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28 Jan 14. The project to upgrade the British Army’s major Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AFV) has achieved its latest milestone after Lockheed Martin UK completed Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP). The milestone represents another phase in the design and development of this Ministry of Defence programme, where Lockheed Martin UK is responsible for enhancements which will extend the vehicles’ service life to beyond 2040. The programme ensures that Warrior will continue to be at the heart of the Army’s combat capability, with state of the art firepower and electronics. WCSP is also generating employment opportunities and supporting up to 600 jobs in the UK, where some 90 per cent of the work will be completed. Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill vice president and managing director Alan Lines said: “We have completed another significant stage in our mission to deliver the future armoured core of the British Army. This latest success reflects the dedication, commitment and resilience shown by every member of the WCSP team.” WCSP PDR was achieved following the successful completion of the System Architecture Design Review (SADR). Completion of PDR was the result of several months of co-operative development between the MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Armoured Vehicle Programme, Lockheed Martin UK, and its team of high quality suppliers who together have matured the design of the vehicle and its sub-systems, its character and performance attributes. Leading suppliers on the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) Team include:- Ultra Electronics; the Defence Support Group; SCISYS; Rheinmetall Defence; Curtiss Wright; Thales UK; Moog; Meggitt; Jenoptik ESW, Elbit Systems Kinetics.
30 Jan 14. District Court dismissed all bribery charges related to the Slovenian export project. In its judgment issued today, 30 January 2014, the District Court of Kanta-Häme has dismissed all bribery charges related to the Slovenian export project of 2005–2007. The State Prosecutor had charged five persons with aggravated bribery in relation to the Slovenian project and demanded a corporate fine to be imposed on Patria Land Services Oy.
”The District Court’s decision was as expected. We consider the decision justified, both juridically and in light of the evidence. Patria has no cause for appealing against the judgment with regard to the principal matter. We will now review the justifications in detail,” says General Counsel Sirpa-Helena Sormunen.
27 Jan 14. Russia moves to universal turret system. Russia’s KBP Instrument Design Bureau has developed a new remote controlled turret (RCT) system called Epoch Almaty. The turret will be installed on some versions of the three new-generation armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) platforms – which include the Armata main battle tank (MBT), Kurganets tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), and the Boomerang 8×8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier – being developed to meet Russian Army requirements. Prototypes of all of the AFVs began trials in 2013, but have yet to appear in public. They could potentially start to enter service in 2016. Epoch Almaty is armed with a fully stabilised 30mm 2A42 dual-feed cannon, which is provided with 160 rounds of ready-use armour piercing (AP) ammunition and 340 rounds of high-explosive (HE) ammunition. Mounted to the left of the 30mm 2A42 cannon is a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun (MG) with 2,000 rounds of ready-use ammunition. By mounting the weapons externally no fumes will enter the turret. A pod of two Kornet/Kornet-EM laser-guided missiles is fitted to either side of the turret, offering precision engagement out to a range of 8,000-10,000m, depending on the version. Epoch Almaty is also provided with laser detectors – which are probably conn