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07 Nov 18. Signature of an Agreement Between France and Belgium on an Unprecedented Strategic Partnership in the Field of Land Mobility (CAMO). Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and Steven Vandeput, Federal Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Belgium, today in Paris signed an unprecedented intergovernmental framework agreement which anchors the long term, strategic partnership on “Motorized Capability – CAMO”. The agreement was signed in Paris, on the sidelines of the 1st ministerial meeting of the European Intervention Initiative (IEI). The Armed Forces Minister is delighted by this major agreement which strengthens an already strong cooperation between the French and Belgian armies, and opens the way towards a greater operationality of our forces. In addition to marking an important step towards European defense, this agreement will allow important economic benefits in France as in Belgium. This agreement embodies a concrete vision of European defense that is built through partnerships where the States combine their forces to better serve the security of European citizens.
Additional information
This unique partnership includes the sale of 382 Griffon and 60 Jaguar armored vehicles to the Belgian Army. It also includes an operational component that covers training and operational maintenance of the equipment. Finally, a joint office between the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Belgian Ministry of Defense will be set up to manage the evolution of these armored vehicles, ensuring that it is mutually beneficial to both countries.
Context
— In June 2017, Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, signed a letter of intent with Belgium to move towards a closer bilateral cooperation in the field of army equipment.
— On 25 October 2018, the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Belgium approved the principle of an intergovernmental agreement with France concerning the setting up of a strategic partnership in the field of land mobility.
— This is the intergovernmental agreement signed yesterday.
— The armored vehicles will be delivered to Belgium from 2025.
— The acquisition covers 382 VBMR-GRIFFON and 60 EBRC-JAGUAR vehicles. The total investment budget amounts to around 1.5bn euros.
Who?
— The French manufacturers who build these armored vehicles are for the Griffon and the Jaguar, including: Nexter, Thales, Arquus, Quiri, SNC Hutchinson, Elno, Metravib, Safran, TRAC-C industry, Texelis.
— The French Army will participate in training with the Belgian military.
— The Directorate General of Material Resources (DGMR) and the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) will cooperate in an unprecedented way, by the establishment of a joint program office to manage the acquisition.
— The collaboration between the two directorates will allow the development of synergies, in the areas of expertise and testing, and close consultation on future needs. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/French Armed Forces Ministry)
08 Nov 18. Israeli MoD confirms it is Sahar UGV customer. Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 7 November that it has completed development of the Sahar unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which detects and clears improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The MoD’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure said the Sahar has now begun a trial phase. It described the UGV as “one component in a concept of a forward robotic guard that allows for a range of capabilities” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Nov 18. MoD Equipment Plan shows delays on Warrior WCSP Programme. ‘The key risk to project affordability and delivery is within the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme which is currently forecasting a delay in the Demonstration Phase which creates inflationary cost growth in the Manufacture Phase. ‘Lockheed Martin issued this Statement today: “Such a complex and demanding engineering project has led to different technical challenges in the lead-up to trials. However, the MOD and Lockheed Martin continue to work collaboratively in order to deliver a game-changing capability to the British Army. Qualification Trials started in September 2018, notably including recent live-firing trials of the CT40mm cannon.”
BATTLESPACE Comment: Could this be a cunning Baldrick plan? “Baldrick we have a budget problem, what do we do?” “I have a cunning plan sir, pretend that the Warrior Trials have run into problems so we can run them on and delay the procurement which isn’t funded? If it fails we can buy more MIVs!” “Good plan Baldrick I wish I’d thought of it myself!” In other news we hear that another cunning plan is taking shape in the form of the Challenger 2 LEP! Fit a smooth bore canon to delay the Programme by at least two to four years because the turret and the ammunition will have to be requalified and all existing ammunition destroyed! What is certain is that with exchange rate movements the current Army Equipment Programme which now includes 150 new artillery pieces is completely unaffordable! UK procurement at its best whilst the RAF tries to fit in 6 x Wedgetails into the Support Budget at the same time as buying 17 new Chinooks at over $200m each when every other nation is refurbishing theirs! In discussing the current Budget problems as we did last week, a BATTLESPACE source confirmed our concerns expressed last week about SME’s and orders. The source said that we were spot on with our observations and that several SMEs were ready to throw in the towel with the MoD which will of course out a huge question mark over the ‘25% SME share,’ as announced at DVD. In other news BATTLESPACE understands that Cammell Laird has had to relinquish the Prime lead for the Type 31e Team as it cannot pass the required rigorous financial tests.
08 Nov 18. Optimising all aspects of operational mobility, Allison Specialty Series™ transmissions will equip the new generation of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV 1.1) for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). The vehicles are being produced under a four-year, $400m contract won by BAE Systems, with support from Iveco Defense Vehicles, a leading provider of integrated and protected mobility solutions to military and civil protection customers. The first order by the USMC is for 30 vehicles, with future options for a total of 204 new vehicles. Iveco has chosen the reliability and technology of Allison fully automatic transmissions. This collaboration has already resulted in the design and manufacture of technologically-advanced armoured vehicles for the Spanish Army.
The ACV 1.1 is an advanced, 8×8 ocean-capable vehicle, with a new, 700hp six-cylinder engine optimised for use with the Allison 4800SP™ transmission. The military vehicle offers best-in-class mobility on all terrain and has an internal structure that can accommodate13 Marines with increased survival protection over currently fielded systems. The first 16 prototypes were delivered last year to enable the Marines to evaluate the performance of the amphibious vehicles. During this period, the Iveco/BAE teams, together with Allison’s engineers, supported the Marine Corps evaluation by conducting numerous tests on risk situations, water operations and ground mobility. The performance of the vehicles has achieved excellent results.
Allison’s Specialty Series transmissions are dedicated to military, exceptional transportation (HET), and other severe applications – ensuring maximum reliability and durability. “The 8×8 wheeled vehicle is a state-of-the-art vehicle – a concentration of technology that brought new know-how during the testing phase,” said Simona Pilone, OEM Account Manager at Allison Transmission. “No special adaptations to the Allison transmission were necessary. However, some tailored functional and electronic integration adaptations have been developed.
“Allison fully automatic transmissions are the best option on military vehicles, allowing drivers to focus on their mission and reduce cognitive stress. Our Continuous Power Technology™ offers uninterrupted power to the drive wheels, smooth take off, low speed control and maneuverability. Transmission mounted Power Take-Offs (PTO) provide installation flexibility and the ability to power vehicle-mounted specialty equipment such as winches and central tire inflation,” said Pilone.
Allison Transmission has been supporting the U.S. military since 1917, when it began supplying engines for fighter aircraft. In later years, Allison began supplying automatic transmissions for tracked and wheeled military vehicles.
06 Nov 18. Israel Rolls Out 8×8 Eitan, Eye on Exports. Israel’s new Eitan armored personnel carrier is in final field testing with the celebrated Nahal infantry brigade, with series production to begin in 2021. Once the Israelis have enough Eitans to replace the last of their decades-old M113s, they plan to offer the new APC for export — and already foreign armies have sent observers to the Eitan trials. What’s all the excitement about? The Eitan is a 30-plus-ton, eight-wheel-drive armored vehicle with a turreted 30 mm cannon and provision for an Active Protection System to shoot down incoming anti-tank rockets. It has a three-man crew — driver, gunner, and commander — and passenger space for nine fully equipped infantry. Those basic specs are similar to the latest, most extensively upgraded models of the US Army’s Stryker. But the Stryker evolved to that point from the Swiss MOWAG Piranha of 1972, while the Eitan is an all-new design applying the latest technology specifically to Israeli needs.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense evaluated the Stryker but rejected it because “it did not meet the operational requirements,” said Brig. Gen. Guy Paglin, the MOD’s director for armored vehicles. While the vehicle was developed by the Israeli government for Israeli needs, 60 percent will be manufactured in the US, Paglin told Breaking Defense in an interview. In 2024, he said, when the US no longer allows Israel to convert Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants to local currency, the US-made portion may rise to 70 percent — part of a wider move by Israeli arms makers to use American subcontractors and subsidiaries.
Israeli Merkava 4 main battle tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers played a major role in Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014. But while the Namer, built on the Merkava tank chassis, is heavier and better protected than almost any other troop carrier, the Israeli Defense Force has relatively few of them.
That meant many troops had to ride in the IDF’s aging M113s, a US design dating to 1962 that troops considered dangerously underarmored as far back as Vietnam, often riding on the top because a landmine would kill everyone inside.. To improve the protection of the M113s in Protective Edge, the Israelis covered the floor with sandbags. (The US replaced its M113s in frontline roles with M2 Bradleys back in the 1980s and is now reequipping support units with a turretless Bradley variant, the AMPV).
Besides being better armed and armored than the old M113, the Eitan is also wheeled rather than tracked. While the US Army is historically skeptical of wheeled armored vehicles — the Stryker is the only one it’s bought in decades — because of their lower performance over very rough terrain, many other militaries worldwide prefer them because of their lower cost, easier maintenance, and superior performance on long road marches. As Strykers showed both in Iraq — where they often acted as a mobile reserve — and Eastern Europe, the main operational advantage of wheeled armored vehicles over tracked ones is their ability to move long distances by road, without having to embark on railways or heavy transport trucks. (Eitan can also be airlifted, Paglin said, though it wasn’t specifically designed for air-mobile operations).
“The Eitan can travel at speeds of 55 miles per hour, and that gives it a major advantage when forces have to be transferred from one battle area to the other,” Brig. Gen. Paglin said.
To reach these speeds, the Eitan is powered by a 750 horsepower heavy fuel engine, with both German and US models being tested in the prototypes. Four of the eight wheels are steerable, enabling the vehicle to take tight turns and maneuver in narrow spaces both in cities and off road. The Israelis are evaluating whether to make the four back wheels steerable as well.
26 feet long and 10 feet wide, the Eitan weighs 33 tons (33 metric), including both the ballistic armor and the active protection system. The Israelis are currently testing two Israeli-made alternatives for the APS: Rafael’s Trophy, used in combat by the Merkava 4 tank and now being installed on the US M1 Abrams, and IMI’s Iron Fist.
The prototypes used for testing carry a single remotely operated weapon station, but production models will integrate an unmanned overhead turret armed with an ATK 30mm automatic cannon and a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The 30mm gun can elevate as high as 70 degrees, Paglin said, “which gives it a lot of advantages when the Eitan is used in urban warfare (where troops often fire from roofs and upper stories). This elevation allows the gunner to deal with high-placed targets like enemy soldiers using all types of anti-tank weapons, which are very popular among terror organizations.”
The Eitan will also have built-in smoke dischargers and a 60mm mortar for indirect fire, including high explosive rounds, illumination, and smoke. Paglin said the IDF is also looking at equipping the Eitan with anti-tank missiles like the 2.5-mile-range version of Rafael’s Spike.
The basic turreted Eitan platform is likely to be used for moving infantry in the battle combat, command, and scout missions. A turretless variant will serve in support roles such as a self-propelled mortar, combat engineering, armored recovery, and casualty evacuation.
Brig. Gen Paglin expects new turreted variants with different turret loadouts will enter service as well, once the Eitan is fielded in numbers. “It always happens after a combat platform is introduced into service,” he said. “New operational demands are met with new systems.” (Source: glstrade.com/Breaking Defense.com)
05 Nov 18. Rheinmetall transfers state-of-the-art trucks to the Bundeswehr – first vehicles formally handed over at ceremony in Munich. The transfer to the Bundeswehr of twenty factory-fresh military trucks in Munich marks the start of a new chapter in the history of German Army logistics. The Bundeswehr’s fleet will be steadily augmented by a total of up to 2,271 new trucks, which will gradually replace Germany’s trusty but aging Kat I mil gl vehicles. Attending the symbolic handover of the keys at the MAN Forum in Munich were representatives of the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-service Support (BAAINBw, i.e. the German procurement authority) and the future user, the German Bundeswehr. Headquartered in Munich, the joint venture company Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) is one of the world’s foremost makers of military wheeled vehicles.
On behalf of the customer, Rainer Krug, head of BAAINBw’s ground support department, took possession of the symbolic key, which he then immediately handed over to the Bundeswehr, represented by Major General Stefan Linus Fix of the Joint Support Services Command, and Colonel Ralf Albert Nau of the German Army Command.
In summer 2017, BAAINBw awarded Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles a framework contract to supply the Bundeswehr with trucks from the HX2 family worth a total of €900m. As a first step, an order was issued for 558 trucks, including special tools and training support.
In Bundeswehr and BAAINBw parlance, the project is known as the “UTF (Ungeschützte Transportfahrzeuge) mil gl in den Zuladungsklassen 5t und 15t”, which means “unprotected transport vehicle, military/all-terrain load classes 5t and 15t”. It is true that these versatile, high-performance 6×6 and 8×8 trucks currently feature an unprotected driver’s cab. However, the powerful chassis is designed to enable subsequent replacement with a highly protected armoured cab, likewise made by Rheinmetall. As a result, these “Unprotected Vehicles” can be transformed into superbly protected vehicles at any time, which, despite the additional weight, remain as manoeuvrable and flexibly deployable as ever, while providing their crews with excellent protection when deployed in harm’s way.
At the handover ceremony, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger stated how pleased he was to see the Bundeswehr joining the circle of HX2 users. In recent years, among other nations, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand have all procured comparable RMMV vehicles, as have Norway and Sweden.
As Mr Papperger put it, “We are very happy that the Bundeswehr is now part of this growing family. In a joint User Nations Group, we work closely with the armed forces of these nations to continuously improve the vehicles, to gain from each other’s experience and to create a new common logistics capability – one that will benefit everybody.”
He went on to say that, “We at Rheinmetall see it as our duty to supply our men and women in uniform with the best-possible equipment to help them perform their missions. The ‘Unprotected Transport Vehicle’ project is one which all of us at Rheinmetall can be particularly proud of.”
For his part, Michael Wittlinger, managing director of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, expressed his pride in the achievement, too, directing his thanks to everyone involved in the project, on the customer and contractor sides alike. “In a very short timeframe”, declared Mr Wittlinger, “outstanding partnership achieved great things here – the results speak for themselves.”
A vehicle specially developed for military users, the HX2 has been systematically perfected from the very outset. RMMV development engineers consistently adhered to a family concept, resulting in major advantages with respect to the supply of spare parts, training and interoperability. Assuring maximum mobility and robust performance under rugged conditions were also key design goals.
Production is already in full swing. In 2018, the first delivery year, Rheinmetall is already well ahead of its target output figure of ninety vehicles. As things stand, 110 UTF trucks will thus be ready for delivery this year.
02 Nov 18. US Army steps towards 2019 delivery of autonomous leader-follower convoy technology. With an eye towards fielding autonomous vehicle convoys to reduce manpower and risk to soldiers in theatre on resupply missions, the US Army is moving ahead with plans to field the technology in the country in 2019.
“This is an important project that promises to make military logistics safer and more efficient, and should do the same for civilian transportation,” said Tony England, the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, in a 1 November release. “Platooning extends the human intelligence and skill of one driver to many vehicles, and increasingly can be further leveraged by artificial intelligence, whether we’re talking about trucks, cars, or even aircraft.”
The Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is working with multiple universities to develop the technology, and in late October hosted an autonomous leader-follower convoy demonstration. During the demonstration, the service put two commercial line-haul trucks and two M915 tractor-trailers through a series of “driverless technology manoeuvres” on a two-mile course. Some of the manoeuvres included traditional leader-follower exercises, capability-enabling throttle, brake control, and lateral steering control. Additionally, the exercise showcased the technology’s ability to have vehicles merge into the convoy, a manoeuvre which requires the trucks to slow down or speed up. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Nov 18. AM General invests in US artillery support supplier. US High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) manufacturer AM General announced on 1 November that it had made an investment in Mandus Group, a supplier of innovative artillery technology. The investment, the nature or value of which was not disclosed, aims to accelerate the deployment of AM General’s vehicle-mounted weapons systems, such as the Humvee Hawkeye 105 mm self-propelled howitzer. Kevin Jensen, president of Mandus Group, said, “The marrying of our product capabilities with AM General’s global reach allows for an unprecedented leap forward in artillery technology.” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Nov 18. Russian National Guard receives Ural-VV MRAP vehicles. Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya) has received Ural-VV 6×6 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles developed by the Ural Automotive Plant (Ural AZ), a Rosgvardiya source told Jane’s.
“The Ural-432009 [Ural-VV] has been adopted by Rosgvardiya, and the service has already started to receive the MRAP. The vehicle is among the platforms forming the backbone of Rosgvardiya’s mobile troops,” the source said. However, the source declined to disclose the number of Ural-VVs being delivered. The Ural-VV is based on the Ural-4320 all-terrain truck and can be supplied in two configurations – Ural-432009-31 and Ural-432009-73 – with the engine and gearbox being the difference. The vehicle can be powered by a 240hp YaMZ-238M2 or a 285hp YaMZ-53642.10 diesel engine, respectively, coupled to a manual transmission, either a five-speed YaMZ-2361 or a nine-speed ZF 9S 1310 TO. Depending on the variant, the Ural-VV weighs 17,600kg or 18,500kg, has a maximum speed of 85km/h or 90km/h, and carries a 3,000kg payload. The truck features a monocoque spall liner-reinforced armoured hull with three side doors and two back doors. The vehicle is controlled by a single driver and transports up to 14 soldiers in blast-mitigating seats. The hull provides protection against 5.45 mm and 7.62mm steel-core bullets (Level Br4), while front armour protects against armour-piercing 7.62 mm bullets (Level Br5). “The Ural-VV withstands explosion of an improvised explosive device with 2 kg of TNT,” the source said. The Rosgvardiya’s Ural-VV MRAP trucks carry no armament, but “a remotely controlled weapon station can be installed,” the source added. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
————————————————————————-Millbrook, based in Bedfordshire, UK, makes a significant contribution to the quality and performance of military vehicles worldwide. Its specialist expertise is focussed in two distinct areas: test programmes to help armed services and their suppliers ensure that their vehicles and systems work as the specification requires; and design and build work to upgrade new or existing vehicles, evaluate vehicle capability and investigate in-service failures. Complementing these is driver and service training and a hospitality business that allows customers to use selected areas of Millbrook’s remarkable facilities for demonstrations and exhibitions.
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