Up to 50 of the British Army's Foxhound LPPV vehicles will be converted into command variants. (Janes/Patrick Allen)

Up to 50 of the British Army's Foxhound vehicles will be converted into command variants under a GBP19.76 million (USD24.92 million) sole-source contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS).

The contract, expected to be awarded in early 2024, will involve the conversion of up to 50 Foxhound Light Protected Patrol Vehicles (LPPVs) over a 15-month period, a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract notice disclosed on 23 November.

According to the notice, the converted vehicles will be installed with enhanced high-frequency (HF), very-high-frequency (VHF), and ultra-high-frequency (UHF) capabilities and will enable operation of Bowman data terminals.

The UK MoD were unable to elaborate to Janes on the new communication systems expected to be installed on the converted command vehicles.

Delivery of the first upgraded Pumas for the German Army has been delayed from the end of 2023 to the end of February 2024 . (Bundeswehr/Marco Dorow)

The German Federal Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 27 November that deliveries of upgraded Puma infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) have been delayed. The ministry noted that the Bundeswehr was to receive the first upgraded Pumas for the German Army by the end of 2023 but the necessary work, especially on software, should be completed in February 2024, delaying the delivery of the first vehicles to the end of that month.

The MoD, Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr: BAAINBw), and the German Army were engaged in a “close and constructive exchange” with industry, the MoD said, adding that the essential requirements for planned testing, training, and exercises have been met.

The ACR is deploying a battery of DANA vz 77 SPHs to Lithuania in 2024. (ACR)

The Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) announced on its website on 21 November that it is deploying a battery of DANA vz 77 152 mm 8×8 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to Lithuania. The Czech Army's 3rd Task Force, including a DANA battery from the ACR's 131st Artillery Battalion, will be deployed in Lithuania during the first half of 2024 as part of the German-led enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) NATO battlegroup in the Baltic country.

Most of the task force's over 100 soldiers will be from the 131st Artillery Battalion, comprising fire support and artillery reconnaissance troops, as well as staff personnel. It will be supplemented by radar experts, workshop personnel, military police, medics, and members of the ACR Information and Cyber Forces Command.