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08 Jul 22. ‘iMUGS II’ to be larger and better funded, but delay confirmed. The successor project to the Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) programme, the European Defence Fund’s (EDF) project for a common unmanned ground vehicle, has been pushed back by one year, Janes can confirm.
“It’s [going to be] in EDF [Work Programme] 2024,” Martin Jõesaar, chief of project office – iMUGS with the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment, told Janes. “The call text for the projects will be announced in [20]24, and the consortium will be put together, and whoever wins will start in [20]25. It’s a little bit later than we hoped, but it’s still ok,” he added. The project is expected to conclude between 2028 and 2029.
(Source: Janes)
08 Jul 22. Qatar receives Turkish-made landing ships. The Qatar Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) received a landing ship and three landing craft in a ceremony held at Anadolu Shipyard’s Tuzla facility on 6 July, the Qatari Ministry of Defence and the Turkish company announced.
The vessels were identified as the 80 m landing ship tank (LST) Fuwairit (QL 80), the two 40 m landing craft mechanised (LCMs) Ishat (QL 40) and Broog (QL 41), and the 15.7 m landing craft vehicle and personnel (LCVP) Al-Aaliya (QL 15).
Anadolu Shipyard said that the vessels would be sent to Qatar after six weeks of “tactical shakedown training”.
Photographs of the event confirmed that Fuwairit is armed with two 30 mm Aselsan Smash remotely operated weapon stations (ROWS) on either side of its ramp and two 12.7 mm Stop-2 ROWS on either side of its bridge. The 40m LCMs have two .50 calibre machine guns on pintle mounts and the LCVP is unarmed. (Source: Janes)
05 Jul 22. The Plasan / Oshkosh SandCat is a small armoured personnel carrier on the Ford F-series pick-up chassis in service with the Bulgarian Military Police, writes Bob Morrison. What we now know as the ‘SandCat’ was originally conceived as the ‘Caracal’ around 2005 by the then Plasan Sasa for a specific Israeli Defence Force requirement and was first exhibited overseas in June 2006, on static display at Eurosatory in Paris and then at Defence Vehicle Dynamics at Millbrook Proving Ground two weeks later where I had the opportunity to photograph it away from its stand. The original version (see foot of this page) was a compact light armoured vehicle vehicle based on a shortened wheelbase Ford F-350, designed to replace ageing Jeep-based lightly armoured vehicles used for border patrols as well as street patrols in Israeli built-up areas where a very tight turning circle was a necessity. Most subsequent versions (which were and are marketed as the SandCat to avoid confusion with an Iveco armoured vehicle being promoted as the Caracal) used a slightly shortened version of the larger Ford F-550 chassis as their base; the very latest Generation 5 version, however, has a monocoque design but still uses F-series running gear.
- The Bulgarian MP vehicles, which Carl and I first encountered in 2016 during the Polish invitational Exercise ANAKONDA and I later photographed at Bordușani in Romania during the NATO multinational Exercise SABER GUARDIAN 2018, are Generation 2 SandCats. Ordered in 2008 and delivered around the start of 2010, they were produced for Plasan in the United States by Oshkosh. Two different body styles are currently in service in Bulgaria, 5-seat Utility with a small rear cargo area and 8-seat Transport, with a fully enclosed armoured body; I have photographed the Utility version deployed on exercise with both a crewed 7.62mm machine gun turret and a remote weapons station.
Since its inception the SandCat has evolved continuously, with over 700 vehicles now in service according to the latest company sales literature, and as a result of its ongoing development it is difficult to be precise about the specifications for particular batches so I am not going to attempt to guess about the Bulgarian batch. It does not help that during the first few years of production, understandably as they were promoting the vehicle family for home sales in a highly security-conscious region, Plasan themselves were not particularly forthcoming about specification details and the sales literature produced by Oshkosh was geared towards specific non-Israeli defence procurement requirements they were hoping to fulfil. What we do know, however, is that the Bulgarian vehicles have the Ford 6.4L diesel engine as this was stated (in Bulgarian) on a fact sheet displayed beside the vehicles I snapped at HEMUS 2022 in Plovdiv. (Source: www.joint-forces.com)
11 Jul 22. Proforce unveils new vehicle at Nigerian Army exhibition. Proforce Limited has unveiled its latest vehicle, the lightweight PF Fury, at the Nigerian Army Research and Development exhibition on 6 July.
The exhibition was part of events commemorating the 2022 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) marking the establishment of the Nigerian Army. Events from 1-6 July included a religious service, golf tournament, medical outreach, and exhibition at the Heroes Square in Owerri. This ‘grand finale’ featured the exhibition of Nigerian Army research and development projects, presentation of Commendation Awards to deserving officers and soldiers and regimental military parades, static display and combat equipment march past.
The event welcomed dignitaries including the Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi, Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, and Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, amongst others.
Proforce was among 45 exhibitors at Owerri, including Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, the Nigerian Airforce, and the Nigerian Navy.
Proforce used the exhibition to showcase its new PF Fury lightweight combat vehicle, which it said is designed to cater to the needs of the Nigerian military’s infantry and Special Operations forces. “This innovative design has been praised for its modular design that makes it adaptable to various missions,” the company said.
Proforce also displayed its PF Viper armoured personnel carrier, unveiled last year as a lighter, faster and more manoeuvrable version of its Ara vehicle. The company’s flagship APC is its PF2, which has been exported to Rwanda, the Central African Republic and South Sudan (it is used for United Nations peacekeeping missions in the CAR and South Sudan). At home, the Nigerian Police Force has acquired a number of PF2 APCs, and this includes by Rivers State and Lagos State. On the larger end of the scale, Proforce’s flagship MRAP is its Ara (Thunder), which is designed and manufactured in Nigeria.
In addition to its flagship Ara and PF2 vehicles, Proforce has a steadily growing product portfolio that encompasses land, air and sea. This includes armoured Toyota Hilux vehicles, Special Combat Vehicles (Hilux type vehicles with armour and weapons turrets), armoured patrol boats between 9.5 and 11 metres long, cash in transit vehicles (Toyota Hiace, Hilux, Isuzu etc.), armoured SUVs (e.g. Land Cruiser, Mercedes, Lexus LX570, Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover, FJ Cruiser), armoured passenger busses (Mercedes Viano, Toyota etc.) and armoured sedans.
One of the other products that stood out at the exhibition was the tube-launched kamikaze drone exhibited by Advanced Protection Systems.
Some of the vehicles displayed during NADCEL 2022 by the Nigerian military included VT-4 main battle tanks, Spartan infantry fighting vehicles, ST-1 tank destroyers, Mengshi armoured vehicles, and SH-5 105mm self-propelled howitzers. Alti Transition unmanned aerial vehicles, recently acquired from South Africa for the Nigerian Police, were also on display. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
08 Jul 22. Australian Army completes WADER serials with two Boxer CRVs. Amphibious task group troops conducted the ship-to-shore training serials at Cowley Beach training area, Queensland. The Australian Army has completed wet and dry environmental rehearsals (WADER) with two Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs).
The trials were held at Cowley Beach training area in Queensland as part of Exercise Sea Explorer.
During the exercise, 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment troops conducted ship-to-shore training serials.
The amphibious task group troops launched the 38t vehicle from a landing helicopter deck landing craft and then transported them to shore.
With the completion of the WADER serials, the Boxers, along with task group troops, will take part in live-fire Exercise Sea Raider to be held later this year.
The Boxer exceeds the Australian light armoured vehicle in providing an enhanced protected platform with more fire power and mobility.
2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment Boxer troop leader lieutenant Stefano Rankin said: “It’s been a great opportunity to introduce this new capability into the amphibious force, and being a part of that journey has been an exciting process.
“Working with our partners in the Australian Navy will enable us to deploy around Australia, and potentially around the globe, and force project with the Boxer to make the most of its capability.”
In November 2020, the Australian Army completed a series of beach trials with the Boxer CRVs as part of Exercise Sea Wader 2020.
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has been procuring the armoured vehicles under its $4.03bn (A$5.2bn) LAND 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability programme.
As part of this, the Australian Army received the first 25 of 211 Boxer 8×8 CRVs from Rheinmetall in June 2021. (Source: army-technology.com)
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