#israeli_aerospace_industries

v. aussi :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/674611

#Leonardo deploys its #Falco_EVO_RPAS for drone-based maritime surveillance as part of the Frontex test programme

Leonardo’s Falco EVO Remotely-Piloted Air System (RPAS), in a maritime patrol configuration, has been deployed from Lampedusa airport (Lampedusa Island) as part of the Frontex surveillance research programme to test its ability to monitor the European Union’s external borders.

Frontex is exploring the surveillance capability of medium-altitude, long-endurance RPAS as well as evaluating cost efficiency and endurance. Leonardo was selected by the European agency under a service contract tender for drone operations for maritime surveillance across the Italian and Maltese civil airspace. The current agreement provides for 300 flight hours and may be extended into a longer-term agreement.

Under the deployment, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) activities are organised by Guardia di Finanza under coordination of the Ministry of Interior and are undertaken by Leonardo from Lampedusa also thanks to the decisive support and collaboration of ENAC and ENAV. Leonardo’s flight crews and maintenance teams are present to support the operations with the Falco EVO, which is equipped with a complete on-board sensor suite including the Company’s Gabbiano TS Ultra Light radar. This configuration allows it to carry out extended-range day and night-time missions.

“We are proud to be able to demonstrate the capabilities of our Falco EVO to Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which is facing the on-going and evolving surveillance challenges posed by maritime borders. We are ready to leverage our years of experience in drone-based surveillance operations, working with the United Nations and many other international customers,” said Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo. “I wish to thank all the Italian stakeholders who contributed to this important achievement and I am convinced that this fruitful partnering approach will allow Frontex to define the best possible use for drone-based technologies.”

The Falco EVO will operate under a “Permit to Fly” issued by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), which authorizes flights in the Italian and Maltese Flight Information Region (FIR)’s civil airspace. The innovative agreement reached with ENAC guarantees compliance with national and international regulations and coordination with relevant authorities. The agreement also provides for close involvement from the Guardia di Finanza as subject matter experts with operational experience in defining mission profiles and ensuring the best operational conditions in which to undertake the 300- hours test programme.

The Falco EVO configuration being deployed includes a high-definition InfraRed (IR) electro-optical system, a Beyond-Line-Of-Sight (BLOS) satellite data-link system, a new propulsion system based on a heavy-fuel engine, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) and a complete communications relay suite.

Leonardo is the only European company providing a comprehensive RPAS ISR capability, from the design of each system element all the way through to operations. Today the Company is an international pioneer in the operation of unmanned flights on behalf of civil organizations in “non-segregated”, transnational airspace.

Under an innovative business model, Leonardo owns and operates its Falco family of RPAS and provides surveillance information and data directly to its customers. This ‘managed service’ model is expected to be an area of growth for Leonardo which is expanding its ‘drones as a service’ offering to customers such as the police and emergency responders in line with the growth path outlined in the Company’s industrial plan.

https://www.edrmagazine.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Leonardo-Falco-EVO-Frontex-800x445.jpg

Leonardo: il #Falco_Evo inizia i voli per il programma Frontex

Il Falco Evo, il velivolo a pilotaggio remoto di Leonardo, ha iniziato la campagna di voli in una configurazione specifica per il monitoraggio marittimo, nell’ambito del programma Frontex, finalizzato alla sperimentazione di droni per il controllo delle frontiere esterne dell’Unione europea. Frontex, l’agenzia europea della guardia di frontiera e costiera, sta infatti analizzando la capacità di sorveglianza a media altitudine e lunga persistenza offerta dai velivoli pilotati a distanza, valutando efficienza economica ed efficacia operativa di tali sistemi. Leonardo è stata selezionata a seguito di una gara per un contratto di servizio per fornire attività di sorveglianza marittima attraverso l’uso di droni nello spazio aereo civile italiano e maltese. L’accordo attuale prevede un totale di 300 ore di volo con possibili ulteriori estensioni contrattuali. Le operazioni di sorveglianza e ricognizione effettuate da Leonardo con il Falco Evo vengono pianificate dalla Guardia di Finanza sotto il coordinamento del ministero dell’Interno, con il supporto di Enac, Enav e AST Aeroservizi Società di Gestione dell’aeroporto di Lampedusa, dove si svolgono i voli.
“Siamo orgogliosi di dimostrare le capacità del Falco EVO all’agenzia europea Frontex e alle Forze di Sicurezza, che affrontano quotidianamente la sfida del controllo e della protezione dei confini marittimi – ha commentato Alessandro Profumo, amministratore delegato di Leonardo -. Leonardo mette a disposizione di questo programma la lunga esperienza acquisita anche grazie alle attività svolte per le Nazioni Unite e molti altri clienti internazionali con i propri sistemi pilotati da remoto”.
Il Falco Evo opera grazie ad un “Permit to Fly” rilasciato dall’Enac, che autorizza i voli nello spazio aereo civile italiano e maltese. L’accordo innovativo raggiunto con Enac garantisce quindi la conformità alle normative nazionali e internazionali e il coordinamento con le relative autorità. L’attività prevede, inoltre, un forte coinvolgimento della Guardia di Finanza in virtù della significativa esperienza del Corpo nella definizione dei profili di missione, assicurando le migliori condizioni operative per lo svolgimento delle 300 ore di volo programmate. La configurazione del Falco Evo impiegato nel programma include un sistema ottico all’infrarosso ad alta definizione, un collegamento dati satellitari oltre la linea di vista (Beyond-Line-Data-Of-Sight - BLOS), un nuovo sistema di propulsione basato su un motore a combustibile pesante, un sistema di identificazione automatico (Automatic Identification System - AIS) e una suite completa per le comunicazioni. Leonardo è l’unica azienda europea in grado di fornire capacità complete RPAS e ISR, progettando e sviluppando tutti gli elementi che compongono un sistema pilotato da remoto, anche nell’ambito di contratti di servizio per operazioni “unmanned” e tra i pochi player al mondo a poter operare per conto di enti civili in spazi aerei non segregati trasnazionali.

▻https://www.trasporti-italia.com/focus/leonardo-il-falco-evo-inizia-i-voli-per-il-programma-frontex/36521

Frontex Director meets with Portugal’s Minister of Internal Administration

The Executive Director of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, met with Portugal’s Minister of Internal Administration and with the National Director of Portuguese Immigration and Border Service (SEF) on Friday to introduce the agency’s liaison officer for Portugal and Spain.

Frontex is deploying 11 liaison officers to enhance the cooperation between the agency and national authorities responsible for border management, returns and coast guard functions in 30 EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries.

https://frontex.europa.eu/thumb/Images_News/2019/Portugal1.prop_750x.cb754d0022.jpg

In Lisbon, Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri met with Eduardo Cabrita, Portugal’s Minister of Internal Administration and Cristina Gatões, the National Director of Portuguese Immigration and Border Service (#SEF).

During his visit to Portugal, Fabrice Leggeri also visited the headquarters of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and met with its new Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac. Frontex and EMSA, along with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), work together in in the maritime domain to support EU Member States and develop European coast guard functions.

▻https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/frontex-director-meets-with-portugal-s-minister-of-internal-administr

#Frontex #surveillance_frontalière #drones #Israël #business #frontières #contrôles_frontaliers #asile #migrations #réfugiés #sécurité #Méditerranée #Heron #Israeli_Aerospace_Industries #IAI #Falco #Leonardo #Finmeccannica #Palestine
cc @isskein @albertocampiphoto @daphne @marty

Le pognon qui doit partir là dedans au lieu de contribuer à la paix et à la justice sociale, humaine et économique.... #mal_au_ventre #dégout #honte

v. aussi :
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/738720

How the Security Industry Reaps the Rewards of E.U. Migration Control

In austerity-stricken Europe, increasing funds are flowing to arms and security firms positioning themselves as experts on border control. Researcher Mark Akkerman documents the companies profiting from E.U. border externalization and the industry’s lobbying power.

At a time when European Union budgets are threatened by Brexit, Italian political instability and an unfinished economic crisis, the European Commission’s proposal for triple funding for borders, migration and asylum suggests an unusual consensus in favor of border security.

The increase in funding gained considerable press attention, but the role of the European military and security industry in shaping these policies and then reaping the plentiful financial rewards remains largely underexposed.

Research by the United Kingdom’s Statewatch and Belgian NGO “Vredesactie” shows how successful these industries have been in shaping E.U. military and security policies. Large European arms companies, such as #Airbus (Pan-European), #Leonardo (Italian, formerly called #Finmeccanica) and #Thales (French) engage in extensive lobbying. Their lobby associations, notably the #European_Organisation_for_Security (#EOS) and the #AeroSpace_and_Defence Industries Association of Europe (#ASD), have gained influence to the point that their proposals are sometimes adopted almost wholesale by E.U. bodies.

E.U. and member states’ officials and industry executives forge strong relationships through a constant cycle of congresses, conferences, roundtables, security fairs and industry days by E.U. border agency #Frontex. Since December 2014, senior European Commission officials met with EOS 15 times and ASD 29 times, as well as holding many meetings with Airbus (131), Leonardo (25) and Thales (18).

Concrete proposals that were first advocated by the industry, such as the establishment of a European border guard and of the E.U.-wide border monitoring system #EUROSUR, eventually become E.U. policies. These then create the demand that fuels an expanding global border security market, valued at more than 16 billion euros ($18.7 billion) in 2017 and estimated to grow 8 percent annually in coming years.

According to Martin Lemberg-Pedersen at the Aalborg University in Copenhagen, arms companies “establish themselves as experts on border security, and use this position to frame immigration to Europe as leading to ever more security threats in need of ever more” purchases of the products they sell.

The increasing focus on exporting border control measures to countries neighboring Europe has further expanded the market, as my recent report “Expanding the Fortress” for the research groups Stop Wapenhandel and the Transnational Institute (TNI) shows.

Many non-E.U.-countries, especially in Africa, get donations of border security equipment or funding for such purchases. Some examples include donations of large amounts of equipment from Airbus and #Hensoldt (the former border security division of Airbus) to Tunisia by Germany, Italian donations of patrol boats from shipbuilder Intermarine to Libya and the E.U.-funded purchase of six vessels from Dutch shipbuilder #Damen to Turkey, to strengthen the capacities of its coast guard.

Despite the austerity measures in place in some areas of Europe, the increase in funding for militarizing border security seems to be limitless. Frontex, which now has new powers to buy its own equipment, could see its current annual budget of 320 million euros ($375 million) increase almost sixfold to 1.87 billion euros ($2.19 billion) by 2027.

During 2018, Frontex will test two military drones for maritime border surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea: the #Heron from #Israeli_Aerospace_Industries (#IAI) and the #Falco from #Leonardo. IAI will be paid 4.75 million euros ($5.57 million) for 600 hours of trial flights, while Leonardo will secure 1.7 million euros ($2 million) for 300 hours of trial flights.

The proposed E.U. Integrated Border Management Fund will have a 9.3 billion euro ($10.9 billion) budget for 2021–27, almost double the combined budget of its predecessors for the period 2004–20 (#External_Borders_Fund, the #Internal_Security_Fund – Borders and the Schengen Facility). With these funds, member states have purchased thousands of vehicles for border patrol, dozens of patrol vessels, airplanes, border surveillance systems, cameras, thermal vision equipment, biometric and I.T. systems – many bought from European arms and security firms.

In the case of Finland and Romania, E.U.-financed helicopter purchases came from Airbus, while Leonardo delivered helicopters to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Italy, Latvia and Malta. This has led to the perverse outcome that some of these companies profit from both sides of the refugee tragedy. As our 2016 report “Border Wars” shows, some firms are both arming countries at war, repressive regimes and human rights violators in the Middle East and North Africa – thereby fueling the reasons people are forced to flee – and then winning the contracts to prevent refugees entering Europe.

The preferential role for industry is no coincidence nor just the result of the industry’s own efforts. In fact, it is a stated objective of the E.U. to support the global competitiveness of the European military and security industry. And the E.U. does all it can to further intensify the close ties.

In February 2018, for example, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG Home) organized an “Industry Day on Border Surveillance and Integrated Border Management” in which Giorgi Gulienetti of Italian arms firm Leonardo gave a keynote address. Later DG Home wrote that it hoped the day “on a longer term […] would set the foundations of an improved cooperation with research and industry communities in the area of border surveillance and border management.”

While the proposed increases of the E.U. border security and control budget clearly respond to a number of factors, the increasing role, funding and support for industry will ensure that they become one of the few beneficiaries from the refugee “crisis.” Ultimately this is not just a concern about corporate influence but also about entrenching a militarized response to a complex crisis. This will do little to tackle the root causes of the refugee crisis but rather provides another arena for profiteering from human suffering.

▻https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2018/06/04/how-the-security-industry-reaps-the-rewards-of-e-u-migration-control

#Frontex is always on the lookout for the latest #bordercontrol technology. On 10-11 October 2018, we are organising an industry meeting on border control devices and systems in Warsaw, Poland

https://i.imgur.com/kKsNGim.png