AMV w. NEMO mortar
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Sweden’s FMV defense procurement agency recently selected Finland’s Patria for a EUR 240 million contract to deliver 113 AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) wheeled Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) to the Swedish Armed Forces. The 27 tonne AMV has a crew of 3, and can carry up to 9 soldiers. A varied set of turrets and modules can configure it for different roles, from MEDEVAC through to IFV or even automated mortar carrier.

The Swedish contract covers 5 different versions, and also includes an option of additional 113 vehicles. The vehicles will be manufactured in Finland, with subcontractors in Finland and Sweden that will deliver industrial offsets. Swedish firms will also be used to provide long-term support. The vehicles will be delivered between 2011-2013, if the Swedish government approves the FMV’s decision.

A matter that has become moot, as a Swedish court nullifies the FMV’s choice and forces a re-compete…

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Turkish M-60T Sabra
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Global weapon sales are always subject to political influences. For many years, Turkey and Israel have maintained a close defense relationship that extended to training in Turkey and large procurement deals. Turkey’s $688 million buy of Israeli upgrades to create 170 M-60T “Sabra” tanks will remain the high-end backbone of its armored corps, until its new Leopard 2A4s are operational. Over 50 of its F-4 Phantom jets received the $700 million Israeli “F-4E Terminator 2020” upgrade to extend their competitiveness and service lives. They’re joined by Israeli drones like the Harpy radar killer, Searcher-II, Aerostar, and larger Heron UAVs that serve with Turkish forces.

The risk of Turkey’s Islamist AKP party has complicated that relationship, and recent cancellation of the Turkish/ American/ Israeli exercise Anatolia Eagle was followed just days later by the announcement of defense relationships and planned military exercises with Syria. Observers are reacting with varying levels of alarm to these developments, but some clear signals are evident in the defense trade. Defense News’ “Israel-Turkey Rift Derails Defense Trade” discusses some of the impacts, which are serious. They include changed status in Israel for any Turkish defense equipment or support requests, and a likely dearth of such requests on the Turkish end while the AKP remains in power. Defense News’ sources do say that the last 20 M-60Ts will be finished, and that the Heron UAV contract is still a go at this point – albeit with a more powerful engine to accommodate the extra weight of Turkish electronics.

Now: M2A2 105mm
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In February 2006, the Australian Government gave first pass approval for the replacement of the ADF’s current 105mm and 155mm artillery pieces with new, more capable, artillery systems that feature improved mobility, protection, range and accuracy. Current systems are all towed, and include the aged 105mm M2A2, the L119 Hamel 105mm Field Gun, and the M198 155mm Howitzer. Options for replacing them include a mix of self-propelled artillery systems and lightweight towed artillery systems under an A$ 450-600 million project known as LAND 17. The project will also examine advanced high precision munitions and a networked command and fire control system.

So, how does this project fit into Australia’s larger defense plans? What’s the expected program timeline? And who are the declared and potential contenders? That matters even more now that the solicitation has been released. DID covers the program, and a number of the confirmed or likely competitors… but one category has now been decided.

• The LAND 17 Program
• LAND 17: Likely Contenders
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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M1130 Stryker MC
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The 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicle is the backbone of the US Army’s 7 medium armored brigades, with an 8th on the way. The base vehicle is also known as the LAV-III (Canada) and Piranha-III (GD MOWAG Switzerland), but American Stryker family APCs are outfitted with a set of communications and electronics equipment that makes them a unique variant. Stryker program’s production contracts began in 2000; to date, General Dynamics Land Systems in Canada and the USA have delivered 2,988 vehicles to the US military. Now, a $647 million order will add another 352 Strykers to the Army.

Consultation with General Dynamics Land systems has yielded the full breakdown of this Stryker order among all variants…

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Before: M109 & M992
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The USA’s M109 self-propelled 155mm howitzers were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicles have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade.

Even with the Paladin’s computerization and fast, safe set-up and take-down, however, a noticeable capability gap exists between the M109 and newer self-propelled guns like Britain’s AS90 Braveheart, Germany’s PzH-2000, or innovative long-range systems like South Africa’s G6. America’s comparable XM2001 Crusader/ XM2002 ARRV was canceled as an $11 billion Cold War relic in 2002, and the light 155mm NLOS-C may also be dead with the recent removal of the Future Combat Systems ground vehicle program.

In the mean time, the Army has re-learned a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds rather than minutes or hours, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and delivers a possible volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require bombers and precision weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Most combat casualties in the gunpowder age have come from artillery fire, and the US Army will need its mobile fleet for some time to come. So, too, will the many countries that have bought the M109 and still use it, unless BAE wishes to cede that market to South Korea’s modern K9/K10 system, or new concept candidates like the KMW/GDLS DONAR. What to do? Enter the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program….

• M109 Limitations & the M109A6 Paladin
• PIM: A New M109A6 Paladin
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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A Viking comes ashore
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The BvS-10 is the successor to the wildly popular Bv206, 11,000 of which have been sold to 40 countries around the world – including the USA (M978). It is in use in both Britain and the Netherlands as a key armored vehicle for their respective Marines, and is under evaluation elsewhere. Singapore has developed and manufactured an improved variant of its own called the Bronco ATTC, and Finland and Norway also have their own local Bv-206 variants.

What makes this unusual-looking vehicle family so popular? They aren’t like Hummers or similar wheeled mainstays. They aren’t full armored personnel carriers, either – they’re armored, but Bv family vehicles can’t take the kind of punishment that a Bradley or LAV can absorb. Instead, the secret to their success lies in a remarkable all-terrain capability, and their ability to fill a rare and critical role: air-portable and amphibious infantry enhancement.

These success factors are discussed below, along with contracts and key developments related to this vehicle family. The latest developments involve a follow-on order from the British – who picked Singapore’s ATTC Bronco, but are still ordering more BvS10s…

• The Bv Family of Vehicles (i.e. Continue reading…)
• Bv Family: Why So Popular?
• Bv Family: Performance in Afghanistan [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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USMC M1A1 settles a
firefight in Fallujah
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The RESET process takes used vehicles apart, inspects the parts, then replaces any defective parts and refurbishes the equipment to like-new condition. Sometimes upgrades are also performed. RESET and related processes like remanufacture/upgrades are being performed on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley IFV/CFVs, HMMWV jeeps, and even helicopters. It usually takes place when the vehicles return from the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, where sand damage and increased wear have taken their toll.

In truth, many of these vehicles were produced in the 1980s, and are reaching an age where “deep maintenance” is a wise and necessary measure. A July 2006 Washington Times article noted the effect age and wear have had on the USA’s vehicle fleet, and DID has also covered this subject under the wider rubric of the Army’s maintenance overhang. DID believes these efforts are sufficiently important that the consolidated visibility of a FOCUS Article is in order.

Note that this is not a complete list of RESET contracts; DID will seek to backfill its roster as opportunities arise, and newly-added materials will be presented in green as a reader convenience. Recent additions include a contract to reset FMTV medium trucks…

• RESET Programs and Procedures
• RESET Contracts, Delivery Orders & Developments, FY 2006-Present [updated]
• Vehicle Fleets and Maintenance Overhangs
• Additional Readings
  
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M3A3 Bradley CFV: Charge!
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In the 1970s, middle eastern wars demonstrated that tanks without infantry screens were vulnerable to infantry with anti-tank missiles. Unfortunately, armored personnel carriers were easy prey for tanks, and sometimes had trouble keeping up with newer behemoths like the 60+ ton, 50+ mph M1 Abrams main battle tank. In response, the Americans rethought the armored personnel carrier, taking a page from the Soviet book. They created a more heavily armored, faster “Infantry Fighting Vehicle” named after WW2 General Omar “the soldier’s general” Bradley, and gave it an offensive punch of its own. M2/M3 tracked, armored IFVs can carry infantry – but they also have 25mm Bushmaster cannons, networked targeting sensors, and even TOW anti-armor or Stinger anti-aircraft missiles at their disposal.

Bradley puts on wear
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Even well-serviced vehicles must suffer the pangs of age and wear, however, and the pace of electronics breakthroughs is far faster than the Army’s vehicle replacement cycle. The US Army plans to keep its Bradley fleet for some time to come, and new technologies have made it wise to upgrade part of that fleet while renewing the vehicles. Hence the remanufacture program, which complements the restore-only RESET programs DID has covered elsewhere.

This free-to-view DII Spotlight article explains the differences between the Bradley variants involved, details the re-manufacture process, offers additional research sources, and covers associated contracts from FY 1999 to the present. Including the latest award, a $30+ million order for transmissions…

• Bradley Variants and Sub-Variants: A Quick Guide [updated]
• Bradley Remanufacture Program: Details & Contracts, FY 1999 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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(click to download)

Defense was an issue in the last Australian election. The center-left Labor Party attacked the center-right Liberal Party by citing mismanaged projects, and accusing the Howard government of making poor choices on key defense platforms like the F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35A Joint Strike fighters. That sniping continued even after Labor won the election, and has been evident in more than a few Defence Ministry releases.

The new government made some program changes, such as canceling the SH-2G Seasprite contract. Yet it has been more notable for the programs it has not changed: problematic upgrades of Australia’s Oliver Hazard Perry frigates were continued, the late purchase of F/A-18F Super Hornets was ratified rather than canceled, and observers waited for the real shoe to drop: the government’s promised 2009 Defence White Paper, which would lay out Australia’s long-term strategic assessments, and procurement plans.

On May 2/09, Australia’s government released “Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030.” DID has reviewed that document, and the reaction to date… including a new ASPI roundup of reactions from around Asia.

• Fast Incoming
• The Highlight Reel
• Additional Readings & Assessments [updated]
  
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Smerch 9K58 firing
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In November 2005, the title “F.I. Looks At Latin American Arms Market, Sees Venezuelan Buildup” said it all. In 2006, “Venezuela Buying SU-30s, Helicopters, et. al. From Russia” covered a $3 billion arms deal with Russia for SU-30MK2 fighters, and Mi-17/26/35 transport and attack helicopters. Reports in December 2007 indicated a Russian desire to raise those exports to $12 billion over the medium term.

In the wake of Chevez’ purchases, neighbors like Colombia and Brazil have increased their defense budgets, and launched purchases of their own. Now, the latest large-scale deal involving Russia and Venezuela involves tanks, rocket artillery, and air defense missiles…

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