the company, said that, with the international Eurofighter operator base set to fly improved and upgraded variants of the type out into the 2060s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) could retain its own aircraft beyond its current 2040 OSD.
“The Typhoon will be relatively enduring, as sometimes you will not want to use your higher-end aircraft [such as the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning and/or Tempest] – the Typhoon and the Typhoon Evolution [along with Eurofighter Evolution, the name being given to the Long-Term Evolution [LTE] mid-life refresh standard aircraft now being developed] is in a good place for that,” Baulkwill said.
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht: BVerfG) ruled on 19 May that mass ...
In this episode Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett are joined by Phil Ritcheson Ph.D. to discuss why intelligence sharing is now more important than ever. They discuss the growing need for allied and partnership and how by using open sources facilit...
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