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24 Mar 15. Croatia displays new AFV fleets. The Croatian Armed Forces (CAF) presented new armoured vehicles at their Gasinci training grounds on 20 March. Four variants of the Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle (AMV) were presented: medical, logistical, and command versions, plus an armoured personnel carrier variant fitted with a Kongsberg Protector weapon station armed with a 12.7mm gun. As well, three new types of mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles donated by the United States were also shown – the Navistar MaxxPro, the Oshkosh M-ATV, and the BAE Systems RG33 HAGA (Heavy Armoured Ground Ambulance) – along with older Iveco Light Multirole Vehicles (LMVs) and Humvees received in an earlier US donation. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
24 Mar 15. Turkish firm to produce tank engine. A privately owned Turkish engine maker has signed a €190m (US $206.35m) contract with the government to design an engine for the Altay, a new-generation tank the country is developing. TUMOSAN’s Power Group Development program signed the contract on March 17 with the country’s procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM). Last August, Turkey’s top procurement panel, the Defense Industry Executive Committee, tasked SSM with opening contract negotiations with TUMOSAN. The program involves the indigenous design, development, prototype production, testing and qualification of an engine for the Altay. TUMOSAN also will design and develop a transmission for the tank and produce critical parts for its engine, including the diesel pump, electronic control unit and injector. TUMOSAN said it aims to conclude the program within 54 months and “with maximum possible local content.” It said it will obtain foreign know-how wherever necessary. TUMOSAN hopes that it will also develop variants of the planned engine for other land and naval platforms.
“This [program] will end Turkey’s dependency on [foreign] engines for military vehicles,” said Kurtulus Ogun, TUMOSAN’s general manager.
TUMOSAN, founded in 1975, is a diesel engine and tractor manufacturer. It produces 75,000 diesel engines annually. The deal comes as Turkey’s procurement authorities prepare to officially launch a multibillion-dollar competition. The race for the serial production will involve an initial batch of 250 tanks to be followed by three follow-on orders, each comprising 250 more tanks. The Altay program has faced hurdles and delays as the most problematic development feature concerned its engine. Turkey’s months-long negotiations with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for joint development and production of an engine for the Altay failed last year. (Source: Defense News)
23 Mar 15. US British Army completes exercise to validate armour deployability. The British Army held a major month-long divisional exercise in March that was designed to test the ability of the 3rd Division’s Lead Armoured Task Force (LATF) to deploy on potential future overseas operations. With the UK military renewing its focus on global contingency operations capability in the wake of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, Exercise ‘Tractable’ was the first in a series of annual exercises designed to test the ability of the LATF to deploy at short notice and conduct a range of missions. The exercise involved more than 16,000 troops and 575 vehicles, including units from the 12 Armoured Infantry Brigade and the Kings Royal Hussars with its Challenger 2 main battle tanks, as well as the 27th Regiment Logistics Corps. The LATF undertook a range of missions to rehearse deploying from its home bases to a centralised staging centre and then onward transport by air, land, and sea. This included using the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) new A400M Atlas aircraft flying from RAF Brize Norton together with roll-on/-off shipping and the milita