تويت
مكونات أمريكية تعيق صفقة الأقمار الصناعية الفرنسية للأمارات
French-UAE Intel Satellite Deal in Doubt
Discovery of US Parts Raises Security Concerns
The United Arab Emirates, which has purchased two Falcon Eye spy satellites
based on the French Pleiades satellite, says the satellites contain parts made
in the US that are considered 'security compromising components.' (Airbus
Defence and Space)
الصفقة التي قدرت قيمتها بقيمة 930 مليون دولار
قيل انها تحتوي على مكونين أمريكيين مما يعرض الامن الوطني للخطر
الأمارات طلبت بأستبدال هذه المكونات
وطلبت اجراء اتصالات مع شركات روسية وصينية
وهددت بألغاء كامل الصفقة لأنها قد تفتح منفذ خلفي لمرور البيانات الامن
وبالتالي أعتبر ذلك تهديد للأمن الوطني
والمصدر لم يذكر اي تفاصيل للدور الذي ممكن ان تلعبه الشركات الروسية والصينية
بحسب التقرير فأن تلك الأقمار تملك قدرات رصد وتصوير عالية
يمكنها من توجيه صواريخ كروز قد تستخدم لضرب ايران
رئيس أنظمة الفضاء لدى ايرباص يقول
لم يسبق قبل هذه الصفقة ان وافقت فرنسا على بيع أقمار صناعية تحوي قدرات بصرية بهذه الدقة لأي بلد اخر
في نفس التقرير هناك أمر غريب
يذكر فيه انه عندما باعت الولايات المتحدة أقمار للسعودية
مارست اسرائيل ضغوط على الصفقة
فما هي الأقمار التي اشتريناها من امريكا ؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
التقرير ذكر ايضا ان دول الخليج اجمالا
تريد التقليل من الأعتماد على العتاد العسكري الأمريكي
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) deal to purchase two intelligence satellites from
France worth almost 3.4 billion dirhams (US $930 million) is in jeopardy after
the discovery of what was described as “security compromising components.”
A high-level UAE source said the two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye
military observation satellites contained two specific US-supplied components
that provide a back door to the highly secure data transmitted to the ground
station.
“The discovery was reported to the deputy supreme commander’s office [Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Zayed] in September,” the source said. “We have requested the
French to change these components and also consulted with the Russian and
Chinese firms.”
The source would not elaborate on what role the Russians or Chinese could
play in future negotiations.
According to the deal — signed July 22 by Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, and French Defense
Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian — delivery was set for 2018, along with a ground
station.
The satellites are provided by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space and
payload-maker Thales Alenia Space. Neither company was available for
comment.
Twenty engineers will be trained to use the new equipment.
According to the UAE source, the discovery prompted increased talks between
the UAE and Russia and a number of high-level delegations have shuttled between
Moscow and Abu Dhabi.
“If this issue is not resolved, the UAE is willing to scrap the whole deal,”
he added.
The UAE has drawn on Russian technology, with the GLONASS space-based
navigation system fitted as a redundancy feature on a Western European weapon
system, a French defense expert said.
The competition for the deal has been ongoing for more than a decade, and UAE
officials in late 2012 said they had narrowed the Falcon Eye competition from 11
bidders and their backing governments to proposals from US and French teams.
The UAE source said the French team won the bid due to the US State
Department’s restrictions on the use of the system, often referred to as
“shutter control.”
In Paris, one defense specialist found it intriguing that France had drawn on
US technology for the satellites under the Falcon Eye program.
“That is surprising,” the specialist said.
France operates the Pleiades spy satellite in what is viewed as a critical
piece of the nation’s sovereignty. Given that core competence, it seemed strange
that France would use US technology, although there is an agreement between
Paris and Washington over transfer of capabilities, analysts said.
Or, Abu Dhabi’s questioning of the satellite deal could be a way of putting
pressure on Paris to get a better offer for the Dassault Aviation Rafale
fighter.
“The satellites would be part of a big package deal,” the defense specialist
in Paris said. “It’s not surprising. The UAE drives a hard bargain. They’re
using it as a lever of power.”
A second defense specialist said it was possible French industry had drawn on
the US.
“The payload is complex, not all the technology is French,” the second
specialist said.
The French negotiations with the US on the technology for the UAE would have
been sensitive. For example, when the US sold spy satellites to Saudi Arabia,
Israel wanted to limit the resolution level in the payload, the second
specialist said.
For the French satellites sold to the UAE, a very high optical resolution and
encrypted code could be used to guide a cruise missile to a target in Iran, the
second specialist said.
It is not clear whether the critical components can be replaced, the
specialist said.
The way ahead may be to find a formula, a compromise which allows the UAE to
say it was firm on technology demands, while accepting US gear on a French
system — perhaps through the British, the specialist said.
Generally, Arabian Gulf countries split arms buys to reduce dependence on the
US, the specialist said. The UAE flies the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Dassault
Mirage 2000-9, while the Saudis operate the Boeing F-15, as well as the Tornado
and Typhoon.
But the ultimate guarantor for security in the region is the US, the second
specialist said.
Under wide French press coverage of the Falcon Eye deal, La Tribune noted the
“colossal work” of the Direction Générale de l’Armament procurement office and
help from the French Embassy.
The DGA and the embassy declined comment.
Airbus Defence and Space will build the Astrobus-based platform, while Thales
Alenia Space will deliver the payload. The latter is a Franco-Italian joint
venture majority-owned by the French partner.
Thales Alenia Space CEO Jean-Louis Galle said the company delivers the
“operational intelligence capability,” daily Le Figaro reported in July.
François Auque, head of Space Systems for Airbus Defence and Space, said
France has never agreed before the UAE deal to sell such high-resolution optics
in a military satellite to a foreign country, Le Figaro reported.
The UAE has previously asked for a high level of technology access. In the
1990s, when Abu Dhabi bought the F-16 E/F Block 60, authorities asked for the
source code as the UAE co-developed and co-owned the Desert Falcon fighter. The
UAE invested a reported $3 billion in the total $7.3 billion acquisition.
French-UAE Intel Satellite Deal in Doubt
Discovery of US Parts Raises Security Concerns
The United Arab Emirates, which has purchased two Falcon Eye spy satellites
based on the French Pleiades satellite, says the satellites contain parts made
in the US that are considered 'security compromising components.' (Airbus
Defence and Space)
الصفقة التي قدرت قيمتها بقيمة 930 مليون دولار
قيل انها تحتوي على مكونين أمريكيين مما يعرض الامن الوطني للخطر
الأمارات طلبت بأستبدال هذه المكونات
وطلبت اجراء اتصالات مع شركات روسية وصينية
وهددت بألغاء كامل الصفقة لأنها قد تفتح منفذ خلفي لمرور البيانات الامن
وبالتالي أعتبر ذلك تهديد للأمن الوطني
والمصدر لم يذكر اي تفاصيل للدور الذي ممكن ان تلعبه الشركات الروسية والصينية
بحسب التقرير فأن تلك الأقمار تملك قدرات رصد وتصوير عالية
يمكنها من توجيه صواريخ كروز قد تستخدم لضرب ايران
رئيس أنظمة الفضاء لدى ايرباص يقول
لم يسبق قبل هذه الصفقة ان وافقت فرنسا على بيع أقمار صناعية تحوي قدرات بصرية بهذه الدقة لأي بلد اخر
في نفس التقرير هناك أمر غريب
يذكر فيه انه عندما باعت الولايات المتحدة أقمار للسعودية
مارست اسرائيل ضغوط على الصفقة
فما هي الأقمار التي اشتريناها من امريكا ؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
التقرير ذكر ايضا ان دول الخليج اجمالا
تريد التقليل من الأعتماد على العتاد العسكري الأمريكي
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) deal to purchase two intelligence satellites from
France worth almost 3.4 billion dirhams (US $930 million) is in jeopardy after
the discovery of what was described as “security compromising components.”
A high-level UAE source said the two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye
military observation satellites contained two specific US-supplied components
that provide a back door to the highly secure data transmitted to the ground
station.
“The discovery was reported to the deputy supreme commander’s office [Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Zayed] in September,” the source said. “We have requested the
French to change these components and also consulted with the Russian and
Chinese firms.”
The source would not elaborate on what role the Russians or Chinese could
play in future negotiations.
According to the deal — signed July 22 by Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, and French Defense
Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian — delivery was set for 2018, along with a ground
station.
The satellites are provided by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space and
payload-maker Thales Alenia Space. Neither company was available for
comment.
Twenty engineers will be trained to use the new equipment.
According to the UAE source, the discovery prompted increased talks between
the UAE and Russia and a number of high-level delegations have shuttled between
Moscow and Abu Dhabi.
“If this issue is not resolved, the UAE is willing to scrap the whole deal,”
he added.
The UAE has drawn on Russian technology, with the GLONASS space-based
navigation system fitted as a redundancy feature on a Western European weapon
system, a French defense expert said.
The competition for the deal has been ongoing for more than a decade, and UAE
officials in late 2012 said they had narrowed the Falcon Eye competition from 11
bidders and their backing governments to proposals from US and French teams.
The UAE source said the French team won the bid due to the US State
Department’s restrictions on the use of the system, often referred to as
“shutter control.”
In Paris, one defense specialist found it intriguing that France had drawn on
US technology for the satellites under the Falcon Eye program.
“That is surprising,” the specialist said.
France operates the Pleiades spy satellite in what is viewed as a critical
piece of the nation’s sovereignty. Given that core competence, it seemed strange
that France would use US technology, although there is an agreement between
Paris and Washington over transfer of capabilities, analysts said.
Or, Abu Dhabi’s questioning of the satellite deal could be a way of putting
pressure on Paris to get a better offer for the Dassault Aviation Rafale
fighter.
“The satellites would be part of a big package deal,” the defense specialist
in Paris said. “It’s not surprising. The UAE drives a hard bargain. They’re
using it as a lever of power.”
A second defense specialist said it was possible French industry had drawn on
the US.
“The payload is complex, not all the technology is French,” the second
specialist said.
The French negotiations with the US on the technology for the UAE would have
been sensitive. For example, when the US sold spy satellites to Saudi Arabia,
Israel wanted to limit the resolution level in the payload, the second
specialist said.
For the French satellites sold to the UAE, a very high optical resolution and
encrypted code could be used to guide a cruise missile to a target in Iran, the
second specialist said.
It is not clear whether the critical components can be replaced, the
specialist said.
The way ahead may be to find a formula, a compromise which allows the UAE to
say it was firm on technology demands, while accepting US gear on a French
system — perhaps through the British, the specialist said.
Generally, Arabian Gulf countries split arms buys to reduce dependence on the
US, the specialist said. The UAE flies the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Dassault
Mirage 2000-9, while the Saudis operate the Boeing F-15, as well as the Tornado
and Typhoon.
But the ultimate guarantor for security in the region is the US, the second
specialist said.
Under wide French press coverage of the Falcon Eye deal, La Tribune noted the
“colossal work” of the Direction Générale de l’Armament procurement office and
help from the French Embassy.
The DGA and the embassy declined comment.
Airbus Defence and Space will build the Astrobus-based platform, while Thales
Alenia Space will deliver the payload. The latter is a Franco-Italian joint
venture majority-owned by the French partner.
Thales Alenia Space CEO Jean-Louis Galle said the company delivers the
“operational intelligence capability,” daily Le Figaro reported in July.
François Auque, head of Space Systems for Airbus Defence and Space, said
France has never agreed before the UAE deal to sell such high-resolution optics
in a military satellite to a foreign country, Le Figaro reported.
The UAE has previously asked for a high level of technology access. In the
1990s, when Abu Dhabi bought the F-16 E/F Block 60, authorities asked for the
source code as the UAE co-developed and co-owned the Desert Falcon fighter. The
UAE invested a reported $3 billion in the total $7.3 billion acquisition.
تعليق