If you happen to be in Pennsylvania this weekend and are looking for something to do, you might want to look into the Army Heritage Days event at the US Army Heritage and Education Center at the US Army War College in Carlisle Pennsylvania on May 20 and 21. This is an annual event and this year the theme is a century of the US Armored Corps.
Here is the event description from their website:
Come out to the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) Armed Forces Weekend, Saturday, May 20 – Sunday, May 21, 2017 from 9:00AM to 5:00PM, for Army Heritage Days! Each year the USAHEC hosts Army Heritage Days, a timeline living history event that features several hundred reenactors from all eras spread out over the one mile long Army Heritage Trail. Decked out in period uniforms and weapons, these living historians will have their historical equipment and weapons on display and will be available to talk to the public and answer any of your burning history questions!
As always, this event centers on one specific theme. This year’s focus will be tanks and armored vehicles! This event will be one of a kind, featuring armored vehicles from many different eras that will be allowed to DRIVE on the USAHEC’s tank course to demonstrate MANUEVERS and TACTICS! There will also be a logistics and operations competition with various challenges to complete.
In addition to the tank display, we will be bringing back old favorites, such as the Veterans Meet and Greet, lectures by notable historians, the kid’s passport program, and informational programs by the reenactors on the Army Heritage Trail. As always, the event will also feature a book sale in the Museum Store and several food vendors with a variety of different cuisine offerings.
So be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, May 20 – Sunday, May 21, 2017 for a weekend full of history, tanks, and family fun! As always, the event is free and open to the public. Check back for a schedule of events and additional information, closer to the event.

The fine folks over at
We noticed that earlier this month an episode of the TV show “Combat Dealers” was posted on youtube. This particular episode deals with a WWII German Panther tank that show host Bruce Crompton. The episode also features German tank expert 



This past weekend saw the Strong Europe Tank Challenge event take place in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Tank crews from six NATO or NATO-allied countries competed in a series of tests to prove which crew (and vehicles) were the best. The competing nations included the USA, France, Germany, Poland, Austria and Ukraine, each country entering a platoon of four tanks and crews. The inclusion of Ukraine marked a first time for that country in the competition, as well as for their T-64BV tank. The competition was won by Austria, whose crews were operating Leopard 2A4 tanks. Second place was taken by German tankers in Leopard 2A6 tanks. Third place was awarded to the US platoon and their Abrams M1A2 SEP tanks. Poland operated Leopard 2A5 tanks and France had their LeClerc MBT. Stars and Stripes noted that Poland, France and Ukraine all scored close to the top three countries, making for a tough competition.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.