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 Nove...

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 F...

A soldier from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11th ACR) operates a Mounted Mission Command-Software (MMC-S)-based system during a training mission at Ft Irwin, California. (US Army)  The US Army is developing a new slate of advanced software designed to improve collection, dissemination, and exploitation of battlefield intelligence at the tactical level, according to a service solicitation.  The software development effort, known as the ‘Intel Apps' programme, is being spearheaded by Project Manager, Intelligence Systems & Analytics (IS&A...

Israeli MoD Director General Eyal Zamir signed the final contract for the AWS sale to Germany on 23 November. (IAI)  The Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on X (formerly Twitter) on 23 November that its Director General, Eyal Zamir, signed the final contract for the USD3.6 billion sale of the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) to Germany earlier the same day. In addition to the AWS and Arrow 3 missiles, the contract includes an initial package of spare parts and training of Luftwaffe crews.  German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his Is...

The Bundestag's budget committee has approved funding for the procurement of 50 Dingo 2 A4.1 armoured vehicles for the Bundeswehr. (Bundeswehr/Ralph Zwilling)  The budget committee of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, on 16 November approved funding for the procurement of 50 Dingo 2 A4.1 armoured vehicles for the Bundeswehr, the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced on its website the next day.  The ministry gave a value of approximately EUR150 million (USD163.5 million) for the procurement, paid for by the German government's Enabl...

The Shahed 136 is of great concern for air-defence planners and industry since its debut in Ukraine in 2022. Skyfortress has developed a solution that can detect and track these loud and slow munitions without the use of active systems such as radars or electro-optical sensors. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)  Representatives from Skyfortress – a Ukrainian non-governmental organisation – have disclosed details of work to develop and install an acoustic sensor network for the detection and tracking of aerial threats.  Speaking at SAE Me...

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 1...

A BOV-OT M-21 APC demonstrating its water obstacle crossing capabilities at Nikinci. (Serbian MoD)  The Serbian Armed Forces' (SAF's) new indigenously developed, locally produced or modernised weapons, and military equipment were presented to Defence Minister Miloš Vučević at the SAF's Weapons and Military Equipment Test Centre ‘Nikinci' on 14 November, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website later the same day.  Among the equipment shown, was a new series of six BOV M16 Miloš 4×4 multi-purpose armoured vehicles, PASARS self-pr...

Rheinmetall Electronics UK Trailblazer vehicle vision systems, designed to aid the driver with terrain negotiation, obstacle avoidance, and route selection, are being procured to fill a critical safety requirement with the UK's Warrior IFVs. (Rheinmetall Electronics UK)  The British Army's Warrior infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) will be equipped with rear view cameras as part of a contract with Rheinmetall Electronics UK.  Valued in the low double-digit million-euro range and announced on 21 November, the contract will involve the provision...

The BAAINBw has ordered 2,300 PARM off-route anti-tank mines from MBDA subsidiary TDW. (MBDA)  The Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support, signed a contract with MBDA subsidiary TDW on 14 November for 2,300 Panzerabwehrrichtmine (PARM) off-route anti-tank mines, MBDA announced in a press release on 15 November. Thomas Gottschild, managing director of MBDA Germany said, “With the procurement, PARM is in...

The armament of the T-72 MBT, pictured above taking part in an Indian Army exercise in November 2022, includes a 125 mm smoothbore 2A46 main gun, a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun mounted to the right of the main gun, and a 12.7 mm Nikitina-Sokolova-Volkova tank gun mounted on the commander's cupola. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  The Indian Army has issued a tender to support its programme for the restoration and life extension of in-service T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs).  According to a request for information (RFI) issued by the Indian Army on 21 Novem...

The Norwegian government is procuring more NASAMS launchers, fire-control centres, and missiles for the Norwegian Armed Forces. (Forsvaret)  The Norwegian government, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, and Nammo announced investment plans on 15 November for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) launchers, fire-control centres, and missiles for the Norwegian Armed Forces.  The NOK12.5 billion (USD1.2 billion) order is Norway's largest single investment in air defence in 30 years, according to the Norwegian government. It include...

The Brazilian marines received 23 AAV7A1 RAM/RS vehicles between 2017 and 2018. (Victor Manuel Saraiva Barreira)    The Brazilian Marine Corps is looking to acquire 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured vehicles in several variants to replace its fleet of AAV7A1 Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs), Vice Admiral Rogério Ramos Lage, Commander of the Marine Materiel Command, told   Janes   recently.   The project, part of the Marine Corps Combat Power Strategic Subprogram, would modernise the Amphibious Vehicles Battalion, Vice Adm L...

The Brazilian SK105A2S Kürassier tank is armed with a 105 mm cannon, a coaxial 7.62 mm medium machine gun, and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. (Victor Barreira)  The Brazilian Marine Corps wants to replace its ageing SK105A2S Kürassier light battle tank fleet with a new main battle tank (MBT) by 2032, Commander of the Marine Material Command Vice Admiral Rogério Ramos Lage told Janes.  The MBT project, part of the Marine Corps Combat Power Strategic Program (PROADSUMUS), aims to significantly increase the firepower of the marine air-ground task...

FFG is working on the Boxer RRV variant. (FFG )  Lieutenant Colonel Karlheinz Boehnke, Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV) Boxer representative in the German Army Concept and Capabilities Development Centre, presented a Boxer jamming variant and an update on other planned versions on the second day of SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November.  The Boxer Knifefish jamming variant would exist in two versions – ultra-high frequency (UHF)/very high frequency (VHF...

This series of images shows the Diamant hard-kill APS intercepting and defeating a test projectile representing an ATGM. (Thales)  The French Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) procurement agency confirmed at SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference – held in London from 13 to 15 November – that it had begun to test the Thales Diamant hard-kill active protection system (APS).  Since 2022 tests have been carried out using a Diamant mounted on a Griffon multirole armoured vehicle (Véhicule Blindé Multi...

The USMC is procuring 175 ACV-30s, with an IOC planned for 2026. (BAE Systems)    The US Marines Corps (USMC) plans to deploy its first four 8×8 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) in March 2024,   Janes  learned at SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November.   Colonel Timothy Hough, programme manager for Advanced Amphibious Assault in the USMC's Program Executive Office Land Systems, told conference attendees on 15 November that the vehicles would co...

A total of 125 Italian Army Ariete MBTs will be upgraded. (Italian MoD)  Lieutenant Colonel Salvatore Bizzarro, head of the Force Development Section of the Italian Army General Staff's Capability Development and Financial Planning Division, presented plans to modernise his service's armoured forces and develop new-generation platforms on the last day of SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from 13 to 15 November. He said legacy capabilities would be modernised in the short term and ne...

The Kavro Doma 360 helmet (pictured above) comprises top-to-chin (longitudinal) and side-to-side (lateral) harness adjustment functionality. (MKU Limited)  Indian defence company MKU Limited has launched a new ballistic helmet known as the Kavro Doma 360 at the Milipol Paris 2023 exhibition held in Paris from 14 to 17 November.  The helmet, according to the company specifications, can protect against AK-47's 7.62×39 mm mild steel core (MSC) bullets, as well as 7.62×51 mm and 5.56×45 mm NATO rounds.  The helmet can be equipped with night-visio...

The VAC will be based on the Spanish Army's Pizarro IFV and Castor AEV (pictured). (GDELS)    Spain plans to sign a contract for the Vehículo de Apoyo de Cadenas (VAC) Tracked Support Vehicle contract in December, Colonel Antonio Llorens Perez, who is responsible for the Pizarro infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and VAC programmes in the Spanish Ministry of Defence's Directorate-General for Armament and Material (DGAM), told the last day of SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability (FAVS) 2023 conference held in London from...