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28 Sep 15. DVD dates for 2016 announced! DVD will take place at the Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire UK on 7 -8 September 2016. The theme for DVD 2016 will encompass the development, modernisation and sustainment of British Army capability now and in the future. Building on the success of DVD2014 the scope will reflect the British Army’s continued focus on a return to a Contingent Operational footing.
30 Sep 15. Iraq, Saudi Arabia reportedly interested in placing major BMP-3 orders. Iraq and Saudi Arabia have expressed interest in ordering large numbers of BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), according to Albert Bakov, the vice-president and co-owner of the Tractor Plants Concern, which controls Kurganmashzavod, the company that produces the IFVs.
“We’ve got a request for 500 BMP-3s from Iraq and for 950 vehicles from Saudi Arabia,” he told the TASS news agency on 30 September.
In terms of tracked IFVs, Saudi Arabia currently has around 400 Bradley M2/M3s, while Iraq has a small number of BMP-1s and BMP-2s.
Rosboronexport, Russia’s arms export agency, has no information about Iraqi or Saudi BMP-3 orders, its spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko told the Interfax-AVN news agency later the same day. It is possible the Tractor Plants Concern has the authority to line up export orders independently of Rosboronexport.
Bakov suggested the BMP-3 production line is currently closed, even though vehicles were delivered to Azerbaijan and Indonesia in 2014, but would be restarted next year. “In 2016 we will launch an assembly line in time to fulfil all the orders, but the launch of the assembly line requires a lot of work relating to the supply of components,” he said.
TASS noted earlier reports that 200 additional BMP-3s have been ordered for the Russian army and are expected to be delivered before the end of 2017. A new version of the BMP-3 is being developed called the Dragoon that rectifies the vehicle’s most glaring flaw by moving the engine to the front, thereby freeing up more space for the infantry in the rear. The Dragoon also has the new AU-220M weapon station with a 57 mm gun.
Bakov indicated that any BMP-3s that will be built for Russia or export customers will be the original version, which has an extremely cramped infantry compartment and a two-man turret with coaxial 100 mm and 30 mm guns, when he said his company was still waiting for a contract from the Russian Ministry of Defence to develop the Dragoon further.
(Source: IHS Jane’s)
01 Oct 15. Czech MoD recommends Nexter Titus MRAP purchase. The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) has recommended the government selects the Nexter Systems Titus 6×6 armoured vehicle to fulfil a CZK2.7bn (USD111m) requirement for 42 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) platforms for the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR). MoD sources leaked information to local media at the end of September that the Titus outperformed the indigenously designed and manufactured SVOS Vega 4×4 armoured vehicle in ACR trials that incorporated seven parameters, with the former platform scoring 25 points versus 12 scored by the latter. According to the MoD sources, the Titus, which utilises a 6×6 chassis supplied by Czech truck maker Tatra, is said to be CZK4.5m cheaper than the Vega and has a superior turning radius and the ability to negotiate steeper terrain.
Speaking to IHS Jane’s on 1 October, MoD spokesperson Petr Medek stated, “The main reason for selecting the Titus over the Vega is that Tatra signed an agreement with Nexter Systems to supply the chassis for the Titus and did not sign a similar agreement with SVOS to supply a chassis for the Vega. The MoD specified that the winning platform must be equipped with a Tatra chassis for commonality and logistical purposes.”
The ACR has a requirement for two versions of the Tit