Armor News....

Thanks for the articles Jonathan....

Italian Armor for the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) is planning to acquire 100 armored personnel carriers (APC)s and dozens of artillery equipment from Italy in support of the military’s capability upgrade program.Documents obtained by The STAR showed that the Italian government might donate 100 units of operational M113 APCs and 25 units of operational FH70 155 mm howitzers.The possible donations are in connection with the procurement of other equipment that may become part of what the DND called the “Italian package.”The DND is currently negotiating with Italy for the procurement of Maestrale-class ships, medium-lift fixed wing aircraft (C27J-Spartan), special mission aircraft and three naval helicopters.If the procurement pushes through, the 100 APCs and 25 long-range cannons may be included in the package.“In connection with the acquisition of the aforementioned equipment (ships, aircraft, helicopters) the Italian government will donate 100 units operational M113 armored personnel carriers and 25 units operational FH70 155 mm howitzers,” the DND document read.

The shame of it is this would allow civilian workers to pick up some quick money, would get vehicles out of storage to help allies and its something we should be leading on...not the Italians.  Think about it.  How many M-113's, MRAPs, Bradley's and other vehicles do we have in storage that are going to collect dust and eventually be scrapped?  Good on the Italians and boo to us.

Warrior Upgrade is the British Army's #1 Priority. 

The principal upgrades Warrior is receiving with this £1 billion facelift are improvements to its lethality, electronic architecture and modular armour systems. Of the three, Pietralski said all were important but picked out lethality as being particularly prominent.“The biggest priority is on the lethality side. We’re incorporating a 40mm cannon that will enable the crew to have a fire and move capability, which is something the current platform can’t achieve.”Pritchard stressed the importance of this capability, saying that “it’s just something we haven’t been able to do before” and underscored why WSCP is the critical project for the Army.On the commercial side Lockheed Martin was keen to stress the importance of its supply chain in delivering this contract and announced that it had opened a dedicated new facility at Nuneaton with its engineering partner, MIRA.Lockheed will need to work closely with its partners as WCSP represents a step-change in the MoD’s reliability requirements. It’s something that is at the forefront of the team’s mind, especially that of Colin Gilding , WCSP programme manager, who said that “reliability is a big part of this programme … it permeates every decision we make.”Pietralski agrees: “The key challenge for WCSP is to provide a reliable platform … [to] ensure it’s capable, not only for tomorrow but well into 2040.” He explained that Lockheed is implementing rigorous testing procedures at every stage and is looking all the way down to the sub-system level to achieve the reliability required.

Interesting.  They believe the move to a 40mm cannon will give them lethality that the 30mm cannon lacks?  I'd love to see the testing that led to this conclusion.  I also have doubts about the IFV concept.  APC's are the future, the infantry is too well armed and when you have legacy weapons that are upgraded capable of penetrating a tank (RPG-29) then it makes sense to deposit infantry short of the objective.  Read it all over at Defense IQ.

VAB Mk3. for export?

PARIS — Renault Trucks Defense (RTD) plans to open a new assembly line for the Véhicule Avant Blindé (VAB) Mk3, an upgraded version of its troop carrier aimed at export markets, which are forecast to make up at least half of the company’s annual sales by 2015, said Chief Executive Gérard Amiel.On Oct. 25, RTD, part of the Swedish Volvo commercial trucks group, completed the 538 million Swedish krona ($79 million) acquisition of Panhard General Defense, the French maker of light armored vehicles. The Panhard acquisition is a move toward RTD’s target of making 700 million euros ($888.6 million) in annual sales by 2015 and is seen as a step toward consolidation in the French land systems industry.RTD is part of Volvo’s government sales division, which has a target of 1 billion euros of annual sales by 2015.The plan to add production, announced Nov. 14, is highly unusual, given the economic crisis hitting Western economies. Carmakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen have seen new car sales collapse, and there is much debate over a deindustrialization of the French economy.The new line will be at the Fourchambault site, in central France, the maintenance center for the French Army’s 4,000-strong fleet of VABs. Amiel declined to give financial details of the investment.RTD developed the VAB Mk3 with its own funds for foreign markets. Under the company’s plan, exports will make up 50 percent to 60 percent of annual sales.“The VAB Mk3 was developed for export,” Amiel said.

I'm not sure that the VAB will be competitive.  Too many other vehicles are available that match its price point yet offer more.  This might be a case of wishful thinking.  Read more here.