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11 Jul 18. Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme at risk. Programme to “unachievable”, despite Lockheed Martin having delivered eight vehicles to the British Army in 2017. The 2018 report by the UK Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has downgraded the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) from amber/red – “successful delivery of the project is in doubt” – in 2017 to red or “unachievable”. The Ajax armoured fighting vehicle and Challenger 2 main battle tank life-extension projects remain amber – “feasible but significant issues already exist”. The data compiled from 2017 in support of the IPA report provides little information about why the delivery confidence in the project has been downgraded to red, except that a 20% variance in the cost from 2017 is due to delays in the demonstration phase. However, the 2017 report stated that the programme had been downgraded as a result of challenges, “[n]otably stabilising the demonstration phase. The focus for Financial Year 2016/2017 has been to stabilise the programme costs and schedule with a focus on the equipment Defence Line of Development (DLOD)”. It also states, “Progress has been made in refining the Programme Artefacts [eg, delivery timeline and plans to overcome any changes that are needed]. In particular the development of a more robust Programme plan with a detailed Higher Level Programme Schedule … This will be key to improving the overall programme Delivery Confidence Assessment.” This may indicate that the WCSP confidence rating has been downgraded because of further delays in the demonstration phase. However, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Jane’s on 6 July, “Eight vehicles were delivered to the army at the end of 2017. We have now completed all vehicle builds as part of the development phase, with test activities now under way. We continue to work with the MoD [Ministry of Defence] to deliver this important capability.” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Jul 18. Taiwan seeking to buy M1A2 Abrams MBTs from US. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has secured the support of the island’s cabinet to purchase M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) from the United States to replace some of its older M60A3 and M48H CM11 MBTs. A Taiwanese defence official was quoted by the China Times newspaper as saying on 9 July that the military will put aside USD990m for the purchase of 108 M1A2s along with associated ammunition. Reports say the funding will come from next year’s defence budget. The official said that if the sale was given the green light, the M1A2s would be deployed into two armoured battalions under the command of the Sixth Army Corps, which is based in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan. Defence Minister Yen Teh-fa had told the island’s Foreign and National Defense Committee in early May that the tanks are needed to ensure “Taiwan’s combat readiness in the face of increasing threats of military action against the island by China”. Taiwan first asked the United States to provide M1A2 tanks nearly 18 years ago as part of a request made under the US administration of President George W Bush. Although that sale was approved in 2001, no further action was taken at the time. Taiwan made similar requests in 2009 and again in 2015 when it requested up to four battalions’ worth of surplus M1A2 tanks that had seen service in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the 2015 request was brought into question after lawmakers raised concerns about the operational feasibility of deploying Abrams MBTs in Taiwan due to the island’s coastal wetlands and mountainous interior. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
10 Jul 18. Russian tank doctrine evolves to combat modern threats. Russian tank forces have revealed details of new tank tactics during a battalion tactical exercise held in Voronezh, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 4 July. The development indicates that tanks will continue to provide firepower in the future battlespace. Elements of the 20th Guards Army from the Western Military District demonstrated a series of armoured warfare drills designed to mitigate the threat of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), which have plagued main battle tanks in recent deployments. The drills focused on constant movement so that the tanks present a very brief window for return fire, too short for accurate missile fire, enabling the tanks to fire on enemy positions. Describing the first tactic, “tank carousel”, tank company commander Captain Roman Schegolev said, “There can be three, six, nine or more vehicles. They continuously travel in a circle – one fires, the other moves to the rear and reloads, the third prepares to enter the position.” The tank carousel allows the unit to apply constant pressure on suspected enemy positions until they receive return fire, at which point the type of weapon is identified and relayed to pre-positioned “sniper tanks” to conduct an engagement. The conflict in Syria has shown that guerrilla forces often have the upper hand in choosing the location of a battle. The “Syrian shaft” has been developed to provide defence against vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ATGMs. It is essentially a super-sized version of a castle parapet with firing ports carved into a pre-built barrier. The tanks wait behind the parapet and only move to the firing ports to engage enemy targets before quickly relocating. Schegolev claims, “One tank platoon can achieve such a high intensity of fire that the enemy will be sure at least a battalion is working against it.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/IHS Jane’s)
06 Jul 18. Belarus expands armoured vehicle fleet. The Belarusian armed forces paraded new 4×4 armoured vehicles in Minsk on independence day on 3 July. On parade were several Lis-PM (Fox-PM) armoured vehicles produced by Minsk Wheel Tractors Plant (MZKT Volat) in close co-operation with Russian industry. Russia supplies stripped-down VPK-233136 Tigr kits that are assembled and refitted by MZKT. The Lis-PM weighs up to 7.5 tonnes and carries eight soldiers. It is armed with an NSVT Utyos 12.7mm heavy machine gun (HMG). Special forces paraded three variants of the DongFeng Mengshi EQ2050F vehicle, dubbed Bogatyr (Legendary Hero) in Belarus. The Bogatyr weighs up to five tonnes and carries four servicemen. The variants are armed with a Kalashnikov PKM 7.62mm medium machine gun, NSVT HMG, or 9K111-1 Konkurs anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system. Also on parade were Dajiang CS/VN3 Drakon (Dragon) armoured vehicles. The 8.7-tonne vehicle can carry eight soldiers and has a welded monocoque hull protecting against 7.62mm bullets and small fragments. It is armed with an NSVT in an open-top manned turret. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
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