January 2023 News Global Defence & Security Industry - Military |
|
|
|
|
According to information published on the British Ministry of Defence Twitter account on January 29, 2023, Ukrainian army tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training with the British-made Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) that will be delivered in March this year.
Russian engineering troops are employing anti-tank PTKM-1R mines in Ukraine. However, it should be noted that the Ukrainian army is not waging any intensive offensive operations involving tanks at the moment. “Jumping mines” can effectively attack some under-protected parts of the hull of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and self-propelled howitzers. “This mine can be called ‘smart’ because it can identify a target before exploding or not. For example, it will not react to an ordinary car and will wait for heavy armored vehicles – a tank or an IFV – to pass by”, a Russian specialist said.
Greece will receive 400 additional M1117 Guardian armored security vehicles in 2023 from US surplus, as part of the expansion and modernization of its military arsenal under contracts with several countries, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said on January 27, echoed by Sumaira FH in UrduPoint.com on January 27: "We expect to receive another 400 M1117 armored surveillance vehicles this year", Panagiotopoulos said at a parliamentary meeting.
U.S. Transportation Command is delivering the first shipment of Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of the United States’ $2.85 billion military aid agreement announced earlier this year. Jonathan Stefanko, U.S. TRANSCOM, reports.
France and Australia signed an agreement to supply 155 mm shells to Ukraine to support it in its war against Russia, announced on Monday, January 30, the French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Australian colleague Richard Marles.
According to information published on Yahoo News on January 25, 203, the United States has requested Israel to transfer Hawk air defense missile systems to Ukraine. The Hawk missile systems are no longer serving in the Israeli army but according to Israeli military sources, ten Hawk batteries remain in storage in Israel.
Bullet-proof Mercedes Sprinters join another such vehicle that arrived in Ukraine several weeks ago, equipped with monitor, defibrillator, oxygen system and other emergency gear, Emanuel Fabian reports in The Times of Israel.
Mack Defense, Navistar Defense, Oshkosh Defense and a team formed by American Rheinmetall Vehicles and GM Defense have won a contract for the first phase of the U.S. Army’s Common Tactical Truck (CTT) Program. The aim of the multi-phased program is to replace the Army’s family of heavy tactical trucks with the production of up to 40,000 trucks valued at up to $14 billion, the cumulative contract value being $24.3 million. Each manufacturer will build three prototypes of each CTT variant: an M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor; a Palletized Load System; and Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). They will also provide digital designs to go with each variant and a design study for a wrecker, according to the U.S. Army.
A day after the United States and Germany finally gave the green light to deliver their respective Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine, former Roscosmos director general Dmitry Rogozin said these tanks would be obliterated by a combat robot codenamed ‘Marker’, Sakshi Tiwari reports in EurasianTimes on January 27.
According to the New York Times, the massive increase in the production of artillery ammunition is meant to both make up for shortfalls caused by Russia's war in Ukraine and to build up stockpiles for future wars.
During a press conference that was held on January 26, 2023, U.S. Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced that the United States will deliver to Ukraine, the latest variant in the M1 Abrams family, the M1A2 that would not come from US Army stocks. At the beginning of last week, the United States announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine without mentioning the model.
Elbit Systems presented the Crossbow 120mm turreted mortar at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2023 conference, held in London this week, Eyal Boguslavsky reports on israeldefense.co.il. The new mortar is scheduled to enter service in 2024 with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Finnish armed forces have contracted with EuroSpike GmbH, a joint venture of Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH, Diehl Defence, and Rafael, to supply Spike antitank guided missiles. For Rheinmetall, the order is worth a figure in the mid-double-digit million-euro range.
According to information published on Russian social networks, Russian soldiers appear to fear encountering German Leopard 2 tanks on the battlefield in Ukraine. Propaganda videos even exist showing how to destroy the Leopard 2 tanks. Like the German Tiger in World Word 2, the Leopard 2 is considered as a highly efficient tank killer for Russian troops.
According to information published by the International press agency Reuter on January 26, 2023, France and Italy are in the final stage of the supply of one SAMP/T air defense missile system to Ukraine. There is no final decision yet, as some technical issues still need to be resolved.
Discover the upgrade solution of Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank fitted with the latest generation of Cockerill 3105 Weapon station developed and designed by the Belgian company John Cockerill Defense. This upgrade could be an option to deliver old Leopard 1A5BE to Ukraine improved with the latest generation of weapon stations able to fire standard 105mm ammunition as well as anti-tank guided missiles.
According to a statement published by the Danish Ministry of Defense on January 26, 2023, after the donation to Ukraine of 19 French-made CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzers that Denmark had ordered in May 2017, the Danish Government decided to acquire new artillery systems and negotiate now with Israel to acquire 19 ATMOS 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers.
On January 27, 2023, Belgium announced a new military aid for Ukraine worth €93.6 million including the latest generation of SCAR assault rifles and MINIMI light machine guns manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal.
According to information published on the Facebook account of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on January 27, 2023, Poland will deliver 30 PT-91 Twardy Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) to Ukraine.
This new order for 20 additional CV90 Mjölner mortar systems for the Swedish Army brings the total fleet to 80 vehicles, planned to be in service by 2025.
In a tweet posted on January 26, the Canadian MoD officially announces it will supply four of its Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, taken from its inventory, along with spare parts. Training to Ukrainian tank crew members will also by provided.
Belgium has no more Leopard 1A5BE tanks in its stock, as the last ones were removed from service in 2014 and subsequently sold for a ridiculous price of 10,000-15,000 EUR each, the Belgian Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder said on January 25. One of the buyers was the Belgian company OIP. ‘’Nothing prevents us from buying them back, but they are not operational. And Belgian companies want to make an unreasonable margin with a proposed resale price of 500,000 EUR each when there has been no repair work’’. Another solution than classic refurbishment exists to upgrade old Leopard 1 tanks, thanks to John Cockerill Defense.
Six European countries including Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Spain are ready to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) coming from their military inventories. On January 25, 2023, the Government of Germany approved the delivery to Ukraine of 14 Leopard 2A6, which is one of the most modern variants in the Leopard 2 tank family.
According to information published by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on January 25, 2023, Canada will send to Ukraine four Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) coming from its military inventory. According to a Canadian army retired general, Canada will be able to provide Ukraine with 50 Leopard 2 tanks.
According to information published by the Daily Newspaper "Svenska Dagbladet" on January 25, 2023, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson announced that Sweden does not exclude sending Stridsvagn 122 Main Battle Tank to Ukraine. The Stridsvagn 122 is a Swedish variant of the German-made Leopard 2A5 tank.
