Here is our first installment of AFV News from around the Net for 2017. Click on the article headline to go to the full piece.
Defense World.net – New Light Tank For Chinese Army Likely
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is likely to be equipping its ground units with new light tanks, according to the photos published on Chinese online forums. Posted on 31 December on the CJDBY and FYJS websites, the images disabout 10 tanks on railway flatbed cars, resembling the Guilin railway station in China’s southern Guangxi Province. The tanks were first seen in 2011. The tanks’ transit through Guilin could indicate their initial delivery to units assigned to the PLA’s new Southern Theatre Command, IHS Janes’ 360 reported Thursday.
The Independent – Ministry of Defence ‘turns down German tank deal for fear of negative press’
Britain declined the opportunity to buy a fleet of German tanks due to “worry about negative press headlines,” a defence source has claimed. German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann offered to sell between 100 and 400 second-hand Leopard 2 tanks to the Ministry of Defence in 2015, but despite it being allegedly the best deal, the offer was turned down. The German proposal was one of several being considered for a £700 million contract to upgrade Britain’s Challenger 2 battle tank fleet.
Military.com – US Tanks, Heavy Equipment to Flow into Europe Next Week
Army M1 tanks and trucks will begin arriving in Europe on Jan. 8, marking the beginning of a nine-month rotation of a U.S. armored brigade designed to strengthen deterrence against Russian aggression. The planned arrival of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colorado, is part of the effort to support Operation Atlantic Resolve. “The United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America’s dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Thursday.
ABC 13 News – Drivetanks Living Military Museum Offers Explosive Excitement with Real Tanks and Live Artillery
UVALDE, TX (KTRK) — In Uvlade, Texas on a sprawling 18,000 acre hunting ranch, sits the home of a living military museum. A portion of the land has been turned into a simulated battlefield where World War II-era and newer tanks, more often than not, are driven by those who have never spent a day in the service. Opened six months ago, DriveTanks co-founder Todd DeGidio says it’s the only place in the world where you can drive a tank and blow things up without ever enlisting. “I think it’s important for us to keep this part of our history alive,” said DeGidio.
The Diplomat – Russia to Upgrade Tank Force With Deadly New Fire Control System
The Russian Ground Forces are reportedly slated to upgrade an unknown number of T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks (MBT) with a new automatic target tracker and fire control computer also found on the third-generation T-14 MBT, according to local media reports in December. The T-14 is Russia’s most advanced armored fighting vehicle, based on the “Armata” universal chassis system The Russian Ministry of Defense intends to field the first upgraded T-72s and T-90s in two to three years, the Izvestia daily newspaper revealed. Russia’s operates around 300 T-72B3s, an upgraded variant of the original Soviet-era T-72 MBT, out of a total T-72 force of roughly 1,900, and around 350 advanced T-90A, and T-90SM, (other designations T-90AM or T-90MS), the latest and most modern version of the T-90, specifically designed for export.
KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 15 (UPI) — Ukraine’s state-owned defense contractor Ukroboronprom announced plans to create a new production workshop for its BTR-3 armored vehicles. The new site will aim to boost vehicle production, reduce manufacturing costs, and explore new technological opportunities, according to a statement released by the company. Ukroboronprom calls the move an important step forward for armored vehicles produced in the country.
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) announced on 21 December that it has been awarded a contract to supply five Leguan armoured vehicle launched bridges (AVLBs) to the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA). Under the terms of this agreement these Leguan AVLBs, converted from existing Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) chassis, will be delivered to the RNLA between 2019 and 2020. The new AVLBs will replace the RNLA’s existing Biber AVLBs, which are based on a Leopard 1 MBT chassis. KMW said the contract had been placed by the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment (BAAINBw) on behalf of the Dutch Procurement Office (DMO), but did not specify the value of the deal.
On October 12, 1999, then acting Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Eric Shinseki, outlined his vision of the future of the U.S. Army when he stated that it must be, “light enough to deploy, lethal enough to fight and win, survivable enough to return safely home . . . and lean and efficient enough to sustain themselves whatever the mission.” His comments echoed the desire of Donald Rumsfeld, acting Secretary of Defense the following year, to totally transform the U.S. Military into a force that could deploy and fight faster than ever before, anywhere in the world, and that could leverage new technologies and information systems as force multipliers that would ensure that this lighter and more nimble force could prevail over existing conventional forces of adversarial nations. This concept and the $200 billion dollar defense acquisition program that would aim to bring it to reality were christened the “Future Combat System” (FCS).
Turkish Leopard 2 tanks are actively operating in the war in Syria. The tanks have been photographed at different locations near the town of Al Bab, which is located about 35 kilometres (21.7 miles) north-eastern of Aleppo. A few photos were shared on Twitter, apparently taken by Turkish soldiers. More detailed photos and video footage was provided by the SMART news agency, which is said to have ties to Syrian rebels.
Jordan has received an initial batch of 16 ex-German Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) on the 11th December of 2016 as part of German military aid. The delivery also included 20 mm RH202 autocannons, spare parts and a Marder driver training vehicle. It must be noted that the permission for an export of 24 Marders, 28 Rh 202 autocannons and one Marder driver training vehicle to Jordan was given for 2016. The costs of this equipment is €12.8 million. This means that most likely a second batch of Marders will be shipped this year. A total of 50 Marder IFVs are being delivered to Jordan until end of 2017. Furthermore Jordan is set to receive surveillance equipment, 56 vans and 70 trucks.
Clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants intensified around the northern Syrian town of al-Bab on Wednesday, killing 14 Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists, the army said.
Dec 14, 2016 – ISIS propagandists have released pictures of the strikes on Turkish Leopard-2 main battle tanks in Syria.
WASHINGTON — Kuwait wants to upgrade and extend the life of its aging principal tank fleet for an estimated $1.7 billion, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The State Department notified Congress on Dec. 12 of the possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Kuwait to recapitalize its 218 M1A2 Abrams tanks. The prime contractors are General Dynamics Land Systems and Joint Services Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, as well as Kongsberg Defense Systems, Raytheon, Meggitt Defense Systems, Northrop Grumman, DRS Technologies, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell.
Russia may upgrade parts of its T-72 and T-90 main battle tank (MBT) fleets with the automatic target tracker (ATT) and fire control computer (FCC) installed in the Armata T-14 MBT, which is now entering production at UralVagonZavod’s Nizhny Tagil facility. The installation of the ATT and the FCC from the T-14 Armata will improve the first round hit capability of the older T-72 and T-90 MBTs under adverse battlefield conditions, as well as reducing the workload on the gunner. Once locked on, the ATT constantly tracks the target and lays on the 125 mm smoothbore gun as well as taking into account inputs from the sensors, such as the speed and direction of the platform, condition of the gun, and ambient weather. The gunner then decides when to engage the target.
WASHINGTON — BAE Systems delivered to the US Marine Corps the first of its Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV) 1.1 prototypes, catching up to a service-set schedule which had slipped due to a bid protest. One of the key program objectives was to get the vehicles out to the Marines as quickly as possible, Erwin Bieber, BAE’s president of platforms and services sector, said during a Tuesday ceremony at the company’s York, Pennsylvania, facility where BAE has spent a little more than a year building the first eight-wheel drive ACVs. “It’s amazing to think about the fact that the team is delivering three months early against the contract commitment,” he said.
Germany handed over an initial instalment of Marder 1 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Jordan on 11 December. The Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) released a statement saying that an initial batch of 16 Marders from a total of 25 had been donated by Germany. The German Ministry of Defence released a video of the handover ceremony in which Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said the first instalment consisted of 16 Marders and that another 34 would follow. She said the IFVs would help Jordan fight the Islamic State militant group. Germany is also providing 70 trucks and 56 minibuses to the Jordanian military.
differs from previous entries in the Visual History Series in that it is a 168 page hardcover.
The city of Huntington’s City Services department learned Monday that the Sherman tank at the park had been tagged in white spray paint with “KKKK,” a common nod to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. In a Facebook post, the city said the graffiti was part of a “wave of vandalism” around the city and called the markings on the tank “most troubling.”
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