The Fighter Still Remains… The Boxer MRAV APC Family

Boxer MRAV

Wheeled armored vehicles have become much more common, but the Dutch-German Boxer stands out from the crowd. Its English acronym is “Multi Role Armoured Vehicle” (MRAV), but rather than being a family of different vehicles, the Boxer will use a single chassis, with snap-in modules for different purposes from infantry carrier to command, cargo, ambulance, etc.

The base vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 km/h (60 mp/h) and an operational range of 1,000 km (600 miles). In its troop carrying configuration, it has a crew of 2 and can carry 10 fully equipped troops. The MRAV is fighting for space in a crowded market, but its principal countries are beginning to give it the front-line credibility it needs to succeed.

• Boxer MRAV: The Vehicle
  
• Boxer MRAV: The Program
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Additional Readings
  

LAV-AT: Modernizing the USMC’s Wheeled Tank-Killers

LAV-AT, 1991:
Desert Storm

General Dynamics’ wheeled LAV A2 family is the US Marine Corps’ backbone armored personnel carrier, and the LAV-AT (anti-tank) is one of the most interesting sub-types. A pop-up M901 Emerson turret rises out of the vehicle like the head of a robot, tracks opponents using visual and thermal imaging, and fires up to 2 BGM-71 TOW(Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire guided) anti-armor missiles, before dropping back inside to re-load under armored protection. The result is a more mobile tank-killer that can strike from long-range, and remains effective even under heavy artillery shelling. It’s also handy for fire support against enemy strongpoints, serving in the same role as an assault gun.

Unfortunately for the Marines, their LAV-ATs are facing 2 separate threats to their long-term viability. Hence the USMC’s ACAT-III Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank Modernization Program.

Libya Seeking Arms Deals

SU-35 flight, 2008

After a long hiatus in major arms purchases, and an equally long fall from its status as an ultra-modern Soviet arms client, Libya was among the countries discussed by Forecast International in its review of African defense market opportunities.

Libya’s military has traditionally been Soviet supplied, alongside some equipment from France and Brazil. The demise of the Soviet Union, the 1990s drop in oil prices, and Libya’s pariah status all combined to choke military modernization – but Libya’s new political direction, and the rise in oil prices, were beginning to change that. Widespread reports emerged in 2007 that France and Libya had signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering arms deals worth up to EUR 4.5 billion, including the first foreign sale of the Rafale fighter. Those reports weren’t followed by contract announcements – but 2009 reports and 2010 contracts showed that Russia was willing to fight to keep its old customer. Now, the question is where all of old the players fit in the new Libya, after Gadaffi’s fall:

• A Change in Libya [updated]
  
• Green Shoots in Libya
  
• A Spring Civil War, and Aftermath
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
• Appendix A: The French Connection?

Colombia’s Defense Modernization

FAC Kfir C7
(click to view larger)

Colombia’s narco-terrorist FARC army has reportedly lost some of its military shine recently, thanks to years of unswerving pressure from the Colombian army. Much of that pressure has been led by the popular President Uribe, who has apparently ruled out a bid for constitutional amendments and an attempt at a 3rd term of office. Before his 2010 exit, however, a special tax levied in 2006 is set to finance about $4 billion worth of military hardware, and add stronger backing to those military gains.

Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper reports that the deals are meant to solidify and modernize the military, and will include a wide variety of equipment from American, French, German, Israeli, and Russian suppliers. Key deliveries have now begun.

Tracked RESET: Brazil Sticks With its M113s

Brazilian M113:
from BAE

In the early 1970s, the Brazilian Army acquired a number of tracked M113 armored personnel carriers from the US Army, to serve alongside their locally-built EE-11 Urrutu 6×6 wheeled APCs. The mix is a smart one; wheeled vehicles offer easier mobility, while tracked vehicles offer broader military options, and can handle all types of terrain. Both vehicle types are very old, however, and the Urrutus will soon be replaced by over 2,000 of Brazil’s new VBTP/ Guaranis.

That leaves the Army’s tracked APCs, which are set to get attention of their own now. Under a $41.9 million contract with BAE Systems Land and Armaments in Santa Clara, CA (W56HZV-12-C-0083), the Brazilian Army Depot in Curitiba will receive the supplies and training they need to upgrade 150 of Brazil’s roughly 600 M113A0s (“M113B”) to the M113A2 Mk1 configuration. “Upgrade” is really too modest a word – the depot will strip the APCs down to shells, leaving only the vehicle hulls, hatches and ramps. All other components including the engines, transmissions and cooling systems will be replaced or upgraded using components, tooling and spares from BAE, who will also train the depot staff. This RESET approach lowers the overall upgrade cost, but note that the true cost will be substantially above the BAE contract’s value alone. The M113A2 Mk1 program is expected to last until November 2014, by which time the Guaranis will also be in full production, and entering service. BAE Systems.

US-South Korea Rift? Of Tiger Eyes & Industrial Spies

ROKAF F-15K

In late November 2011, South Korea’s left-wing Hankyoreh newspaper reports that a combination of unauthorized examination of an F-15K’s Lockheed Martin “Tiger Eyes” IRST(InfraRed Search and Track) sensor, and concerns that a number of South Korean products contain copied technologies, have halted “strategic weapons exports” from the USA to South Korea. That reportedly includes the proposed RQ-4B Global Hawk deal.

The allegations are single-source, and written by Hankyoreh, but they are also quite detailed:

Out of Whole Cloth: Tarian Rocket Protection

Tarian close-up

Working with Britain’s Ministry of Defense, a transatlantic firm named AmSafe has come up with a novel solution to anti-tank rockets: fabric panels mounted on the sides of trucks and armored vehicles. Now, that concept has been extended to a “Quickshield” fabric net that serves as a quick, front-line patch for damaged cage armors.

To address the front-line threat posed by Rocket Propelled Grenades like the popular RPG-7, BAE’s LROD Cage Armorsteel “cage armors” have been used, as well as BAE’s much lighter aluminum solution. AmSafe’s broader Tarian (Welsh for “shield”) solution has been deployed by British forces, remains in development for new vehicle types, and offers several advantages over cage armor. Not least of which is a 50% weight savings over aluminum, and 85% savings over steel cage options.

Chile Requests a Mechanized Artillery Battalion

Spanish M109A5,
Brite Star 2001

In June 2009, Chile’s formal request to buy a variety of artillery-related systems and equip a new mechanized artillery battalion was cleared by the US state Department, and allowed to go forward. The request centered on BAE’s M109 tracked self-propelled howitzer, but it also includes necessities like shells, tracking radars, and accompanying personnel carriers. Chile already operates the M109 self-propelled howitzer, and this order could double its available fleet, to a total of 48.

Chile’s current stock of 24 M109s are the KAWEST version, which were upgraded by Switzerland’s RUAG and sold to Chile at the end of 2004 (Cooperativa.cl, in Spanish). The Swiss upgrades included an L47 gun with 27 km/ 36 km assisted range and 3-round burst capability over 15 seconds, 6 crew members instead of 8, carriage of 40 rounds and 64 charges, improved electrical systems, an integrated inertial navigation and positioning system, day and night capability, and added protection against fire, nuclear EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse radiation), and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) threats.

War Hatchet: Israel Orders More Cardom Self-Propelled Mortars

Keshef fires Cardom

In September 2011, Elbit Systems announced a 4-year, $40 million Israeli contract for its Soltam Systems Ltd. subsidiary’s “Cardom” (Eng. “Hatchet”) 120mm mortar systems. Built around Soltam’s 120mm recoil mortar system, Cardom can be fitted to any medium armored vehicle, offering advanced fire control, navigation, and automatic aiming/pointing capabilities. The USA uses it in wheeled M1129 Stryker MC APCs, for instance, though many elements can also be found in M1064 variants of the tracked M113.

Israel has used Keshet (Eng. “Bow”) M113 tracked APC(armored personnel carrier) variants as their Cardom platform, since the system was deployed with the Nahal Infantry Brigade in 2007. The recent arrival of precision 120mm mortar shells, such as IAI’s Fireball, or ATK’s APMI, adds precision to the 120mm mortar’s traditional virtues of simplicity and low cost. That’s especially important for armies who want to use mortar fire in urban combat, but wish to limit civilian casualties.

Land Panther: Germany’s Tracked Puma IFV

Drivers wanted…

Germany has always been known for producing excellent armored vehicles. A combination of features that arguably make it the world’s best tank, and fire sale prices stemming from Germany’s rapid disarmament, have made the Leopard 2 the standard main battle tank in Europe and beyond. The same level of innovation and execution was shown in the late 1960s, when Germany’s Marder became the west’s first Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). Designs like the American M2/M3 Bradley, Sweden’s CV90 family and new SEP, Singapore’s Bionix-II, and Korea’s new XK-21 have stepped far beyond that legacy, however, and even the Russian region has continued to update their BMP designs. Meanwhile, the nature of military operations has changed to emphasize modularity, out of country missions, advanced electronic communications, and strong protection against threats like land mines.

The Marders need to be replaced, and this became a priority even within Germany’s limited defense budget. In response, German armored vehicle leaders Rheinmetall & KMW formed a 50/50 joint venture to design and produce a solution that would address these issues, and return Germany to a leadership position in the tracked IFV field. Enter the new Puma IFV – which has just received a EUR 3 billion production order from Germany.