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16 Feb 17. Australia’s Land 400 programme takes shape. Further details of the Australian Army’s plans to replace its fleet of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) were given by Brigadier Chris Mills, Director General Modernisation – Army, at IQPC’s International Armoured Vehicles 2017 conference held in London. The two 8×8 contenders for the Land 400 Phase 2 programme for a Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) – which will replace the General Dynamics Land Systems (8×8) ASLAV – are Patria’s AMV35 (which will be fitted with a BAE Systems Hagglunds CV9035 35mm two-person turret) and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles’ Boxer (equipped with a 35mm Lance two-person turret). The in-service ASLAV features a two-person turret armed with an Orbital ATK Armament Systems 25 mm M242 dual-feed cannon and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun (MG). The Boxer and AMV35 are currently being put through their paces under a 12-month Risk Mitigation Activities (RMA) phase with the trials due to be completed late in 2017 and a contract for up to 225 vehicles scheduled for award in 2018; these will have a potential initial in-service date of 2021. Land 400 Phase 3 covers the acquisition of an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and a mobility support vehicle (MSV) with up to 450 vehicles expected to be procured. The IFV will replace the M113AS4 armoured personnel carrier (APC) and variants, which were upgraded by what is now BAE Systems Australia but by today’s standard lack armour, mobility, and firepower. Very broad IFV requirements include a combat weight of between 30 and 45 tonnes, a high level of protection, high level of cross-country mobility, and a lifespan of 30 years. The baseline IFV is required to have a crew of three consisting of the commander, gunner, driver, and six to eight dismounts. The main armament is to have a calibre of 30 mm to 50 mm and fire ammunition with airburst and delay capabilities. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
16 Feb 17. Supacat unveils HMT 400 Desert special operations
vehicle at IDEX. Supacat is unveiling HMT 400 Desert, a new variant of its acclaimed `Jackal` special operations vehicle, at IDEX 2017. HMT 400 Desert will be exhibited on the International Golden Group, IGG, stand 04-C30, as Supacat’s representatives in the UAE.
HMT 400 Desert has been adapted to enhance performance in the desert’s harsh environment and climatic conditions. It has no armour and the lighter gross vehicle mass improves the power-to-weight ratio and increases mobility over deep desert sand. Further desert features include cooling, a central tyre inflation system and lightweight bead locks to enable the vehicle to be operated at the lowest tyre pressures.
The vehicle has been configured to fully comply with the UAE Presidential Guard’s requirements for a new special operations vehicle, including tactical CH-47 internal loading, and has undergone successful tactical trials and testing by UAE forces over the summer. The HMT series, widely known as `Jackal`, has been battle proven in service with numerous elite special forces worldwide.
“Supacat is committed to supporting the region and in the event that HMT 400 Desert is selected by the UAE Presidential Guard a large element of the production and subsequent support programmes will be conducted in UAE”, said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat.
The flexibility of the HMT series has been recently demonstrated by Supacat in developing additional variants and conversions to meet wider and emerging requirements. These include HMT in the Recovery, Logistic Support and Gun Towing roles as well as a unique 4×4 to 6×6 convertible feature, which were announced in September at DVD in the UK.
16 Feb 17. A new lightweight carbon fibre rubber runflat launched at IDEX on stand 07-C20. The new Tyron Carbon-ATR achieves up to 50% wei