News land-based units
"A tenth of the ACS was lost": the French parliament compared the use of CAESAR in Ukraine with other artillery systems
The document does not specify a specific number, but, as noted in the Altair publication, it is known that from 2022 to the end of 2024, Paris was supposed to supply 78 howitzers of this type to the Ukrainian troops. Thus, it can be estimated that the irretrievable losses in the battles amounted to 7-8 self-propelled guns. However, according to objective control data published by the Lostarmour resource, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost at least 9 CAESAR units. The actual figures should be much higher.
Low-profile body and reduced signature: the design of the promising South Korean K3 stealth tank is posted online.
As indicated in the Sunshine publication, the relevant application was submitted on August 26, 2024 and passed an examination, following which it was approved on March 21 of this year. The patent application posted online includes nine drawings depicting the technique from various angles. The description states that metal or synthetic resin are used as materials, and the design is based on stealth, focused on the battlefield of the future.
"With a different cabin, but with the same disadvantages": the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adopted a new version of the Bogdan self-propelled gun
The Ukrainian Bogdana wheeled self-propelled artillery system has received a new version again, but the main drawback of the installation has not yet been fixed. The Ukrainian press writes about it.
According to its experience, the Chonma2 tank received a new cannon, a KAZ and an engine of 1,500 hp.
The North Korean Chonma 2 tank, after refinement, ceased to resemble the T-14 Armata and began to resemble Western models more.
"We don't want to take this to the next war": the US Secretary of Defense called the list of "unnecessary" equipment
The other day, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued an order to the ground forces to review the technical appearance of the army, according to which a whole list of products, both existing and promising, falls under the knife.
"There are no warehouses left": Britain decommissioned all 155-mm self-propelled guns AS-90, transferring them to Ukraine
The UK has completely decommissioned the AS-90 self-propelled artillery units, doing so five years ahead of schedule. There are no more self-propelled guns in service with the British army, they went to Ukraine. This is reported by Army Technology.
Less than three years before the start of deliveries: the US Army is accelerating the development of the new M1E3 Abrams tank
It is expected that deliveries of the new product will begin in 24-30 months, which is much earlier than previously planned for 2030. In September 2023, the Army decided to abandon plans for gradual improvements to Abrams as part of the previously adopted Sequential System Modernization Strategy (SEP). Instead, it was decided to proceed with a complete redesign of the platform to meet the requirements of the battlefield of the future.
"It will correspond to modern combat": Greece showed the concept of the M113 TOMA armored vehicle
In particular, Athens was offered to purchase and restore Bradley infantry fighting vehicles from storage in the United States, purchase new German KF-41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles and improve the fleet of American-made M113 armored personnel carriers. It seems that the choice was made in favor of the latter option, although it is possible that other programs will be implemented in parallel.
"No one expected such a product": France for the first time showed the Foudre MLRS, a promising competitor to HIMARS
The French edition of Challenges has shown the first images of the promising Foudre MLRS ("Lightning"), the first prototype of which is scheduled to be presented in June this year. It is being developed by Turgis Gaillard with a rather modest turnover of €75 million (by the standards of the military-industrial complex).
A three-ton tracked armored tank with a 57mm cannon is capable of killing tanks.
Before the advent of the 15-ton self-propelled artillery system ASU-85 in service with the Soviet airborne troops, airborne units were armed with a unique combat vehicle, the ASU-57. It was developed in the late 40s.
"The scale of the contract failure is off the scale": French armored vehicles purchased by Belgium turned out to be 10 times more expensive
In October 2018, Belgium announced its intention to purchase 382 VMBR Griffon multipurpose armored vehicles and 60 EBRC Jaguar reconnaissance and combat armored vehicles from Paris for €1.5 billion euros in order to "achieve full interoperability with the French army."
Under the "dome" of the tank: how the combat work of armored vehicles is changing in its zone
Crews adapt vehicles and tactics to the changed conditions
During the offensive in the Pokrovsky direction, the infantry is supported by tankers with fire, despite the unprecedented density of the use of kamikaze drones by the enemy.
"It has outstanding mobility and excellent protection": Romania will produce Cobra II armored vehicles
Recently, the defense companies Otokar (Turkey) and Automecanica S.A (Romania) signed an agreement providing for the creation of a joint venture in the country on a parity basis for the production and subsequent maintenance of Cobra II 4x4 armored vehicles.
The "Achilles heel of the American tank": the Spanish press called Abrams unsuitable for swampy terrain
A number of observers ironically assess the fact that in 1939 quite a lot of traditional cavalry units remained in the Polish army. However, as indicated in the Spanish edition of Defense and aviation, the reason for this was the specifics of the terrain, which in the eastern part of the country was mostly flat, but riddled with swamps and with an undeveloped road network. Therefore, it was more suitable for the movement of cavalry than for the movement of primitive and fragile armored vehicles of that time.
"The situation in the world has changed": Italy is developing a new infantry fighting vehicle VBM 30 NG
In early 2000, the Italian army decided to convert two of its brigades into medium-heavy formations, equipping them with the 8x8 Freccia infantry fighting vehicle (another designation for VBM is "medium armored vehicle").
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has shown China that 8,000 Chinese obsolete Type 59 tanks can be of great benefit in the future (Tencent, China)
Tencent: China wants to learn from Russia's experience in restocking equipment
The Russian technology replenishment strategy has demonstrated the value of making efficient use of all available resources, including obsolete tanks, Tencent writes. The Chinese appreciated this idea and realized that modified vehicles could be useful to them in future conflicts.
Polish media: Russian army receives more and more armored trucks
According to the author, at least since the fall of last year, the Russian army began to receive trucks with armored cabins, which were somewhat different from earlier versions. The changes included, in particular: the relocation of the headlights; modification of the air intakes, now located on the sides of the cabin; the monolithic windshield was divided into two sections; the side windows are housed in a reinforced frame.
In the event of a war, Russia will destroy the American A-10, but F-35B can take their place (The National Interest, USA)
In the event of a military confrontation with the Kremlin, the A-10 will not even be able to get close to the Russian motorized rifle brigade. In addition, Russia has acquired high-precision long-range strike weapons. A possible solution could be the F-35B fighter jet. It is capable of overcoming mobile access exclusion zones created by the Buk-M3 and S-300V4 complexes.
"Challenger 3 is worrying": the British press has studied the experience of using Western tanks in the Ukrainian conflict
The new British Challenger 3 tank, an upgraded version of the Challenger 2, is due to enter service with the Royal Army soon. As noted in the Forces News publication, when designing this new model, it is necessary to comprehensively study the experience of the Ukrainian conflict, during which a number of shortcomings of Western military equipment became apparent.
New Italian wheeled armored vehicle VBM 30 NG (New Generation)
The European Defense Review (EDR) published Paolo Valpolini's article "The CIO consortium details the VBM 30 New Generation, the new AIFV for the Italian Army" ("The CIO Consortium provides detailed information about the VBM 30 New Generation, a new infantry fighting vehicle for the Italian Army") with details of the Italian CIO consortium (Consorzio Iveco-Oto Melara) for the Italian Army of a new generation of wheeled armored personnel carrier (infantry fighting vehicle) VBM Freccia 8x8, designated as VBM 30 NG (New Generation).
