Another installment of AFV news from around the web. Click in the headline to go to the full article.
IHS Jane’s – China confirms conducting trials of new light battle tank in Tibet
China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has confirmed media reports that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted trials of a new light battle tank (LBT) in Tibet. “Recently a new type of tank has undertaken trials on the Tibetan Plateau. The trials were aimed at testing the tank’s performance and are not targeted at any country,” MND spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian said during a press briefing in Beijing on 29 June.
IHS Jane’s – New Russian BMPT variant displayed in Syria
A previously unseen version of the UralVagonZavod (UVZ) BMPT tank support combat vehicle was displayed for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad when he visited the main Russian airbase in his country on 27 June. The original BMPT Terminator was developed for the Russian Army to protect its main battle tanks (MBTs) in urban warfare operations by suppressing threats like dismounted anti-tank missile teams. However, the Russian programme was cancelled and the only known customer is Kazakhstan.
IHS Jane’s – Bundeswehr Boxer upgrade gets green light
Following approval form the Bundestag’s parliamentary budget committee, the Bundeswehr will see its fleet of Boxer armoured vehicles upgraded from the A1 to A2 standard. The upgrade will probably be undertaken through the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), which manages the Boxer programme for Germany, in addition to Lithuania and the Netherlands.
The Diplomat – China Tests New Tank in Tibet
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has tested a new tank on the Tibetan Plateau in western China, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced on June 29. “Recently, a new-type of tank has undertaken trials on the Tibet Plateau. The trials were aimed to test the tank’s performance and are not targeted at any country,” PLA spokesman Colonel Wu Qian said during a regular press briefing at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) on June 29.
Military.com – Army Tanks Slowly Going Green in Europe
After years of combat in the Middle East, the U.S. Army still clings to its desert-colored M1 Abrams tanks and combat vehicles. This became a challenge for Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, when hundreds of M1s began flowing into Europe’s woodland landscape to deter Russian aggression. Hodges recalled watching video with an Air Force friend of tanks arriving in Europe.
Stars and Stripes – US tanks on rotation to Europe unleash fury on the range (photo gallery)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Army tankers with the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, let loose a hailstorm of 120 mm armor-piercing and multipurpose rounds from their M1A2 Abrams tanks during live-fire training on Tuesday. “We are refocusing ourselves on building up our lethality and honing our fighting capabilities so we remain a strong deterrent to our adversaries,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. Jonathan Kluck.
Defense News – US Army on fast track to get Mobile Protected Firepower into force
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s plan to procure effective Mobile Protected Firepower for infantry brigade combat teams will enter a high-speed track in 2018 as it skips the technology development phase in favor of commercial off-the-shelf options, according to the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Vehicles. A request for proposal, or RFP, for Mobile Protected Firepower, or MPF, capabilities is expected in the last quarter of fiscal year 2017, Ashley Givens, spokeswoman for the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Vehicles, or PEO GCS, told Defense News in a statement Tuesday.
with titles by a new generation of authors. One such writer/researcher is Darren Neely. Last year Panzerwrecks released his book 
The Royal Tank Regiment soldier died on Thursday after being injured at Castlemartin Range on Wednesday.
BAE Systems Hägglunds displayed two examples of the CV90 (Combat Vehicle 90) infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) – with one of these being an unmanned turret-equipped model shown for the first time in public – at IDET 2017 in Brno, Czech Republic. The company has integrated Kongsberg’s MCT-30, with this being the first unmanned turret to be fitted by BAE Systems Hägglunds to a CV90 hull. To accommodate the internal crew and stowage arrangements dictated by an unmanned turret option, the base CV90 all-welded steel hull is raised slightly, with periscopes fitted to provide enhanced situational awareness for the gunner and commander. It is understood that other unmanned turrets can be integrated if required.
The US Army is considering various systems to better shield tanks and armored vehicles from RPGs, antitank missiles, and other enemy fire. But the latest version of the RPG, a staple in the arsenals of Russia and other forces, may already be a step ahead of the active-protection systems the US may soon adopt. The Pentagon has purchased active-protection systems to test out on Abrams tanks and Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, and may even mount them on lighter vehicles, like the successor to the Humvee, according to a report from Scout Warrior.
June 12 (UPI) — China deployed its latest military tank, the Xinqingtan, in an area of Tibet near the Indian border. Chinese news site Guancha reported Monday Beijing is increasing military buildup in Tibet in a show of force designed to deter the Indian military. An integrated brigade of the People’s Liberation Army in Tibet deployed an unidentified number of the new tanks, according Chinese state-owned television network CCTV. Guancha stated the Xinqingtan’s technology and firepower is “far more advanced” than the Russia-made T-90S tanks deployed by India.
The Argentine Army plans to overhaul, modernise, and expand its armoured and transport vehicle fleets, according to Brigadier General Federico Sidders, chief of the service’s Directorate of Plans, Programmes, and Budget. The plans are part of a wider effort that includes buying a new assault rifle, antitank and air defence weapons, and other equipment, Brig Gen Sidders said earlier this month. He said overhaul and upgrade programmes are being established for 400 TAM medium tanks and derivatives – including VCTP infantry combat vehicles and VCA 155 mm self-propelled guns – as well as 400 M113 armoured personnel carriers and derivatives.
New pictures from the fighting between Philippine government forces and guerrillas aligned with the Islamic State show armored vehicles with ad hoc wood armor. The images of the Philippine Army Cadillac Gage V-150 armored car, circulated on Twitter, show it covered with discarded ammunition crates and salvaged wood. The wooden armor is supposed to protect it from man-portable anti-tank weapons— another image showed a RPG-2 rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade launcher captured from ISIS troops.
A number of 3D graphics showing the Carmel next generation combat vehicle of the Israeli Defence Force, which sometimes is also called an advanced technology demonstrator, have been posted on the internet. The images come from a presentation held by the retired Brigadier General Didi Ben-Yoash, who formerly was the Chief Armored Corps Officer of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). The presentation was part of the Second International Ground Warfare and Logistics Conference, held on 16th and 17th of May 2017 in the Latrun Armed Corps Memorial. Based on the fact that Didi Ben-Yoash is retied and IsraeliDefense.co.il describes this as a simulation of the Carmel, it appears extremely likely that the final vehicle might appear to be very different.
The Austrian company GDELS Steyr, part of the General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) division and formerly known as Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH (SSF), is responsible for developing a new vehicle of the Pandur family of wheeled vehicles (FoV). A few photos of an unspecified Pandur 6×6 variant, which apparently is a long wheelbase version of the Pandur II, were taken at a recent event in April. The fact that the vehicle was presented in a modern digital camouflage pattern has caused some funny commencts regarding the lack of style; however here these photos were the inspiration to take a very short look at the Pandur 1 projects in Austria and other countries. The fact that a Pandur II 6×6 is located at the Steyr plant might be a hint regarding the development of the Pandur EVO – it could be used as reference or as base model for the next iteration of the Pandur vehicle. The Pandur 1 is operated in different versions by the Austrian Army (the so called Bundesheer), the Belgian Army (as scout and ambulance vehicles), the Kuwaiti National Guard (some armed with 25 mm autocannons or 90 mm Cockerill medium calibre guns), the Slovenian Army (known as locally as “Valuk”) and the US Army’s Special Forces (fitted with applique armor, operated by the Delta Force and 75th Rangers in very small numbers).
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — American soldiers on Tuesday used British Army equipment to transport Ukrainian T-64 tanks from here to Hohenfels in preparation for a Ukrainian tank platoon’s participation in Exercise Combined Resolve. Ukrainian troops recently took part in the Strong Europe Tank challenge, during which they were they first soldiers ever to fire a T-64 tank on base here. Since arriving at the American base, the Ukrainian tankers have had time to learn from the tank crews of allied and partner nations here.
Combat and recovery vehicle prototypes of the Singapore Army’s next-generation armoured vehicle (NGAV) family have made their public debut during a capability demonstration and exhibition at the Army Open House 2017 event held on 27-29 May. The yet unnamed combat variant, currently designated the next -generation armoured fighting vehicle (NGAFV), has been under development by the country’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) in partnership with Singapore Technologies (ST) Kinetics – the land systems arm of local defence prime ST Engineering – since 2006.
The Covenanter tank was not exactly a star of the Second World War. German technological advances and a fickle engine rendered the awkwardly named model obsolete months after it first left an English factory, and none of the 1,700 vehicles built ever actually fired a shot in anger. But for Canadian troops on the eve of a historic battle, the Covenanter proved indispensable. Converted into a training tool, it helped ready this country’s infantry forces for their biggest moment of the war, the D-Day invasion, whose 73rd anniversary is Tuesday.
For the second year in a row, a US armored brigade competed in the Strong Europe Tank Challenge against a range of European partners — and lost. Austria, which didn’t participate last year, took gold, while Germany came in second. The US came in third, but given the purpose of the challenge, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. “This is a competition, but it’s not really about the competition,” Sgt. Maj. David Glenn, 7th Army Training Command’s operations senior noncommissioned officer, said in a US Army statement. “It’s really about training, partnership, esprit de corps, and interoperability.”
The Brazilian Army plans to deactivate its 105 mm M108 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs), the service recently announced. It reportedly has 72 systems in inventory with the 3rd, 5th, and 22th Self-propelled Field Artillery Groups located at Santa Maria, Curitiba, and Uruguaiana, respectively, according to an artillery Order of Battle document that the army shared with Jane’s . A deactivation plan will be established by the army’s Logistics Command (COLOG), and the type later progressively replaced by 155 mm systems.
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) unveiled two new Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) variants at the annual CANSEC conference in Ottawa from 31 May to 1 June. The LAV 6.0 Combat Support Vehicle- Ambulance (CSV-A) and the LAV 6.0 Combat Support Vehicle- Maintenance and Recovery (CSV-MR) are evolutions of the LAV 6.0 baseline vehicle. Both vehicles were designed towards requirements in Canada’s competitive Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) contract. ACSV is a programme, valued at up to CAD1.5 billion (USD1.1 billion), to replace the Canadian Army’s fleet of M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and LAV-II Bisons. It will enter an options analysis phase in 2018, with a contract award expected in 2023.
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