AFV News from around the Web

Another installment of AFV news from around the web. Click in the headline to go to the full article.

Jane’s 360 – Russia shows off upgraded T-72B3 MBTs in Moscow parade

Russia displayed the first of 150 upgraded T-72B main battle tanks (MBTs) at the 5 May Victory Day Parade in Moscow.  Under a 2016 contract with UralVagonZavod the MBTs are to be brought to what the Russian Ministry of Defence has referred to as the T-72B3 standard, although the upgraded tanks feature a number of differences to the existing T-72B3 standard, being variously reported under the designations T-72B3M and T-72B4. It is possible the MBTs will not receive a full type designation and will instead use a year designator, potentially T-72B3 obr.2016, or a minor modification designation such as T-72B3-1.

Jane’s 360 – IDEF 2017: FNSS displays Kaplan AFV armed with 30 mm gun

Turkey’s FNSS unveiled a version of its Kaplan tracked armoured vehicle armed with a 30 mm gun at the country’s IDEF 2017 exhibition, held in Istanbul on 9-12 May. The medium-calibre armament is designed to allow the new vehicle to operate alongside main battle tanks (MBTs).  The Kaplan-30 Next Generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) is fitted with an FNSS Teber-30 turret housing a 30 mm Orbital ATK Armament Systems MK44 dual-feed automatic cannon and 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun.

Defense News – IDEF’17: Increased rivalry observed among Turkey’s armored vehicle makers

ISTANBUL — Increased insurgency-related violence in Turkey and more turmoil in regional conflict zones have led to a surge in competition among Turkish armored vehicle producers.   A United Nations report on human rights in southeast Turkey says about 2,000 people were killed in security operations in the area between July 2015 and December 2016. The report also estimates between 355,000 to 500,000 people are displaced in the area.

Defense News – Four US Army Strykers in Europe get survivability upgrade

STOCKHOLM — A U.S. Army cavalry regiment in Germany is testing a Stryker upgrade that could increase the vehicle’s survivability as the service conducts training exercises in Europe meant to deter Russia.  Soldiers from the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Vilsek, Germany, have installed Saab’s mobile camouflage system, or MCS, on four of its Strykers, said Scott Caldwell, the company’s director of marketing and sales for its Barracuda business unit.

Jane’s 360 – IDEF 2017: Upgraded M60T MBT breaks cover

Aselsan has partnered with the General Directorate of Military Factory (AFGM) to upgrade two of the Turkish Army’s M60T main battle tanks (MBTs) with enhanced survivability.  The effort follows the service’s disastrous Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, where a number of its MBTs were destroyed or damaged.  Turkey took delivery of 170 upgraded M60T MBTs which were originally updated by Israel Military Industries (IMI), with most of the work carried out by the 2nd Main Maintenance Centre Command at Kayseria. The command has extensive experience with upgrading and overhauling MBTs and other tracked armoured fighting vehicles.

Jane’s 360 – IDEF 2017: Prototype Kaplan MT medium weight tank completed

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri has unveiled the first prototype of the Kaplan MT Modern Medium Weight Tank (MMWT) at the IDEF 2017 exhibition.  The vehicle under joint development by FNSS and Indonesian defence prime PT Pindad to meet the potential requirements of Indonesia, using internal research and development funding under an agreement signed in 2014.

Defense News – Germany beefs up tank fleet with $832M acquisition

COLOGNE, Germany — The German Army is in line for an upgrade of its tanks, based on the expectation that future conflicts will rely heavily on ground warfare with armored vehicles.  All told, the Bundeswehr stands to get 104 used Leopard 2 battle tanks out of storage that manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann will upgrade under a contract with the German Defence Ministry from the A4 configuration to the newest A7V standard. The latest package includes improvements in the areas of information technology, armaments and armor.

Mil.Today – T-90 Tanks to Get MCT-Matrix Heat-Vision Sight

In 2016, the Krasnogorsk plant finished tests of the heat-vision sighting system Irbis for modernized tanks T-80U and T-90. The sights will be supplied to the army after 2017 under the already concluded contract, says the manufacturer’s annual reporting. According to the experts of Mil.Today, commissioning of the new sight will for the first time give Russian tankers a homemade thermal vision device based on the mercury-cadmium-telluride (MCT) matrix, which will bridge a gap between the leading NATO countries in this area.

India Today – Transformers: Retired tanks functioning as bunkers

A video purported to be one Pakistani army bunkers being destroyed by the Indian army along the line of control and which went viral this morning, may have spilled a secret. The Indian army is using retired Vijayanta and T-55 tanks as pillboxes along the Line of Control, their 105 mm main guns functioning as mobile artillery pieces.  The 1.41 minute video opens with a shot of an anti-tank guided missile (either a Konkurs or a Milan) racing towards and exploding inside a bunker. It is followed up by a barrage of shots and explosions which some army officials say almost certainly appear to be high- explosive squash head (HESH) rounds fired from a battle tank’s main guns judging by their characteristic black smoke.