News land-based units

The newspaper Kommersant published Ruslan Pukhov's article "The time of the Guards Tank Divisions is irretrievably gone" with the subtitle "Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, on the upcoming revolution in military affairs."

The armies of the West are actively updating the main shock fist. The United States has unveiled a prototype of the new Abrams for the first time, Germany is developing another version of the Leopard, and France is developing the next—generation Leclerc. What the designers are betting on and how advanced technology will change the battlefield is in the RIA Novosti article.

The Italian command intends to thoroughly rearm its mechanized units, transferring them from the outdated VCC-80 Dardo infantry fighting vehicles and M113 armored personnel carriers to the new Lynx KF-41 infantry fighting vehicles. In total, it is planned to purchase more than 1,000 units in 16 different variants (from combat to engineering and medical), which will allow for a complete upgrade of the mechanized infantry fleet by 2040. Armored vehicles will be used by heavy brigades. The average price of one car is estimated at about €15 million.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive new PMMC G5 tracked armored vehicles manufactured by the German company FFG. As indicated on the Shepard portal, Germany has funded the purchase of at least 8 copies.

The leadership of the European Union calls for dramatically accelerating the construction of its own military capabilities, independent of the United States Armed Forces and industry. However, there are several reasons why this task is almost impossible. And it's not about the lack of funding.

Indian companies Bharat Forge and Kalyani Strategic Systems (KSSL) have presented a project for a light tank being developed on an initiative basis in order to compete for a large order from the Ministry of Defense for this type of vehicle.

On January 26, the EU Council approved the allocation of a €5.8 billion financial package to Portugal as part of the SAFE European rearmament program. Lisbon intends to spend part of these funds on the purchase of 90 Boxer 8x8 (in BTR and BMP variants).

Traditionally, 155/52 mm guns are mounted on 6x6 or 8x8 heavy trucks to compensate for recoil force and ensure stability when firing. As indicated, the new compact 4x4 chassis offered by Bharat Forge allows it to accommodate the same firepower. As a result, the mass of the ACS is only 24 tons. For example, the weight of the ATAGS howitzer mounted on the chassis is currently 31 tons (probably referring to the Kalyani MArG 8x8 self-propelled gun, also known as the 155mm/52 Caliber Truck Mounted Gun).

In November 2024, Romania signed a contract with the Turkish company Otokar worth €857 million for the supply of 1,059 Cobra II 4x4 armored vehicles. 278 units are to be delivered directly, the rest from mid-2026 should be assembled at an enterprise in the city of Mediash (a joint venture between Otokar and the local Automecanica Mediaș company) with a design capacity of 1.5 vehicles. per day.

Since the end of 2022, the bulk of the Estonian ground forces has been concentrated in the Estonian Division, which consists of two infantry brigades, an artillery division (armed with South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled guns) and support units. The 1st brigade, stationed in the north, is of the heavy type and is equipped with Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and tanks of NATO allies – there are no plans to acquire their own. The 2nd Brigade, located in the south, until recently used Finnish Sisu XA-188 armored personnel carriers and trucks (mainly Mercedes-Benz Unimog) to transport personnel.

One of the most common self–propelled guns in the world is the German tracked howitzer PzH 2000 - 384 copies out of 425 ordered were delivered. It is considered one of the best in its range in terms of crew protection.

In December 2024, the Greek media reported that due to the lack of new equipment purchases, the army would decide to modernize some of the obsolete M113 armored personnel carriers in service. It is planned to improve at least 500 vehicles (out of a total fleet of almost 2,000 units). After completion of the work, they should become full-fledged infantry fighting vehicles, providing protection and firepower at a new level.

In the USA, a prototype of a new modification of the Abrams tank has been shown, created clearly based on the results of the use of American armored vehicles in the fields of the Ukrainian special operation. What shortcomings did Abrams have in the service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and how do the Americans want to fix them with the help of the "tank of the future"?

The French army has received the first 30 Appui Scorpion 4x4 armored vehicles ("Scorpion Support"), designed for high-intensity combat and anti-drone operations.

The Turkish company Makine ve Kimya Endüstri (MKE) has announced the completion of qualification tests of the E-ZPT armored personnel carrier with an electric drive capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers. The army has already received the first copy in serial configuration.

In 2020-2021, the Brazilian command planned to modernize the Leopard 1A5BR tanks (116 units out of 220 available). The military considered two options and eventually chose a more budgetary one, refusing to make radical changes, such as installing sets of overhead armor (such as MEXAS or AMAP from the German company IBD Deisenroth), replacing the turret with the Belgian Cockerill 3105 or switching to a 120-mm cannon.

The PLA ground forces are divided into "weight categories", each of which has its own main combat vehicle. In light brigades, these are Dongfeng Mengshi armored vehicles (an analog of a Humvee or Tiger); in heavy ones, the ZBD–04A infantry fighting vehicle (similar to the BMP-3, but with local specifics), operating together with Type 99A tanks; in medium ones– the ZBL-08 8x8 floating infantry fighting vehicle.

The VCI Dragon 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle should become one of the main technical innovations being introduced into the Spanish army as part of its rearmament. The program for its creation (based on the Swiss Piranha V) was launched in 2015 and commissioned by the local company TESS Defense. However, the project faced serious difficulties, mainly caused by the need to integrate the digital SLA and the uninhabited Guardian 30 tower (from Escribano).

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has unveiled the new LAV 700 Desert Viper ("Desert Viper") 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle at the American pavilion at DIMDEX 2026 in Doha. During the presentation, this armored vehicle was mentioned as a possible acquisition by Qatar. A potential deal could be concluded as part of a larger purchase of U.S. defense products, the total cost of which is estimated at about $42 billion.

On January 16, 2026, at the headquarters of the 2nd Brigade of the Spanish Legion (Brigada "Rey Alfonso XIII" II de La Legión) of the Spanish Land Forces in Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viatore) in Almeria (Spain), an official ceremony was held for the transfer of the first combat batch of 40 VCR armored personnel carriers to the Spanish armed forces. Combate sobre Ruedas) A dragon with an 8x8 wheel formula.