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29 Dec 12. Saudi Arabia is planning to buy 30 German Dingo 2 armoured vehicles worth about 100m euros, Bild am Sonntag reported in its Sunday edition. Quoting sources close to the talks on a deal, the paper said Riyadh could eventually purchase up to 100 of the mine resistant, ambush protected Dingos. The Dingo 2 is advertised by its maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann as “the safest and best-protected wheeled vehicle in its class” with an “outstanding performance on extremely difficult terrains and under extreme climatic conditions”. The vehicle is also fitted with a nuclear biological and chemical protection system. Germany’s national security council of which Chancellor Angela Merkel is a member is still to make a final decision on the deal but has already given the green light in principle, said the weekly. (Source: Defense News)
02 Jan 13. 401st Completes M1114 Vehicle Transfer to Afghan National Army. A historic mission for the 401st Army Field Support Brigade came to an end, Nov. 12, when AFSBn-Bagram issued 49 M1114 vehicles to the Afghan National Army, under a Foreign Military Sales case. The 49 vehicles were the last of more than 950 vehicles that were involved in the program that lasted about two and one-half years. Before the vehicles were turned over to the ANA, they were completely checked and restored to a fully mission capable status at AFSBn-Bagram and Camp Lindsey near Kandahar. In some cases, the vehicle was practically rebuilt from the ground up, while other vehicles required only minor repair and refurbishment. For approximately one year, AFSBn-BAF conducted a maintenance mentorship program in which Afghan soldiers worked alongside battalion mechanics to learn more about the vehicles and improve their proficiency in maintaining them. They worked on the very vehicles that were turned over to the ANA under the sales case. (Source: ASD Network)
02 Jan 13. Indian Military starts search for Tatra truck alternatives. India’s Armed Forces are seeking alternative vehicles to install missile systems in the wake of an impending ban on the acquisition of Tatra all-terrain trucks. Unidentified defence sources were quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that the military officials were currently analysing trucks proposed by Russian and Belarusian companies, including Volat trucks manufactured by MZKT. A meeting was held recently with all stakeholders under director general (acquisition) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to discuss the proposals, the sources added. Upon approval, the trucks will undergo comprehensive field trials and are also expected to be equipped with missiles systems in order to test their efficacy. The procurement of Tatra trucks, which make up approximately 4% of the total vehicles approved for the Indian Army’s use, has been put on hold by the MoD amid bribery allegations former army chief general VK Singh made in March 2012. The ban has led to a delay in several key missile projects, including delivery of Pinaka missile regiments to ground forces, and the acquisition of land-based variant of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Although more than 7,000 Tatra trucks are currently operational with the armed forces, there are problems regarding their maintenance and repair. Manufactured by Tatra and supplied in India by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), the Tatra heavy duty all-terrain vehicles are designed for transport of troops, tanks and missiles systems in the battlefield. Available in several variants to address different mission requirements, the vehicles are capable of managing cross-country terrain, and have also been deployed for a wide range of all-terrain programmes. (Source: army-technology.com)
03 Jan 13. India and Russia did not discuss the BMP-3 infantry vehicle program during a D