Archive: News & Articles

Estonia has received the first SPIKE SR missiles from EuroSpike. After operational testing and training of personnel, the Estonian Defence Forces demonstrated the weapon system in front of international experts and the SPIKE User Club. From a field position, the infantrymen fired two missiles at targets at 1,500 m and 1,800 m respectively. The effect […]

Rheinmetall has awarded Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) a subcontract to manufacture more than 260 BOXER vehicles for the UK MOD’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme. The Command and Special Carrier variants will be produced at RBSL’s facility in Telford, Shropshire. The subcontract, worth about £860M (€960M) marks a significant milestone for the programme, following the […]

BAE Systems Hägglunds division has received a contract from the Swiss Federal Office for Defense Procurement (armasuisse) for the life-extension of the Swiss Army’s CV9030, known as the “Schützenpanzer 2000.” The life-extension programme will keep the 186 vehicle fleet in service until 2040 and significantly improve the platform’s ability in certain areas, the company said in […]

WFEL has secured a ten year production contract to supply BOXER Vehicle Drive Module fabricated hulls, together with a further contract for the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) of approximately half of the 500 vehicles to be supplied to the British Army, under the £2.3Bn contract signed with ARTEC at the end of 2019. This is another […]

Norwegian Minister of Defence Frank Bakke-Jensen has presented Norwegian plans for the renewal of the country’s MBTs. According to these plans, Norway intends to field the new tanks from 2025. Norway purchased 52 LEOPARD 2 A4 MBTs from the Netherlands in 2001 and adapted them to Norwegian requirements, with 36 currently active. Based on the 2018 […]

The Danish Army has procured a significant number of mobile workshop containers, commonly referred to as the Forward Repair System NATO (FRSN), mainly to be assigned to the Danish Army’s heavy combat units. FRSN consists of several individual components, built and placed within the dimensions of a 20-foot container, meaning it can be transported by […]

The Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) has awarded Rheinmetall Defence, as prime contractor, a contract to manufacture and supply thermal imaging equipment for the MARDER IFV. The SAPHIR 2.6 MK thermal imaging aiming device (MARDER configuration) has been developed by Rheinmetall Electronics and is specially designed for the MARDER IFV. It […]

The Netherlands has launched a comprehensive €500m Mid-Life Upgrade for the 144 CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles operated by the Koninklijke Landmacht. In a recent contract with BAE Systems, the implementation of rubber tracks has been contracted. Composite Rubber Tracks The CV90s have so far been equipped with steel tracks consisting of individual rubberised steel links. […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison opened Rheinmetall’s new Military Vehicle Competence Centre in Redbank/Queensland on 11 October 2020. As part of the delivery of logistics trucks and BOXER Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRVs) to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Rheinmetall has established the Military Vehicle Center of Excellence (MILVEHCOE). Additionally, an independent sovereign military vehicle capability […]

The Bundeswehr is accelerating the renewal of its truck fleet with funds from the Corona economic stimulus package. Rheinmetall will deliver 150 HX2 trucks in the 5-tonne payload class with 6×6 chassis and 850 HX2 trucks in the 15-tonne payload class with 8×8 chassis. The contract-volume is €398m, with the trucks scheduled to be delivered […]

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded the Rheinmetall joint venture company Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) a contract to modernise the British FUCHS/FOX armoured reconnaissance vehicle fleet and supply an associated training simulator in a contract worth over €17.5m. Under the terms of this deal, RBSL will eliminate obsolescence and upgrade the systems in the […]

Arquus has presented examples from its vehicle range to customers and trade visitors, ranging from the AREG protected 4×4 vehicles (for special forces) and FORTRESS Mk2 (multi-purpose vehicle, racing in Poland) to the plug-in hybrid SCARABEE and the ARMIS 6×6 logistics trucks. The ARMIS family includes a 4×4 and an 8×8 version, while the ARMIS […]

France’s Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) has ordered the second batch of 42 JAGUAR and 271 GRIFFON combat vehicles under the SCORPION programme. The industrial consortium with Nexter, Arquus and Thales will produce the vehicles between 2022 and 2023 while for the first time, the GRIFFON will be delivered in the Artillery Observer and Ambulance […]

During MSPO 2020, the Polish Army presented a modernised Leopard 2PL Main Battle Tank (MBT). The vehicle showcased in Kielce belongs to the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade in Świętoszów, which is the first unit in the Polish Army to operate these modernised vehicles. Shortly after the MSPO 2020 exhibition, the Polish Ministry of Defence confirmed […]

Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH (FFG) has displayed the GENESIS full hybrid technology demonstrator for the first time. This is the first 8×8 Armoured Fighting Vehicle with a full hybrid drive, individual wheel speed control and recuperation. The exhibited vehicle is fully functional according to company statements with only the 30 mm Kongsberg turret installed but […]

During the MSPO 2020 exhibition in Kielce, the South Korean Hyundai Rotem showcased a model of the K2PL Main Battle Tank (MBT), which the manufacturer intends to offer for the Polish ‘WILK’ (WOLF) programme. The K2PL is a modified version of the original K2 BLACK PANTHER MBT currently operated by the South Korean Land Forces. […]

The Romanian Air Force officially received the material for its first PATRIOT battery on 17th September 2020 after the systems arrived in Romania and underwent acceptance tests at the National Air Defence Training Centre “Brigadier General Ion Bungescu” in August 2020. Romania has ordered seven PATRIOT systems in two lots. The first will be operated […]

Greece has announced major arms purchases with “six emblematic decisions that multiply the power, functionality and effectiveness of Greek weapons,” in the words of Prime Minister K.Mitsotakis. These decisions include: The Hellenic Air Force will immediately acquire a squadron of 18 RAFALE fighter jets that will replace older MIRAGE 2000 fighters. The Greek PM said […]

FN Herstal, a Belgian subsidiary of the Herstal Group, and French group Nexter have signed a strategic contract in the framework of the Capacité Motorisée or Motorized Capability (CaMo) programme for the modernisation of the Belgian Army’s ground mobility capability. This contract covers the production and delivery by FN Herstal of the latest generation deFNder® Remote […]

Gerhard Heiming At the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) virtual exhibition in Washington from 28th to 29th August 2020, Airbus Helicopters announced the launch of the latest version of the LAKOTA helicopter, with an order for 17 aircraft. The UH-72 belongs to the widely used H145 family, whose military and civilian versions […]

The Spanish Ministry of Defence has awarded a €1.74 bn (US$2.06bn) contract to a joint venture of General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS) and three other companies to deliver 348 8×8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles (VCR), their maintenance and life cycle support, as well as support their international commercialisation. The GDELS-SBS contract is for […]