Ukraine Announces increase in tank production

Oplot_002lThe Moscow Times is reporting that Ukrainian state arms manufacturer UkrOboronProm said it would boost tank production by an unprecedented 2,300 percent in 2016.  The company’s general director, Roman Romanov, stated in a press release that UkrOboronProm will expand production of its Oplot main battle tanks from five units per year to 40 for 2015 and 120 per year from 2016 onward.  The article noted that Russia has over 2,750 tanks in active service, with more than 18,000 in storage, while Ukraine has 1,150 tanks in service, with a further 1,435 in storage.  The Oplot MBT, also known as the T-84, is derived from the Soviet era T-80 tank.  First built in 1994 and entering service in 1999, the Oplot differs from the T-80UD in that it has a welded rather than cast turret, as well as various other upgrades.

For those looking for information and stats on the Oplot MBT, the Kharkiv Morozov Design Bureau website offers a surprising amount of information.

Czechs to sell T-72 tanks and APCs to Iraq

filename_812Czech News Agency is reporting that Czech firm Excalibur Army will be delivering 100 T-72 tanks and BVP-1 armored personal carriers to Iraq.  These vehicles are slated to help Iraq fight the Islamic State.  This follows deal that Excalibur Army recently made to sell T-72 tanks to Nigeria to help them battle Boko Haram.  Excalibur Army primarily deals with older former Warsaw Pact equipment such as T-55 and T-72 tanks, BMP-1 IFV, and OT-64 and BRDM-2 wheeled vehicles.  They also produce the DANA M1 CZ self-propelled howitzer and the BVP-M2 SKCZ.

Czech News Agency article here.

Excalibur Army products catalog here.

Defense IQ: Global Armored Vehicles Market Report 2015

Whitepaper-iavxvDefence IQ has released their Global Armoured Vehicles Market Report for 2015.  This is a market report geared toward people working in the defense industry.  However, there are enough technical descriptions and news about specific vehicle programs to make it interesting to tank and afv buffs.  Registration is required to download the report, but there is no fee.

Report description from Defense IQ: [Read more…]

Armored Vehicles see big boost in 2016 US budget

Breaking Defense.com is reporting that tanks and armored vehicles are getting a significant boost in the army budget.  The list five vehicles that will see significant funding increases in the 2016 request. Below are the items receiving funding increases with the benefiting company listed in parenthesis.

  • $368 million for upgrades to the M1 Abrams tank, up 50 percent from $237 million in fiscal 2015. (General Dynamics)
  • $225 million for upgrades to the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle up 65 percent from $136 million in ’15. (BAE)
  • $230 million to begin detailed design of the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), a turretless support variant of the Bradley, up 150 percent from $92 million. (BAE)
  • $152 million to further refine the upgraded M109 Paladin howitzer (Paladin Integrated Management or PIM) —  up 90 percent from $80 million. (BAE)
  • $308 million to buy 450 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV)  up 86 percent from $165 million. (undecided, the three candidates are Lockheed Martin, AM General, and Oshkosh.)

Improvised Armored Vehicle used in battle for Kobani

The Guardian has published a video showing still images of an improvised armored vehicle used by Kurdish Militia in the fight against the Islamic State in Kobani Syria.  As usual, the headline calls the armored vehicle a “tank,” despite the fact that it has no tracks, turret or gun.  The video credits the vehicle for helping to drive the Islamic State fighters from the city.  It is probably fair to assume that US and Arab airstrikes were the more decisive factor in the battle.

Watch video here.

Russia tests new armored vehicle for airborne troops

BMD4mRT News English has posted a video which they say is footage of a new armored vehicle for airborne troops being tested.  The footage reportedly shows a BMD-4M going through its paces in low temperature conditions at the Dubrovichi Testing Ground in the Ryazan Region.   According to the website Military-Today.com, the BMD-4D is an improved version of the BMD-4, featuring a new chassis and engine and hydropneumatic suspension.

Video clip here.

WoT’s Chieftain posts new article: Grenadiers Tank Destroyers

chieftains hatchAt the North American forum for the World of Tanks video game, there is a section called “The Chieftain’s Hatch.”  This is the domain of Nicholas Moran, aka “The Chieftain”, military specialist and North American researcher for World of Tanks.  In the Chieftain’s Hatch section of the forum he regularly posts articles and videos.  The videos generally consist of the Chieftain narrating as he examines a museum tank.  The articles are based on documents he finds in his research digging through the Nation Archives.  It’s fair to say that his videos and articles are some of the best online material out there concerning historical tanks and armored vehicles.  We will be posting links to the Chieftain’s Hatch regularly.

The Chieftain’s newest article concerns a proposal to the Tank Destroyer board during WW2:  [Read more…]

Swedish attention seeker buys Soviet “Tank”

SwedeThe Local SE (Sweden’s news in English) has a story about a Swedish man who purchased a “tank” to drive around his farm.  As with most media stories, the vehicle in question is not a tank but actually a 1960’s era Soviet MT-LB multi-purpose light armored towing vehicle.  The owner of the vehicle, Jesper Lysell, stated that “So far we’ve just been driving over trees around the farm at my father’s place, and driving around on the fields. It’s quite dangerous because it’s open at the back, so if we have people in it, it can be quite dangerous when the trees fall down.”   The article notes that Jerker Lysell, who took the silver medal at last year’s European Orienteering Championships is notorious for his crazy exploits outside of competitions: he was arrested in Italy last year after attempting to run naked around the local mountains.

Private ownership of tracked military vehicles is not unheard of, or even particularly unusual.
For example [Read more…]

“Bring the heat, Bring the Stupid” blog posts on M2 Bradley

M2A1_Bradley_tracked_armoured_infantry_fighting_vehicle_United_States_US_American_Army_line_drawing_blueprint_001Yesterday we posted links to several articles from “War is Boring” which included a piece on the M2 Bradley.  Over at the blog “Bring the Heat, Bring the Stupid” is a reply to the War is Boring piece from someone that served in the Bradley.

About that War is Boring Article on the Bradley… Jan 21, 2015

Two days later the same blog posted a nice look at some of the technical aspects of the Bradley.

Let’s talk about the Bradley some more… Jan 23, 2015

Tank and AFV articles from “War is Boring”

War is Boring” is a website that posts regular original content that focuses on war, military technology and international politics.  Below are links to some of their recent articles pertaining to tanks and armored vehicles:

Germany Still Loves Its Tanks: Berlin upgrades Leopard 2s Jan 20, 2015

The U.S. Army Wanted to Replace the Bradley 38 Years Ago Jan 18, 2015

China’s got a New Mountain Tank Jan 9, 2015

Some older articles that may still be of interest: [Read more…]