AFV News from Around the Web

Here is another installment of AFV news from around the web.  This assortment of articles most come from IHS Jane’s 360.  Click on the title to go to the full article.

IHS Jane’s – T-90MS Battle tank ready for production

UralVagonZavod (Hangar 2, Stand CE26) has confirmed to the AAD Show Daily that development of its latest T-90MS main battle tank (MBT) is complete and production can commence as soon as orders are placed.  The T-90MS is a step change compared with the earlier T-90 MBT and has already been demonstrated in the Middle East, as well as being shown at the recent Army 2016 show in Moscow. Some of the elements of the T-90MS could be back-fitted to earlier T-90 series to enhance their capability, especially in the key areas of armour and firepower.

ABC News – Queensland aerospace company to fix Australian Army’s tank engines on home soil

A fleet of 59 M1A1 Abrams tanks arrived in Australia in 2007 and until now their engines were sent to the United States to be fixed at a cost of about $500,000 per engine.  Aerospace company TAE, which has a depot at the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, south-west of Brisbane, has secured a contract with the army to repair the engines on site at a tenth of the price.  TAE CEO Andrew Sanderson said the rebuild program had created 20 local jobs.

IHS Jane’s – Otokar enters final bid for Altay programme

Otokar has submitted its best and final offer (BAFO) to the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) for the first production batch of 250 Altay main battle tanks (MBTs) and associated integrated logistic support (ILS) for the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC).  The initial Altay MBT production offer was submitted by Otokar in January 2016 and the SSM subsequently requested a BAFO.  SSM will decide whether to accept Otokar’s offer or to open up a full-scale competition for the production phase of the Altay programme.

IHS Jane’s – Kurganmashzavod up-armours BMP-3 Dragun

Kurganmashzavod unveiled an upgraded version of its BMP-3 Dragun infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) with additional armour protection at the Army 2016 defence show outside Moscow.  “Kurganmashzavod has up-armoured the BMP-3 Dragun IFV. The vehicle has received side skirts made of composite armour and an upgraded electro-optical suite. The company is planning to assemble the Dragun demonstrator for state trials and operational test and evaluation in 2017,” a company representative told IHS Jane`s at the exhibition. He added that Dragun will be the new basis for a whole family of combat vehicles.

IHS Jane’s – China North Industries Corporation VT4 MBT

China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO, Hangar 2, Stand CW14) is aiming for a slice of the still significant main battle tank (MBT) market with its latest VT4 MBT, which is being shown here only in model form.  It is understood that the first export customer for the VT4 MBT – which was previously called the MBT-3000 – is Thailand, which has placed a contract for 28 vehicles.  The VT4 is armed with a 125mm smoothbore gun that is fed by an automatic loader located below the turret that first loads the projectile and then the charge.  A total of 38 rounds of separate loading of 125mm ammunition are carried, of which 22 are for ready use in the automatic loader.