April 2018 Global Defence & Security Industry - Military News

 
 
 
 

 

 

Otokar, Turkey's largest private capital defense industry company will participate in LAAD Defence& Security 2018 exhibition in Sao Paolo, Brazil on April 10-12, 2018. In the 12th edition of the leading Latin American defense and security exhibition, Otokar will promote its land systems capabilities in booth B40.

Russia and Mongolia are elaborating a new military and technical cooperation program for 2019-2024, Mongolian Defense Minister Nyamaagiin Enkhbold said. According to the Mongolian defense minister, the Mongolian government regards relations with Russia as a priority and is pursuing a policy to establish strategic partnership with Russia.

The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of 155mm M109A5/A6 Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer structures for conversion to M109A6 Paladin Howitzer systems for an estimated cost of $1.31 billion. The M109A6 Paladin uses the existing main armament and cab structure of a Paladin M109A6, and replaces the vehicle’s chassis components with modem components common to the Bradley vehicle.

On April 6, 2018, during the rehearsal of military parade for Victory Day 2018, taking place every year May 9 in the center of Moscow, Russian army has unveiled new BMPT fire support combat vehicle. During Army-2017, the International Military Technical Forum that was held in August 2017, Russia’s Ministry of Defense has signed a contract for the supply of the first BMPT fire support combat vehicles to the Russian army.

Regiments operating the Yars (NATO name: SS-29 Yars) missile system from the Strategic Missile Force’s large unit based in Nizhny Tagil, in the Ural Mountains, are performing maneuvers to move to new field positions during a command post exercise, the Defense Ministry’s press office said. They are also exploring new combat patrol areas, the press office added.

The Indian Defense Forces will be equipped with more advanced rifles. India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared procurement of 72,400 assault rifles and 93,895 carbines on fast track basis for US$ 555 million to enable the defense Forces to meet their immediate requirement for the troops deployed on the borders. Both deals had been repeatedly canceled in the past.

According to the "Sofia Globe" newspaper website, Bulgarian Defense Minister Krassimir Karakachanov has decided to ask for Cabinet approval for two acquisition projects, for 16 fighter jets and 150 combat vehicles for the land forces. Bulgaria needs to modernize its land forces and increase their capabilities to response to new combat missions.

An upgraded Russian antimissile was tested in Kazakhstan. The only operational ICBM defense facility in Russia is the A-135 Amur deployed in the Moscow region to defend the so-called Moscow administrative and industrial area. It became operational in 1995 and replaced the previous-generation A-35M.

The U.S. Army wants to keep able to respond at once to potential global threats. For the soldiers of the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (the “Big Red One”), that kind of decisive action was recently put to the test during a rapid response readiness exercise in eastern Europe.

There are no military or political restrictions for the joint production of S-400 (NATO code: SA-21 Growler) air defense missile systems with Turkey or the transfer of the relevant technologies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This is a purely commercial issue, Putin added.

BAE Systems has delivered all of the AMPVs (Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle) built under the Engineering and Manufacturing Design (EMD) phase to the U.S. Army to begin the testing phase of the program. BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion from the Army in December 2014 for EMD and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phases of the AMPV program.

The situation in Syria is much more complex than in Iraq, Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, said on 3 April at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Why? Because more factors are present there: Russia, the Assad regime, Iran, Turkey, Kurd movements, the United States and coalition forces are all involved there, Votel said.

On April 3, administration officials, military leaders, senior Iraqi representatives and regional experts discussed views on Iraq at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Military efforts to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are about six to eight months ahead of where officials thought they would be at this point, Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, said. The success throughout the campaign has been quite extraordinary, he added.

Belarus will receive from Russia the fifth battery of Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missiles and four Yak-130 combat-training aircraft by the end of the year, Belarussian Defense Minister Andrey Ravkov said. "We signed contracts and provided financing to procure the fifth battery of Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile complexes and four Yak-130. We made upfront payments and expect the deliveries of the arms to be completed by the end of the year," he said.

On April 1, Sen. Rob Portman visited the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany to see the first upgraded Stryker Dragoon produced by Lima’s Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC). “The troops are very pleased to have something that can go up against other armored vehicles,” Portman said. “They are very impressed by what we do in Lima.”

While president Trump has announced he is considering pulling the US forces out of Syria, the same forces are reported to reinforce their positions and personnel in the northern Syrian city of Manbij to confront any potential Turkish military operation for which the city might be a battlefield in the war against Kurdish militias.

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