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03 Jun 16. Paramount rolls out Mbombe 8 IFV. South Africa’s Paramount Group displayed its Mbombe 8 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) for the first time at the Kazakhstan Defence Expo (KADEX 2016) that opened on 2 June.
Kazakhstan defence officials have previously been cited as saying that a variant of the Mbombe called the Barys was being developed for the Kazakhstan military and would be produced by the factory that Paramount has set up in Astana with a state-owned company under the Kazakstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) joint venture.
Paramount declined to comment on whether the Mbombe 8 has been developed specifically for the Kazakhstan military, although it did say it would be trialled in both South Africa and the Central Asian country.
It also explained that the new 8×8 vehicle is called the Barys 8 in Kazakhstan and that the KPE plant is capable of producing the entire Mbombe/Barys family, which includes the original 4×4 vehicle and the 6×6 Mbombe 6 that has been ordered by Jordan, as well as the new 8×8.
The KPE plant currently produces a version of the Marauder 4×4 called the Arlan. Paramount says the technology is being transferred to enable the factory to fabricate complete Arlan hulls, but major sub-systems such as engines and drivelines need to be imported.
Paramount also listed various features of the Mbombe 8 that appeared tailored towards Kazakhstan, saying its cooling systems and driveline have been tested and proven in winter conditions of -55 °C and desert conditions of 55°C. It noted that the Mbombe 8 displayed at KADEX could carry eight dismounts and three crew wearing the clothing and equipment needed for Central Asian winters.
The vehicle on display was fitted with the Russian-made AU-220M unmanned turret armed with a 57 mm dual-feed cannon and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. A wide range of other turrets and weapon stations could be integrated on the vehicle. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Jun 16. Dutch Army to procure additional Boxer engineering vehicles. The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and ARTEC have signed a new contract for the supply of Boxer multirole armoured fighting vehicles to the Netherlands.
ARTEC is a consortium, formed by Krauss Maffei Wegmann, Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Rheinmetall Nederland, that produces nine different variants of Boxer all-terrain utility vehicle.
The move comes after the Netherlands identified a need for additional engineer vehicles instead of cargo and command post vehicles.
The latest contract increases the number of engineer vehicles from 39 to 92, while reducing the number of cargo vehicles from 15 to 12 and command post vehicles from 24 to 36. It was prepared in close cooperation between OCCAR-EA, the Netherlands Official Services and ARTEC. The Boxer GNPR is an engineering vehicle that can be used for the transportation of troops and engineer group equipment. Four variants of the vehicle will be delivered to Germany, while five variants will be supplied to the Netherlands. This vehicle can be used for high-intensity conflicts and humanitarian operations worldwide, OCCAR said in a statement. (Source: army-technology.com)
01 Jun 16. Fiat-Chrysler, Romanian Defense Group Discuss Vehicle Partnership. Fiat-Chrysler and Romania’s leading defense group Romarm are considering joint production of military vehicles at the Romanian company’s plant in the capital Bucharest, company representatives told local news agency Agerpres. Under the plan, the state-run Romarm is to assemble the four-wheel-drive Jeep J8 at its Uzina Mecanica Bucuresti (UMB) factory. The two manufacturers are also considering extending their cooperation to making other military vehicles, according to Romarm.
The announcement was made following a meeting between company representatives. The deal is expected