AFV News from around the Net

Here is a collection of some recent articles concerning tanks and AFVs that are circulating the internet.  Click on the headline to read the full article.

Defense News – Italian Parliament Weighs New Tanks, Helicopters

ROME — The Italian army is a step closer to acquiring new tanks and assault helicopters after plans for the purchases were submitted for parliamentary approval.  On Oct. 11 the defense commission of the lower house of the Italian parliament began debating plans by the Italian military to buy the Centauro II tank and an updated version of its A-129 Mangusta helicopter.  The Centauro II is a wheeled tank which boasts improvements on the Centauro tank already in service with the Italian army.  The commission, which has until November 8 to offer an opinion on the purchases, was once just a rubber-stamping operation for military investments, but under 2012 legislation was given more influence over acquisition.

Colorado Springs Gazette – Fort Carson Strykers vs. Russian tanks: Are they strong enough to stop them?

Declining defense budgets along with 15 years of battling terrorists and insurgents have left a more lightly armed Army with the prospect of facing columns of Russian tanks if war erupts in Europe.  And even as Fort Carson troops train to be the first to fight if the nation heads to war overseas, politicians and pundits are debating whether the formations we’ll send are strong enough to be more than a speed bump for America’s potential enemies.  “The short answer is, no, they are not a replacement for heavy forces for a fight in Europe,” said Steve Bucci, a defense expert for the right-leaning Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

The National Interest – What Makes Japan’s Type 10 Tank So Good

As a nation that produced exceptionally poor tanks during World War II, Japan during the postwar period had quite a reputation to overcome. Wartime tanks such as the Type 97 “Chi-Ha” were a decade or more behind the rest of the world during a period of exceptionally quick tank development.  As Japan rebuilt industry and specialized in cars and trucks, it also built up a cottage tank industry to replace American M4A3E8 and M24 tanks donated to the Ground Self-Defense Force. The Type 61, Type 74, Type 90 and now the Type 10 tanks have all been credible designs more than capable of turning the tanks of Japan’s potential adversaries into smoldering scrap. Remarkably, each design bears little in common with previous versions.

UPI – Estonia receives first armored vehicles from Netherlands

TALLINN, Estonia, Oct. 11 (UPI) — An initial batch of CV9035 infantry fighting vehicles purchased by Estonia from the Netherlands have arrived in the Baltic nation.  The 12 vehicles, together with an armored recovery vehicle, arrived by boat and were being transported to the 1st Infantry Brigade at Estonia’s Tapa Army Base.  Estonia signed a contract with the Netherlands for the purchase of 44 used CV9035NL IFVs and six Leopard 1 tank-based support vehicles in late 2014 for 113 million euros.  All the vehicles, which will be delivered by 2018, are to undergo maintenance and repairs before arriving in Estonia, the Estonian Ministry of Defense said.

Defense Systems.com – Army accelerates Active Protection Systems technology

The Army is fast-tracking an emerging technology for Abrams tanks designed to give combat vehicles an opportunity identify, track and destroy approaching enemy rocket-propelled grenades in a matter of milliseconds, service officials said.  Called Active Protection Systems, or APS, the technology uses sensors and radar, computer processing, fire control technology and interceptors to find, target and knock down or intercept incoming enemy fire such as RPGs and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, or ATGMs. Systems of this kind have been in development for many years, however the rapid technological progress of enemy tank rounds, missiles and RPGs is leading the Army to more rapidly test and develop APS for its fleet of Abrams tanks.

Defense World.net – BAE Systems To Deliver First Armored Vehicle For US Army By This Year End

BAE Systems will be handing over the first of 29 Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPV) to the US Army in December.  As of early October, one vehicle has been completed with nine vehicles on the production line, the company announced Friday.  These vehicles will be put through some 7,500 miles of contractor trials and 21,000 miles of US Army trials.
These prototype/pre-production AMPVs are being built under an Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) contract awarded in December 2014. Also competing for the AMPV was General Dynamics Land Systems. Critical Design Review has already been passed with a Milestone C decision due in financial year 2019.