The company Army Recognition received three new orders for the promotion and the marketing of defense products on its Internet site : The French Company SESM, who manufactures engines and transmission for main battle tank; The Belgian Company FN Herstal, a world leader in manufacture and production of weapons ammunition and the Chinese Company Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles, manufacturer of wheeled armored vehicles. These new orders, show that the company Army Recognition with its Internet site and its magazine are the current and future means of communication for the companies and products of defense of the whole world.
27 July 2009

Swedish and Finnish troops were attacked by Afghan resistance forces the night of 26 July 2009. The battle continued through the whole night and ended in the morning. Three rebels were killed according to the home Page of the Swedish Armed Forces. The rebels attacked around nine pm (local time). It was a Swedish group of soldiers that was shot at close to Balkh, west from Masar-e-Sharif. One armoured vehicle under the name RG32 nicknamed "Galten" was shot at by what was believed to be both firearms and by anti tank grenades. One Swedish unit with a tank joined by Finish troops were sent to the area as reinforcement. The battle continued through whole night, sometimes intense, sometimes calm. In the morning the Swedish and Finish troops were reported to have secured the area. No Swedish or Finish soldiers are reported to by ínjured. Two injured and three killed rebels were found after the battle. The injured were given first aid by the Swedish-Finish troops. One of the injured rebels was sent to the German base Marmal for continued care.
26 July 2009

Some 2,600 Chinese and Russian troops showcased their power in the real-combat showdown of the “Peace Mission-2009" joint anti-terror military exercise Sunday morning. More than 100 tanks, self-propelled cannons, as well as more than 60 aircraft are fighting against “terrorists” in the 80-minute final performance of the five-day exercise. Military observers from the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and senior officials with the SCO’s secretariat were watching the exercise conducted at the Taonan Tactical Training Base in northeast Jilin Province.
25 July 2009

During the meeting of July 24, 2009, the Giat Industries board of directors proposed the nomination of Philippe Burtin as Chairman and CEO of Giat Industries and Nexter Systems. This nomination should be approved in a forthcoming French government Cabinet meeting. In the meantime, Philippe Burtin has been named as director representative in the role of Chairman and CEO.
24 July 2009

Textron Marine & Land Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, today announced the signing of a new letter contract for the Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) with the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). The contract includes a base order of an additional 191 M1117 ASVs and 38 M1200 Armored Knight vehicles, as well as field support and special sustainment tools. Delivery is expected to commence February 2010 and, should all options of the contract be exercised, could continue into 2013. The contract totals approximately $200 million, of which $99 million is currently funded. Textron Marine & Land Systems has delivered a total of 2,153 ASVs to the U.S. Army to-date.
23 July 2009

President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela will at least double the number of tanks in its military and continue strengthening its defense capability, the state-run ABN news agency reported. "We are going to buy more tanks to have an armored force at least twice the size of what we have today," Chavez said on national television on Thursday. "We need to strengthen our forces on land, at sea, and in the air and we are going to continue doing that," he added. The Venezuelan army currently has more than 80 outdated French-made AMX-30 main battle tanks and several dozen AMX-13C light tanks. Chavez, who has spent billions of dollars on weapons from Russia in recent years, confirmed that Caracas and Moscow were in talks to purchase Russian T-90 main battle tanks among other military equipment. Between 2005 and 2007 Russia signed 12 contracts worth more than $4.4 billion to supply arms to Venezuela, including fighter jets, helicopters and Kalashnikov assault rifles.
24 July 2009

Within the framework of the revival program of the economy, the General delegation for armament (DGA) comes to notify three markets of artillery ammunition enters at the end of June and at the beginning of July 2009. The primary market, notified at company NEXTER Ammunition for an amount of 16,7 M€, relates to labellized shells of 155mm MURAT (ammunition at the attenuated risks), intended for guns CAESAR (truck equipped with an artillery system). The “muratized” shells have the characteristic not to explode if they are touched by a shooting or if an explosion takes place has proximity. The qualification on gun CAESAR of these new ammunition, marked at the beginning of July, makes it possible from now on this system to draw with full power and full range.
24 July 2009

The U.S, Department of Defense has ordered 62 more M777 howitzers from BAE Systems in a deal worth $117 million (£71m). The order, signed on July 16, follows one placed by the DoD in May for 63 guns and a related small support contract for Hattiesburg. BAE Systems’ facility in Hattiesburg is responsible for final integration and test of the weapon system. The prime contract management of the M777 programme and manufacture and assembly of the complex titanium structures and associated recoil components are undertaken at Barrow-in-Furness in the United Kingdom. Both the U.S. and Canada operate M777s in Afghanistan, providing fire support to coalition forces. Its ability to be airlifted to remote positions by helicopter gives the system enormous operational flexibility and makes it ideal for a challenging environment like Afghanistan.
21 July 2009

Herve Morin, French Minister for Defense, announce an ordering of 200 small wheeled armoured vehicles (PVP) within the framework from the revival program from the economy. The minister declares: “This acceleration of the deliveries and the orders will make it possible to ensure a significant share of the activity of the sites Panhard de Saint German Laval (the Loire) and Maroilles in Hurepoix (the Essonne), for the two years to come “.This acquisition, notified on June 30th, 2009 by the General delegation for armament (DGA) at General the Panhard company Defense, and made following the global market notified in September 2004. It will make it possible to strongly accelerate the deliveries of PVP while carrying them to 300 units per year in 2009 and 2010, instead of the 200 units per year envisaged initially. The number of vehicles ordered to date is established thus to 746 of which 314 were already delivered to the forces. The entire amount corresponding to the supply in the long term of 933 PVP rises to 150 million euros.
10 July 2009

French Sagem Défense Sécurité, a SAFRAN Group company, has managed to transfuse these advantages to French soldiers in its recently displayed FELIN (French for cat, cat of prey, and also for “Fantassin à Équipements et Liaisons Intégrés”) Dismounted Soldier System. In the FELIN system, Sagem DS, as the prime contractor, has integrated a modular optronic imagery system consisting of a family of sights, as well as different observation devices. Its modular configuration allows a platoon leader to choose between different optronic systems according to the mission’s requirements. As such, the combat group is usually fitted with JIM MR (Medium-Range) infrared binoculars, while the platoon leader uses the long-range (LR) version. The LR binoculars combine into a single unit day and night imaging, range finding, laser pointing, GPS localisation and a digital magnetic compass.
08 July 2009

Germany’s order of 405 Puma infantry fighting vehicle is the largest-single contract in recent Rheinmetall history. The first of these newly developed combat vehicles will reach the Bundeswehr starting in 2010. Worth approximately €3.1 billion, the procurement order has now been signed at the Federal Agency for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) in Koblenz. The contractor is PSM GmbH of Kassel, in which Rheinmetall AG of Düsseldorf and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG of Munich each hold a 50% stake. The Budget Committee of the German Parliament recently approved the start of serial production of the Puma, currently Europe’s largest land system project. The Puma is the German Army’s most important force transformation project. It provides its crews with a level of protection against asymmetric threats like landmines, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices that no other vehicle in its class can match.
06 July 2009

The Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense has been awarded the contract for the Army’s intensive testing of various production-ready vehicles. As part of a $1.05 billion initial delivery order, Oshkosh will manufacture 2,244 MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles or M-ATVs, a vehicle designed to provide the Army with enhanced mobility and flexibility in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. It will partly replace and partly complement the rather heavy Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle (MRAPs), which has proven to be very useful in Iraq but not in the mountainous conditions of Afghanistan.
01 July 2009

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), has been awarded a $10 million contract extension by U.S. Army TACOM-ARDEC for the production of MK19 grenade machine guns. Deliveries are expected to begin in April 2010 and will be completed in July 2012. This award brings the total contract value to date to over $67 million. Production work will be performed at General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products' Saco, Maine, facility using its existing workforce. Program management will be performed in Saco with support from the company's Burlington, Vt.-based Technology Center.
01 July 2009

NATO reinforces its equipment and places an additional order of tactical vehicles type Sherpa Carrier to Renault Trucks Defense. Those trucks are dedicated to the Combined Joint Task Force HQ. Renault Trucks Defense has already delivered several Sherpa to NATO since 2008. At the end of the international tender "Blast and Bullet Proof Protected Vehicle Rough Terrain - PVRT -" issued in 2008, the NAMSA has chosen the Sherpa from Renault Trucks Defense, in its armoured version, to meet the liaison and reconnaissance needs, under NATO protection. The vehicle is the Sherpa light scout. Following the recent success in 2007 and 2008 of the Sherpa as shelter carrier and tactical vehicle for NATO and the last order by the French authorities of the tactical Sherpa Syracuse III, the Sherpa range confirms its reliability with this new International reference.
01 July 2009

BAE Systems has acquired the South African designed and developed “Iguana” light armoured vehicle and will rebrand it as RG34. The vehicle will be marketed to military, peace-keeping and security authorities globally. Iguana was developed by IADSA, under contract from Sabiex in Belgium. BAE Systems acquired the intellectual property from Sabiex under an agreement for an undisclosed amount, signed earlier this week. The acquisition of the armoured vehicle is consistent with the company’s strategy to developing its South African market capabilities.
01 July 2009