News for all things related to Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles
Here are a few videos of ADVs on display at the recent AUSA 2015 exhibition in Washington D.C. First video is from the General Dynamics Land Systems display and it features the newest version of the M1 Abrams tank, the M1A2 SEP V3.
Next video is from the BAE Systems display and is of the M8 armored gun system.
Defense News is reporting that at least one M1 Abrams tank supplied to the Iraqi armed forces has shown up in the hands of Shia militiamen with a Russian built heavy machine gun mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle, one of 146 tanks the US sold to Baghdad, was brought to a US-supported Iraqi service facility at al-Muthanna. This particular vehicle could constitute a twin violation of Iraq’s FMS (foreign military sales) agreements with Washington, due to unauthorized use by Shiite militias and the unsanctioned addition of the Russian gun and Iranian ammo.
The tank was equipped with a Russian .50-caliber machine gun and Iranian-stamped 12.75-mm ammunition, according to a source at the facility.
“They brought it in through Iraqi checkpoints, back-rolled it off the trailer and then drove away,” recounted the source.
“Once all the ammo was removed, as per procedure, by Iraqi personnel, we noticed Iranian markings on the back of the shell casings. Seems they put a Russian machine gun with Iranian ammunition on an Abrams tank.”
As Washington scrambles to adapt to the myriad, Iranian-backed Shiite militias fighting alongside its US-trained and -supplied partners in Iraq, new manifestations of shifting alliances may threaten the relevance of US end-use monitoring in that war-torn country.
After US-led coalition airstrikes were forced to destroy about 10 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) seized from the Iraqi Army by the Islamic State group, often called ISIL or ISIS, Washington is now grappling with the phenomenon of their voluntary transfer to Shiite forces battling in concert with Baghdad against the fanatical Sunni Caliphate.
The Mirror is reporting that families in the UK have the option of seeing their loved ones taken to their final resting spot in a FV432 Armored Personnel Carrier converted into a hearse.
Nick Mead spent six months converting the shell of a FV432 armoured personnel carrier into a funeral car in order to give deceased servicemen the perfect send-off.
The 54-year-old splashed out £3,000 on the tank hull, refurbishing the vehicle with armoured glass and installing the interior of a Ford Granada Cardinal hearse.
He has now teamed up with a funeral directors to offer war veterans families the opportunity for their loved-one’s final journey to be in fitting style.
In other news, CNN is reporting that a British man recently purchased a Scorpion light tank for $14,000 on an online auction, despite the fact that he lived in an apartment. The purchaser of the ex-Canadian vehicle, Jeff Woolmer, bought a house after realizing that he could not store the tank in the parking system of his flat near Bristol.
“Right now my tank is in real need of some love and care. The battery needs to be replaced and the inside is a bit grimy and greasy.” he said.
“But I’m hoping to get it up and running in the next few weeks and there’s even the potential to get it road legal.”
Jane’s is reporting that the cost of a proposed firepower upgrade for 81 US Army Stryker wheeled personnel carriers is priced at a whopping $5 million per vehicle. This upgrade would up-gun 81 Strykers for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based in Germany with 30 mm cannons on remote weapon systems and others with Javelin anti-tank missiles. According to Jane’s:
The cost per system appears particularly high (about USD5 million per vehicle), and according to Heidi Shyu, the army’s acquisition executive, this is partly schedule driven because it is through an urgent need statement that is seeking the upgrade as soon as possible. It is also for only 81 systems, so the limited quantity drives up per-unit costs. The price includes a design and integration element as well, she added.
These lethality upgrades are not for the heavier armoured Stryker Double-V Hull (DVH) vehicles, and rather are for the original flat-bottom configuration, although a Stryker engineering change proposal (ECP) effort may eventually include a 30 mm weapon for the DVH, Shyu said. “If we want more Strykers to have this capability beyond the 81 [requested in Europe], we will start a programme of record to do that,” she said, noting that the cost could be lower with a procurement of thousands of units.
Pricing on modern armored vehicles can be a bit hard to pin down, being influenced by factors such as exchange rates and production volume. That said, most modern MBTs range anywhere from 4 to 10 million dollars each. Using this metric, $5 for an upgrade to a Stryker does seem rather on the high side. Of course, this is not the first time the Stryker program has drawn criticism for fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the US Army.
Check out this video of wine glasses being placed on the gun of a Japanese Type 10 tank to show off the smoothness of the gun stabilization.
KyivPost has posted an article about the hundreds of T-64 tanks rusting away in huge outdoor storage areas in Ukraine.
In the late 1980s, with the Cold War still on, the Soviet Union had an estimated 53,000 main battle tanks. As late as 1991, Soviet tank factories could still produce thousands of tanks a year. The Malyshev Tank Factory in Kharkiv alone made 800 tanks in the last year of Soviet Ukraine’s existence.
Yet when conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Ukraine suddenly found itself very short of tanks. Where did they all go?
“Ukraine had approximately 5,000 to 7,000 tanks left after the breakup of Soviet Union,” military expert and director of consulting firm Defense Express Serhiy Zhurets told the Kyiv Post. “But I doubt that the government has allocated any funds for tank maintenance at all for the last 25 years. About 10 tanks could have been kept in good condition, but no more.”
BAE Systems has unveiled a new version of the M8 Buford light tank at the AUSA 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.. The M8 Buford design dates back to the late 1980’s when the US Army was pursuing a replacement vehicle for the M551 Sheridan. The M8, built by United Defense beat out competing designs by Teledyne Continental Motors and Cadillac Gage. By 1997 the M8 program was cancelled, it’s intended role somewhat being filled by the Stryker. According to an article from Defense One:
“The intent of what we have out here is a conversation starter,” said Deepak Bazaz, BAE Systems’ director of New and Amphibious Vehicles, standing by his company’s M8 Armored Gun System.
The Army does not a formal requirement yet for what it calls a mobile protected firepower unit, but it could soon, prompting BAE to bring the unit to the Association of the U.S. Army annual gathering in Washington.
The Army suspended work on a similar project in the mid-1990s, “but the need really remains,” Bazaz said. “It’s emerging again with the changing world that we live in.”
The article notes that the M8 on display is one of the original vehicles built in the 90’s and has not yet been upgraded with modern electronics and sensor gear. United Defense (now owned by BAE) had built six M8 prototypes in the 90’s.
At the end of last month we posted some videos from the DSEI 2015 arms expo featuring Jane’s reporter Christopher Foss. Since then, a few more videos from that event have been made available. Below are two videos, one on the Nexter VBCI-1 infantry fighting vehicle and one on the Nexter Caesar 8×8 self-propelled artillery system.
Jane’s is reporting that India’s Ministry of Defense has selected the Samsung Techwin K9 Thunder 155 mm self propelled howitzer for the Indian Army. This program fro 100 guns is reported to be worth $800 million. According to Jane’s, the selection of the K9 follows a set of competitive tests between the K9 and a 155mm version of Russia’s MSTA-SP (2S19) gun mounted on a T-72 chassis. The article notes that “Senior artillery officers told IHS Jane’s that the K9 outperformed the Russian gun in operational mobility, speed, accuracy, and overall rate of fire.” The adoption of the K9 will be the end of a long delayed program by the Indian Army to acquire a new SPG over the past two decades. In 2005 the program suffered a significant setback when the Indian Ministry of Defense banned the purchase of the Bhim SPG from the South African company Denel. The Bhim consisted of a Denel T-6 155mm gun turret on the chassis of the Indian designed Arjun tank. Considering the numerous set-backs and issues encountered with the Arjun, perhaps it was best that India had not pursued this option.
UPI is reporting that the U.S. Army has awarded Orbital ATK a $16 million contract for first-phase development of a new 120mm multi-purpose tank round. According to the article, Orbital ATK said the 120mm Advanced Multi-Purpose, XM1147 High Explosive Multi-Purpose with Tracer cartridge will replace four existing rounds, including those for defeating armor and breaching reinforced walls. The article does not specify which four rounds this new munition will replace. A timeline for this new ammunition development was not disclosed. Orbital ATK and the U.S. Army earlier this year finished qualification for the M829E4, creating the Army’s fifth generation 120mm kinetic energy round.
Orbital ATK website listing their line of 120mm ammunition types.
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