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05 May 16. Poland Orders Mortar Vehicles To Enhance Artillery Capability. Poland’s Ministry of Defence has signed a contract to acquire 64 self-propelled 120mm RAK (Cancer) mortar vehicles and 32 artillery command vehicles. The vehicles will come from a consortium led by local manufacturer Huta Stalowa Wola S.A. (HSW) for the country’s armed forces.
The consortium was formed by HSW and local state-run defense manufacturer Rosomak S.A., the ministry’s Armament Inspectorate said in a statement. The latter company specializes in making the Rosomak armored modular vehicle (AMV). The eight-wheel drive AMV is produced at the company’s plant in Siemianowice Slaskie under a license from Finland’s Patria.
The deal, which is worth more than 968m zloty (US $252m), was signed in the presence of Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, according to the statement.
The procurement, under which deliveries are to be completed by 2019, is to enhance the artillery capability of the Polish land forces. Warsaw has intensified efforts to purchase new weapons and military equipment following Russia’s intervention in neighboring Ukraine. However, in April, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said that the country’s military modernization program, under which the Defence Ministry is to spend some 130bn zloty by 2022 on new weapons and military equipment, was underfunded by the previous government. If all of the acquisitions are implemented, the program will total at least 235bn zloty, Macierewicz said. HSW is controlled by the state-run Polish Armaments Group, which owns an 85.09 percent stake in the manufacturer. (Source: Defense News)
05 May 16. US must move to develop large UGV capabilities. The US armed forces must look to address the challenge of on- and off-road autonomy for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) following more than of decade of concentrating on providing standoff capabilities. Speaking at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016 conference and exhibition in New Orleans, Major Michael Dvorak, Robotics Branch Chief Army Capabilities Integration Center, US Army Training And Doctrine Command (TRADOC), said that the US military’s focus has largely been on enhancing explosive ordnance disposal and counter-improvised explosive device systems, but must now look for capabilities that will support manoeuvre warfare. Maj Dvorak said that the need to develop these systems has been recognised as near- and mid-term goals (2016-21 and 2022-31 respectively), and that the work will focus on appliqué autonomous vehicle operations and lightening soldier’s load in the first instance, followed by improving the autonomy of systems and developing a appliqué kit for tactical vehicles. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
04 May 16. Oshkosh Defense, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, is offering five Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) variants to meet a full range of mission requirements for armed forces around the world.
Collectively, the battle-proven M-ATV Family of Vehicles offers the best combination of protection and off-road mobility performance for peacekeeping, internal security, border security, special forces, counterinsurgency and conventional military operations. The M-ATV Family of Vehicles includes:
• M-ATV Special Forces
• M-ATV Assault
• M-ATV Engineer
• M-ATV Command
• M-ATV Utility
“Whether soldiers are mobilized for large force-on-force wars, unconventional conflicts, or routine security operations, militaries require tactical vehicles that will allow them to carry out their mission in any environment, climate or threat level,” said Bill Mooney, regional vice president of Middle East and North Africa for Oshkosh Defense. “The common fleet of the Oshkosh M-ATV Family of Vehicles optimizes fleet readiness and maintainability while providing v