France's adjusted Military Planning Law

France has changed course on military reductions, cancelling a good share of the planned reduction in the number of personnel and making a sizeable adjustement to funding, which has brought about an update to the plans, which include a major restructuring of the Army, under project Au Contact!, "in contact". 

The main items in the reworked plans include: 

- Army's operational, deployable manpower at 77.000 (versus 66.000 target with the earlier cuts)
- 1000 more men to the Special Forces with the creation of the GAOS, Groupement d'Appui Auix Operations Speciales; a support battalion not unlike 1 PARA SFSG in the UK 
- 1000 men to the Intelligence and ISTAR forces
- 1000 men to cybersecurity 

The Army's new structure will be detailed on May 28, but we know that the restructuring will deliver 6 land manoeuvre brigades (a cut of one HQ, the current 3rd brigade), of which two will be heavy armoured, two medium, wheeled and equipped with the new VBMR 6x6 vehicles and EBRC 6x6 reconnaissance vehicle, one Parachute and one Mountain. These brigades will have some 7000 men each, with up to 7 regiments. Two deployable Division HQs will command the brigades, three each. 
One Aviation Brigade is to be formed to bring all helicopter regiments under a unified command. This airmobile brigade will not have organic ground units, it seems, but will provide airmobility to the infantry of the line brigades. 

The Navy says that a 7th Commando unit will be raised. Its unit name hasn't yet been selected. 

 

A first graphic showing the reorganization of the army commands. More details should become available on May 28.

Several important items of equipment have been added: 

- 7 Tiger attack helicopters, bringing total planned purchase up from 60 to 67. The procurement of a laser-guided rocket to complement Hellfire missiles is planned. Hellfire itself will be replaced in 2021, most likely with an air launched development of the new MMP anti-tank missile in development for the Army, would be my guess.
The Tiger will continue to be complemented by around 80 armed Gazelle helicopters. The aim is keeping attack and reconnaissance helicopters at 146 in total.

Replacement for the elderly Gazelle should come under project HIL (hélicoptère interarmées léger) in the 2020s. The HIL should replace Army Gazelle and Air Force Fennec, and Navy Dauphin and Alouette III. The programme used to be earlier known as HC4 - Hélicoptère Classe 4 Tonnes.

- 6 more NH-90 TTH battlefield utility helicopters, bringing planned purchases to 74. These will complement 8 Caracal in use by the Special Forces, plus 26 Cougar and a number of Pumas. The total of utility helicopters in the long-term is set at 115, and more NH-90s are planned to be purchased later to keep the total unchanged as the Puma is phased out. The reductions will be progressive: in 2020 there will still be more than 115 helicopters, considering all types.

- A 3rd MUSIS satellite will be acquired. This is a space based imagery intelligence asset. CERES will deliver national, space-based electronic intelligence. 

- An electronic intelligence package for use on MQ-9 Reaper will be acquired. 12 Reaper remain planned, and deliveries are underway.
On Monday 18 may, France also signed a MOU with France and Germany for the cooperative study and development of an european MALE UAV for the 2020s, that will be the Reaper's replacement. This follows the falling apart of the UK - FR TELEMOS project. Ever since, the UK has been silent, and to this day it remains uncertain how the UK plans to move on and still deliver a UAV for the SCAVENGER requirement, which is also supposed to mitigate the loss of Sentinel R1 and Shadow R1 (pushed back to 2018, but still planned). RAF MQ-9 Reaper themselves have a funding line out to 2019, but the way ahead is uncertain. Answers on this vital requirement will be needed soon.

- 2 of the existing 14 C-130H will be fitted with a weapons capability to be employed in special forces support. 

French armed forces have made it clear that they want to keep a number of C-130s for their needs, arming them as well. Will UK special forces manage to get the MOD and government to listen to their well known, identical wish?

- France will "study", with a decision to be taken by year's end, whether to procure 4 additional C-130s, two of which would be equipped as tankers, in order to provide tactical air refuelling to the Army and Air Force's Special Forces Caracal helicopters. This is due to the delays with A400M, which reportedly include difficulties with the helicopter AAR capability. 

- Deliveries of the new A-330 MRTT "Phènix" will be accelerated. All should be delivered between 2018 and 2025. 

Phènix: what the RAF's own Voyager could and should have been, but isn't.

- 25 new generation targeting pods (the new TALIOS) will be procured in addition to 45 which were already planned. 

- The first batch of 60 SCALP cruise missiles renewed and life-extended is expected in delivery during 2019. UK and France were collaborating on a project for upgrading and life extending the SCALP / Storm Shadow. This might imply that the RAF will start to get upgraded missiles in the same years, but we don't really know. 

- In 2017, design of a successor to the MICA air to air missile will  begin. 

- A GEOINT deployable capability will be procured under the GEODE 4D project. There might be an export chance here for the system the UK has recently developed and put into service, the TIGAS.

- In 2019, the Army will seek to replace the EBG, Engine Blindè du Genie, the combat engineer tractor. France has been looking into (and trialing) the british Terrier as a candidate solution, and while the production line in the UK has shut down, BAE has mothballed the machinery in order to be able to re-open an assembly line, eventually abroad. Terrier thus remains a very likely candidate. 

- The navy will acquire a 4th B2M patrol vessel. Actually, news released since are that this fourth vessel will be a B3M: Bâtiment Multi-Mission Mutualisé. This is due to the ship being destined to be shared between the military, which will employ it for patrolling French Southern and Antarctic Lands, and the polar research institute Paul-Émile Victor. The B3M will be based in La Reunion, and will replace the patrol vessel Albatros (which will be decommissioned within days) and the ship L'Astrolabe, which supplies the Dumont d'Urville base in Antarctica. 
The previous 3 B2M vessels are replacements for the BATRAL light transport ships which for years have flown the flag in the french waters overseas. The first B2M will be based in New Caledonia, the second in the french Polynesia and the third in the West Indies. 

France is also procuring two light patrol vessels specifically designed to serve in Guyana. Having very limited draft, they will be able to push up into rivers. The Patrouilleurs Légers Guyanais were ordered back in december.
By 2020, the french navy will thus have 4 B2M/B3M ships and 2 PLGs covering overseas committments, and 7 old A-69 vessels, plus another 6 legacy patrol vessels of various kinds. The A-69 and other patrol vessels will be replaced under the BATSIMAR project expected to start in 2020. 
6 surveillance frigates based in overseas territories also remain in force. Today this is the Floreal class, but a replacement will be needed later. 

- The FREMM frigates are the losers. It is official at this point that the french navy will receive only 8, two of which configured for Air Defence (FREDA variant). 6 ASW vessels will be delivered by 2019 - 2020, despite the selling of Normandie to Egypt: building times will be speeded up. In 2021 and 2022 the two FREDA will be delivered. 
From 2023, France now plans to be launching a new design frigate, the FTI, frégates de taille intermédiaire, the design of which is not yet known. There is a possibility that it will build upon the new italian PPA design, with some discussions having reportedly already taken place. 
The target of 15 "first rank" warships remains unchanged. The tally is to include 4 anti-air defence warships and 11 frigates. Currently, the total is made up by the 2 Forbin / HORIZON class AAW destroyers, 2 F70 AAW legacy ships, old F70 ASW frigates and FREMM ships entering in service. 
The 5 La Fayette frigates will be upgraded and fitted with sonar to help keep the total at 15 as the old F70 ASW ships are withdrawn from service. 
The two FREDA will replace the F70 AAW in 2021 and 2022. 
Then, from 2023, the La Fayette themselves will be replaced by the new FTIs. 

- From 2021, SLAMF (Système de Lutte Anti Mines – Futur) is supposed to deliver new solutions to the MCM requirement. Eventually, the minesweepers will be replaced by 8 systems of unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, deployable at sea with four large motherships.
Apparently, and very surprisingly, five separate ships are also planned as bases for clearance divers, according to the MOD's document. 
The development of the unmanned vehicles and general architecture for the umanned, stand-off clearance of minefields at sea is a collaborative project with the UK, with several demonstration contracts awarded in the last few months. The UK's MHC solution will use many of the same drones. 

- Funding is provided for 4 Bâtiment de Soutien et d'Assistance Hauturier (BSAH), ocean-going tugs and support ships. 

- From 2017, France will be ordering a new assault rifle to replace FAMAS 

- For the future replacement of the C-160 Gabriel electronic warfare aircraft, France plans the procurement of Charge Universelle de Guerre Electronique (CUGE), a modular payload which will be embarked on cargo aircraft (A400, or maybe C-130 or even the smaller C-235) as necessary, removing the need for a dedicate, specific platform. 

- France will be in the market for a new solution for the training of jet pilots under the Formation Moderniseè et Entrainement Diffèrenciè des Equipages de Chasse. There is a possibility that France will collaborate with Italy, maybe even sending pilots to the 61st Wing training school at Lecce Galatina, Italy, for training.  




Other plans remain substantially unchanged from earlier versions. The army will still want to procure a tactical UAV, and the Watchkeeper is a leading candidate. 

In 2020, the Navy will seek to launch FLOTLOG, the programme for the acquisition of 3 new supply ships for the logistics of the fleet. 

Acquisition of all 630 VBCI will be followed by projects of modernisation, including the addition of turret-mounted missile launchers and enhanced networking within the SCORPION project. 
The Army plans to acquire 2080 VBMR, including 358 in "Light", 4x4 variant to replace the VAB.
248 EBRC Scouts will replace the AMX 10RC and Sagaie ERC 90.   
At a later date, 1470 VBAE (véhicules blindés d’aide à l’engagement) are expected to be procured to replace the VBL light armoured cars. 
200 Leclerc MBTs and 18 Leclerc recovery vehicles are under contract for modernization and life extension. Artillery is going to be a bit short of guns if there will not be additional purchases of CAESAR truck-mounted 155/52 howitzers. Currently, 77 are on order, but as the tracked self-propelled guns retire, more would be needed. 
13 launchers are being upgraded to GMLRS. 

The Air Force continues to plan for a long-term figure of 185 combat jets, between Rafale and modernized Mirage 2000.  
The Navy will add 40 Rafale M of its own, as the last Super Etendard Modernisee is withdrawn by 2017.

The nuclear deterrent will continue to be based on some 300 warheads. Three full sets of 16 M-51 submarine launched missiles will be maintained for the fleet of 4 SSBN; and the air force maintains a stock of some 54 ASMP-A missiles.  

The fleet of maritime patrol aircraft will shrink to 15 upgraded ATL-2 over the long period. These will continue to be complemented by a further 4 ATL-2 used for surface surveillance, as well as 4 Falcon 50M, 5 Falcon 200 Guardian and a further 4 Falcon 50 due to be converted and fitted with SAR radar. 

The main helicopter of the Navy will be the NH-90 NFH Cayman, 27 of which are on order, along with 14 palletized ASW kits with sonar Flash to employ on them when and where necessary. These will still be complemented by some 40 more light helicopters (Alouette, Panther, Dauphin) in 2020.  

Atlas and Voyager updates

Atlas

In September the Royal Air Force will receive its first aircraft A400M Atlas, MSN 15 (the 15th production A400M), after swapping two delivery slots with France. The UK was earlier expected to receive MSN 16 as first aircraft, and it would only receive 3 aircraft in 2014, but now british deliveries start one aircraft earlier, with a total of five due for the year.

The first five aircraft for the UK (MSN15, 16, 17, 20 and 21) are all already in final assembly, albeit of course at different stages of the building process.

The british aircraft will be the first A400M delivered at the SOC 1.5 standard, which includes parachute clearance and low level air drop ("initial tactical capability"). The aircraft delivered so far have reduced capabilities: the first two aircraft for France (MSN 7 and 8) plus the first aircraft for Turkey (MSN 9) have been delivered in "IOC" configuration. MSN 10, again for France, introduces SOC 1, which is the capability to carry out the "logistic" function (in other words, to fly a payload from point A to point B) and some basic air dropping. 

SOC 1.5 and 2 standards will respectively add full aerial delivery and tanker capability and enhanced tactical mission management and new functions such as polar navigation and time-on-arrival management.
In late 2017, SOC2.5 is expected to enable enhanced tanker capabilities (3-points?) and search-and-rescue patterns.

The A400M will achieve its full operational capability in 2019, with the release of SOC 3, which enables tactical low level flight and use of enhanced visual system, opening up the whole range of missions that the aircraft is meant to accomplish. Progressively, early delivery aircraft would be updated with the SOC 3 software, and cleared for full performances.

The A400M testing program is clearing more and more capabilities: over the course of this and the next month, the Atlas will begin its test programme for validating air refuelling from the centerline A330MRTT FRU (Fuselage Refuelling Unit). This will eventually ensure that RAF Voyager KC3 tankers can use their centerline drogue to refuel the Atlas in flight. 

The A400M itself can be equipped to serve as a tanker, and spanish Air Force F/A-18 already made wet and dry contacts on wing-tip refuelling HDU units fitted to A400M MSN4. The A400M can be made into an impressive tanker aircraft, and can also be fitted with a centerline refueling point. Due to the tanker role being very much "built in" into the airframe, the conversion to 2-point tanker takes as little as two hours, pretty much the time to install the pods under the wings. 

Air-to-Air Refuelling can be done either through two wing mounted hose and drogue under-wing refuelling pods or through a centre-line fuselage refuelling unit (FRU). Its built-in air-to-air refuelling capability allows it to be rapidly re-configured to become a tanker. With hard points, fuel lines and electrical connections already built into the wings, it takes under two hours to convert the A400M from an airlifter into a two-point tanker aircraft.

The two hose and drogue under-wing refuelling pods can provide a fuel flow of up to 400 US gal / 1,500 litres per minute to receiver aircraft. Refuelling can also be done through a centre-line Hose and Drum Unit (HDU) which provides a higher fuel flow of some 600 US gal / 2,250 litres per minute. Three video cameras can also be installed, to monitor the refuelling from the wing pods and the centre-line unit.

 

With the pods fitted under the wings, the A400M becomes a good 2-point tanker

 

A centerline drogue can also be added, to make it a three point tanker, capable to refuel even large receivers.

One advantage of Atlas in the tanker job is that the aircraft can fly both at the low speeds and low altitudes typically used to refuel helicopters (roughly 110 knots and 5000 feet), as well as at higher speeds and altitudes of about 290 knots kt and altitudes around 25,000 ft which are typically used for refuelling of fast jets. 

Voyager can only fly high and fast, and is not suited to refueling helicopters. The Royal Air Force, however, has currently no plan to purchase the refueler kit for the Atlas, and despite having the Merlin helicopter which can employ an AAR probe, is not in the business of refueling rotary wing aircraft in flight. 

Ahead of deliveries to the RAF, Airbus has speeded up the tests regarding the air dropping. The first phase of air dropping tests was successfully cleared back in march, after launching containers weighting up to 4 tons and bundles of up to 320 kg. 

Other tests have included operational experimentation of the Atlas in airfield assault role, carrying a combat-ready Scimitar armored vehicle, a RWMIK Land Rover with trailer and 60 troops at once. 

Airfield Assault trials

The employment of self-defense countermeasures was also tested. Particularly impressive is the launch test of flares from the Saphir-400 system. 

The most relevant capability of the Atlas, however, is its combination of "strategic" payload capability and tactical rough, short landing capability. The Atlas can land in 830 meters of Soft, unpaved strip with a 27 tons payload; or land in 750 meters soft / rough strip (CBR-6 unpaved classified) with a 25 tons payload. 

The maximum payload is 37 tons. 

The very spacious cargo bay removes the bottlenecks which limit today's C-130 compatibility with large payloads.

A french study on air logistics following operations in Mali shows the massive leap forwards in capability represented by the A400M, and highlights some of the bottlenecks developed over the years by the C-130 as the weights and volumes of vehicles, helicopters and equipment have increased beyond the capacity of the cargo bay.

Prior to the swapping of delivery slots with France, the RAF expected to receive its Atlas according to this schedule: 

2014: 3

2015: 8

2016: 6

2017: 2

2018: 2 (2 options)

2019: (1 option)

2021: 1

The options are the three aircraft that the UK cut from its initial planned order of 25 airframes to contain cost growth.
The change in the delivery schedule, with 5 aircraft now expected in 2014, is going to impact later years plans in a way that is currently unspecified. It would be nice to avoid the weird gap in deliveries between 2019 and 2021.

The RAF planned to achieve the IOC with 3 aircraft by March 2015. Getting five instead of three aircraft will have an impact on the plan, but not necessarily imply a delay to the plan.
FOC is expected in 2017, with 12 aircraft.

70 Squadron is the first unit to operate the receive and operate the Atlas. The squadron stood down in 2010 after a distinguished career on the Lockheed Martin C-130 K Hercules begun in the 1970s. 

The squadron is now preparing for its formal return later this year, when it will be reformed in RAF Brize Norton on the new aircraft.  

Two other Hercules units, 24 and 30 Squadrons, are also expected to transition to the Atlas, with 24 Squadron destined to eventually become the operational conversion unit, according to RAF sources.

Training for the A400M crews will be delivered by a £226 million specialist training school at RAF Brize Norton, in the framework of a training contract signed in March 2013 with A400M Training Services Ltd (team made up by Airbus and Thales UK), with a duration of 18 years.

The school will house two full flight simulators to train RAF pilots, a specialist workstation to train loadmasters, a fuselage mock-up to train engineers and a suite of computer-based training equipment. 

The first pilot training course will start in April 2015; until then the training for british crews is provided at San Pablo, Seville, in Spain. 

Operational evaluation on the way to entry in service is being made via the MEST (Multinational Entry into Service Team), based in Orleans, France. As of september 2013, the british participation in MEST numbered four personnel (one engineer, one logistics specialist and two technicians) with two more (a pilot and a loadmaster) expected to join the team soon afterwards. Cooperation between France and UK has also seen the second in command of MEST benefiting from time on a RAF C-130J where he was able to gain firsthand experience of Glass Cockpit technology ahead of the passage on the new aircraft. French personnel will also have access to the british cargo bay simulator for loading tests and for training its personnel in operating procedures. 

 

Graphic showing the Cargo Bay simulator

The two countries are discussing long-term cooperation on in-service support, ranging from common pooling of spare parts to the performance of maintenance inspections.

 


Voyager

The Voyager tanker fleet has seen the delivery of nine aircraft (8 tankers and one civilian-register transport), completing the RAF's Core fleet. In reality, the core fleet still isn't complete as one of the nine aircraft is not in the UK, but is held back in Seville as a test platform used to clear UK receivers for refuelling. It will be used to clear A400M for refuelling from the MRTT centerline drogue, and will eventually join the operational fleet in Brize Norton later this year, if there are no delays. 

The aircraft delivered so far are:

01 ZZ330 KC2 (2-point tanker) 
02 G-VYGG (civil register; it used as permanent MOD-owned transport asset for the movement of personnel to, Falklands, Cyprus and other locations. The same aircraft can however be fitted with the pods under the wings and serve as a KC2 tanker. For tanker service, it is reserved as ZZ336 on the military register)
03 ZZ331 KC2 
04 ZZ332 KC3 (three point tanker)
05 ZZ333 KC3 
06 ZZ334 KC3 (currently serving as test platform to clear UK receivers) 
07 ZZ335 KC3 
08 ZZ337 KC3
09 ZZ338 KC3

The deliveries will continue with the last 5 aircraft (to be all delivered by 2016) which will constitute the "surge" fleet. 
The total of 14 aircraft is made up by 7 2-point tankers (KC2) and 7 3-point (KC3). Only five of the 7 KC3 are actually equipped with the centerline drogue, with the other two fitted for but not with, according to NAO reports.


Voyager is working hard: according to Airbus, the RAF fleet accounts for 12.300 flying hours on a global total of 20.000+ hours for all A330 MRTT in the world. Aircraft availability is excellent, with Voyager demonstrating a 99% Mission success rate in air transport role and a 90% success rate in AAR. 

A Voyager KC3 showing its three drogues. The central one is needed to refuel large receivers such as Sentry, C-130 and A400

The Voyagers are assigned to the squadrons 10 and 101. The RAF has a total of 30 cockpit crews (including full-time reserve RAuxAF), each made up by 3 men. 
The Air Tanker consortium provides a further 7 sponsored reserve crews. 

For military air transport role, the Voyager has a cabin crew of 8 personnel. 14 such crews are provided by RAF manpower, and a further 6 are sponsored reserve crews. 

The Voyager fleet has been successfully equiped with a DAS countermeasures fit, as well as a ballistic protection outfit for operations in Afghanistan.