MILITARY VEHICLE NEWS
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13 Jul 09. Ricardo showed off the latest and most powerful version of its Land Rover WMIK vehicle, R+ WMIK at DVD. “R+ WMIK is the latest and the biggest change to our range of WMIK vehicles using lessons learnt from the E, R and original WMIKs developed over the last 11 years.” John Lake, General Manager Special Vehicle operations, of Ricardo told BATTLESPACE. R+ WMIK has a new integrated roll-over frame system which allows the vehicle to carry one more crew member, taking the crew numbers to four and more kit. This new frame does not allow the vehicle to be accommodated in a Chinook but it can still be underslung. The chassis has been strengthened to allow a GVW of 4.7 tonnes. The rear body area has been increased by 160mm in width. The 300TDi engine’s output has been increased and is now linked to a ZF Automatic gearbox to accommodate the extra weight and the suspension and axles have been upgraded. The powertrain is now common with the Vixen. Ricardo has improved the integration of the ballistic protection with a new composite system developed in-house to replace the MAPIK armour kit. “Was R+ WMIK developed using Private Venture money?” The Editor asked “Yes, we developed R+ WMIK in anticipation of the requirement to upgrade the rest of the WMIK fleet not covered by the current R WMIK requirement. We expect all older WMIKs and the EWMIKs to be upgraded to R+ WMIK.” John Lake continued.
03 Jul 09. KMW/Rheinmetall unveil AMPV prototype. The first prototype of the Armoured Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), developed by a Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW)/Rheinmetall Landsysteme consortium, was shown recently to parliamentary and military guests in Berlin. The vehicle is beginning a series of extensive company automotive and durability trials in Germany and will be followed by a second AMPV later this year. (Source: Jane’s, JDW)
13 Jul 09. The U.K. MoD is preparing to send its latest heavyweight vehicles to Afghanistan as part of a £700m equipment package. Included in the package is a number of Wolfhound heavy-armoured support trucks; Husky medium-armoured vehicles; Coyote lightly-armoured support vehicles; and 100 Warthog cross-country vehicles, which will replace existing Viking models. British troops are also set to receive 200 Jackal vehicles. The open-top vehicle was first deployed in the Helmand region of Afghanistan last year, but about ten soldiers have been killed in the vehicle since it was deployed. Accompanying the Jackals will be the Buffalo vehicle and the Snatch Vixen, which is set to replace the controversial lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover in which 37 soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan. (Source: army-technology.com)
15 Jul 09. The Finnish Army Command is seeking contractors to upgrade its Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks as part of its defence modernisation programme. The Leopard 2AX project aims at providing a Mid Life Upgrade for the Finnish Leopard 2A4 battle tanks to ensure the usability and performance of the fleet up to 2030. The Army Materiel Command Headquarters will soon issue a Reques