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19 Mar 15. French Armed Forces acquire logistics solutions from Renault Trucks Defense. Since 2007, the French public procurement grouping (UGAP) has ordered 570 trucks to carry out logistics duties for the Army, out of a total of about 700 vehicles delivered by RENAULT TRUCKS Defense. This demonstrates the relevance and competitiveness of the solutions proposed by RENAULT TRUCKS Defense and their ability to meet the needs of the armed forces. The vehicles ordered by UGAP carry out materiel transport tasks and, more generally, a range of logistics duties within the Army, thus effectively helping it to perform its missions. The users include the French army’s transportation unit (“Train”), the Air Force and the
Navy. The French defence procurement agency (DGA) also uses many vehicles acquired through these contracts for its test centers. The latest vehicles delivered are compliant with the Euro VI pollution standard. For example, the “Train” regiments received 25 Renault Trucks C 380 P 6×4 in 2014 and will soon be receiving a further 20, as partial replacement for the fleet of G290 VTL. The camp maintenance units will be receiving 9 Renault Trucks K 430 P 6×6 fitted with water tanks, while 4 Renault Trucks K 460 P 6×6 will be delivered to the Air Force. Prior to delivery, RENAULT TRUCKS Defense has the carrier vehicles fitted out by a network of body shops in France. Workshop support for these vehicles ordered by UGAP is *provided by the nationwide Renault Trucks network. These new cutting-edge logistics vehicles thus supplement the existing fleet of RENAULT TRUCKS Defense models used by the French armed forces, such as the GBC 8 KT – which has been in service for decades – or the more recent Sherpa Medium and Renault Kerax.
19 Mar 15. US NRL assesses new rubber types to provide corrosion protection for AAVs. Tests performed by the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have found that certain types of rubber, called polyureas, could offer better corrosion protection for amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs). Five different coatings, including two types of paint, two polyureas developed by a private company and a polyurea used by NRL in other armour applications, were tested. Led by researchers Dr Ray Gamache and Dr Mike Roland and conducted at NRL’s Key West facility, the testing found that polyurea coatings could better protect the armour from corrosion by stretching with it, rather than cracking like brittle paint. The testing also found that polyurea coatings slow bullets and blast fragments, providing better ballistic protection to AAVs. Dr Roland said: “We solved the corrosion problem. And with a negligible increase in weight, we also provided a higher payload capacity and the potential for better ballistic protection.” Designed for use by the US Marine Corps (USMC), the AAVs are highly mobile, tracked armoured amphibious vehicles that can transport soldiers and cargo across land and water. Introduced in 1972, USMC is currently planning to extend the AAV through 2035. This new development is expected to help extend the life of today’s AAVs and also guide the next generation of ship to shore connectors. USMC Advanced Amphibious Assault (AAA) office representative Tim Bergland said, “Innovative sustainment concepts, like those NRL is investigating, enable us to avoid the cost of new design, development, and production of new components.” (Source: naval-technology.com)
17 Mar 15. Austria and Belgium upgrade their Pandur I APCs. Belgium and Austria have joined forces to upgrade their General Dynamics European Land Systems – Steyr Pandur I 6×6 armoured personnel carriers. Under the programme, RUAG Defence will upgrade up to 70 Belgian and up to 59 Austrian Pandur Is with improved ballistic protection kits. The upgrade programme includes all five varian