By Pierre Tran
Paris – The French military is making ready for future excessive depth warfare with its Titan venture, working with the DGA procurement workplace to plot a excessive capability info community to enter service after 2040.
Titan is seen as altering the sport, primarily based on the idea of “technique of simultaneity,” a time period utilized by military colonel Arnaud Goujon on the Might 31 convention on land weapons organized by Fondation pour la Récherche Stratégique, a assume tank.
Titan is “not nearly platforms,” he stated, because the venture goals to ship an “extraordinarily totally different functionality.”
The venture seeks to increase a fight cloud for floor forces, a follow-on to the military’s €10 billion ($10.4 billion) Scorpion program. That modernization drive is delivering medium armored automobiles, notably the Griffon multirole troop service, Jaguar fight and reconnaissance car, and Serval gentle multirole car.
Scorpion features a command and management community primarily based on Atos SICS battle administration system, and Thales Contact software-defined radio expertise, in addition to a coaching system within the automobiles. There will even be a car to exchange the VBL scout automotive.
Army planners and procurement officers of the Route Générale de l’Armement want to ship and handle a wider transmission of battlefield info, with larger density of knowledge, to offer interconnection of joint navy items.
Titan elements in a shift to preventing a excessive depth battle, transferring away from an idea of operations primarily based on troops deployed abroad for counter-insurgency, asymmetrical fight, as seen in Afghanistan and Mali.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and using troops, armor, and artillery barrages to grab the Donbas area, japanese Ukraine, level up the importance of excessive depth warfare, navy analysts stated.
A key characteristic of Titan will probably be to plug in a deliberate heavy tank and unmanned automobiles dubbed Foremost Floor Fight System (MGCS), a venture pursued underneath Franco-German navy and industrial cooperation.
That heavy armor within the Titan community will observe on from Scorpion’s concentrate on medium automobiles, though the latter contains improve of 200 Leclerc essential battle tanks. The overall Leclerc fleet is a few 240 items robust, specialist journal Protection Zone reported.
Artillery and the Tiger Mk3 assault helicopter will even be hooked into the data community, as a part of the bid to spice up air-land functionality.
Scorpion works on collaborative fight, boosting command and management (C2), and bringing “an in-depth transformation,” Goujon stated. That advanced change will take years to finish, with new automobiles working in community and occurring subject workout routines for certification. The plan is to subject a Scorpion brigade in 2023 and a division in 2025.
The brand new fleets will change the tradition and operations of the military, he stated, as Scorpion automobiles is not going to be used the identical approach because the VAB troop service.
The Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé has been the workhorse for the military for some 45 years outdated, and has undergone numerous upgrades.
France has despatched the VAB to assist Ukraine, armed forces minister Sébastien Lecornu instructed June 27 day by day Le Parisien, with out giving the variety of items.
That press interview confirmed a video clip that had run on social media, exhibiting 14 VABs transported by street in Slovakia, prompting assumption they had been certain for Ukraine.
In future fight there will probably be larger dynamic within the battlefield, Goujon stated, with actual time video from area satellites for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“The battlefield will probably be very uncovered,” he stated. There will probably be modifications in connectivity with excessive bandwidth in 5G fifth-generation telecommunications for troopers and automobiles.
Discovering a funds to fund the Titan venture poses an issue, with rising inflation and the excessive price of expertise and repair assist, he stated. Know-how will take time to mature, and unmanned methods will probably be extra pricey than manned.
Titan To Substitute Equipment
Titan will even renew the tools stock, in addition to boosting the data community.
Titan will begin changing weapons on the excessive finish of the battle spectrum from 2040, tools which will probably be worn out by 2050, stated Charles Beaudouin, a retired basic who led Scorpion within the military technical part. He was on the final employees when the military chief of employees launched the Titan venture in 2018.
The weapons to get replaced embrace the Leclerc tank, VBCI infantry preventing car, Patroller tactical drone, and Tiger helicopter, he stated. Artillery will probably be succeeded by the deliberate Franco-German Frequent Oblique Fireplace System, whereas a cellular ground-to-air, low-altitude missile system will exchange Mistral 3.
A subsequent technology info and communications system utilizing broadband, synthetic intelligence and drawing on metadata within the fight theater, will exchange Scorpion SICS.
These new weapons will probably be fitted with superior automation and in some circumstances, clever robotics.
“The analysis funds referring to Titan will probably be decisive as a result of this program of applications should provide whole superiority in 2050 — and for a very long time after,” he stated.
Technological and functionality breakthroughs in Titan will enable improve of the Scorpion automobiles — Griffon, Jaguar, and Serval — which will probably be getting into mid-life service, he stated. Titan will even tackle preliminary gaps in Scorpion, specifically protection in opposition to anti-tank missiles and drones.
“With the return of wars between nations, the character of battle is altering,” he stated, “and with out abandoning uneven fight, it’s now a query of discovering a full spectrum of capabilities for symmetric excessive depth fight, whereas acknowledging any fight, symmetric or uneven, could have excessive depth peaks.
“On this sense, we’re not experiencing a return to the Chilly Warfare paradigm however a way more advanced mixture combining Afghanistan, Syria-Iraq, Ukraine, to which will be added what we don’t even consider at the moment — as a result of battle all the time surprises,” he stated.
There will definitely be main issues and mass migrations as a consequence of scarcity of uncooked supplies and pure assets, he stated.
“What is for certain is that the enemy will use the equalizing energy of expertise and we should imperatively regain mass — symmetry warriors inflict robust human and materials attrition,” he stated.
“It’s not by sacrificing expertise to rusticity however by growing a decrease price digital expertise and in its rightful place,” he stated. “That is the place we count on innovation.”
Beaudouin is chairman of Coges Occasions, organizer of the week-long Eurosatory commerce present for land and air-land weapons, which closed June 17. Coges is a unit of the Gicat commerce affiliation for land weapons.
Beaudouin was talking in his non-public capability.
Superiority Within the Subject
“Titan is a serious venture searching for to ensure operational superiority on the bottom in face of a primary rank adversary,” the DGA stated.
The venture seeks to deal with the return to excessive depth fight in tools and multi area operations, the significance of recent expertise – resembling drones – delivering a levelling impact, and the acceleration of change or breakthroughs, the procurement workplace stated.
The structure and preparation of key capabilities in excessive depth warfare require a “top-down” strategy, the DGA stated. Titan just isn’t a program guided by bodily platforms and funding, however seeks to ship a “strengthened functionality,” primarily based on coherence of air-land forces on the excessive finish of the battle spectrum.
The close to time period goal is to contemplate, examine and optimise architectures for air-land forces, the workplace stated. Titan just isn’t an tools program with a funds.
The primary consider Titan is the MGCS venture, which is able to exchange the Leclerc and German Leopard 2 tank, the workplace stated.
There are technical-operational research which is able to steer analysis and expertise research and future applications. These research are price “a number of million euros,” the workplace stated, with out giving particulars.
Apart from these technical-operational research, Titan attracts on MGCS structure research, feasibility research on robotics, and research backed by the European Union on future artillery, resembling FIRES and E-COLORSS, respectively the Future Oblique fiRes European Answer and the European COmmon LOng Vary oblique fireplace Help System.
The latter two EU research are two-year design research backed by the 2020 European Protection Industrial Growth Program, every research with a funds of €3.5 million.
FIRES examines subsequent technology 155 mm artillery ammunition and rockets primarily based on widespread expertise, whereas e-COLORSS considers improved European artillery with a 155 mm cannon and rocket launcher mounted on a hybrid truck.
Doubts On the Foremost Floor Fight System
It stays to be seen how Titan will proceed if the MGCS venture had been scaled again from its deliberate Franco-German industrial cooperation.
Doubts over MGCS spring from Rheinmetall reported to be searching for a spot on the prime desk with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann on the armor venture. That German battle for the main function on the long run tank system is seen as risking the work share for the French accomplice, Nexter.
KMW and Nexter had anticipated to share the work on MGCS on a 50-50 foundation, reflecting their equal stakes within the cross-border KNDS three way partnership shaped in 2015. The MGCS tank and unmanned methods are as a consequence of enter service in 2035.
MGCS is vital for France but in addition for the German military, the French military chief of employees, basic Pierre Schill, instructed parliamentarians Oct. 12.
Whereas there have been industrial points to consider, “the military has a strategic must have a MGCS delivered in 2035,” he stated. “Regardless of the difficulties that go together with a cooperative venture, we should pursue our research with our German allies on the operational wants that we share.”
Belgium is the one different European nation to have ordered Scorpion automobiles, he stated, however there may very well be growth of a “Scorpion neighborhood” via interoperability with Luxembourg and Netherlands, and maybe Germany.
Belgium has ordered Jaguar and Griffon automobiles via its Capacité Mobilisé (CaMo) program.
Eurosatory supplied a showcase for the competing company advances on the tank entrance, with Rheinmetall unveiling a expertise demonstrator for its KF 51 Panther, whereas KNDS confirmed an up to date demonstrator of its Enhanced Foremost Battle Tank (E-MBT).
Pitching the 2 competing tank prototypes to the world market signalled MGCS could be on borrowed time, a analysis notice stated.
“We’re more and more unable to flee the conclusion that each teams more and more count on (or hope for?) MGCS to go the identical approach because the parallel SCAF/FCAS fight air “cooperation”, and collapse as a consequence of a mixture of nationwide political/industrial rivalries and technological over-ambition (= price and time),” Company Companions, an fairness analysis firm, stated in a June 21 analysis notice titled European Defence.
The military’s success in profitable funding for its modernization drive stems partly from using a model identify – Scorpion – after an extended backstory of ending final within the inter-service race for the navy funds.
The nuclear deterrent was ring fenced within the funds, whereas the air power and navy received funds for large ticket objects resembling fighter jets, nuclear ballistic missile submarines, frigates and an plane service.
That left the military behind as poor bloody infantry when it got here to securing funds, until a catchy program identify may very well be discovered. Army planners got here up with Scorpion, and secured some €10 billion.
Featured Graphic: Leclerc MBT, Serval VBMR-L, JAGUAR armoured automobiles, Griffon VBMR APC Supply: nexter-group.fr
