A Chinese soldier chats with an Indian soldier during a joint anti-terrorism military training in Kunming, southwest China, December 23, 2007. The Chinese and Indian armies kicked off the first joint anti-terrorism military training Friday morning. The two armies each dispatched about 100 ground troops for the training, code-named "Hand-in-Hand 2007". The training will run until December 27, Xinhua News Agency reported.
24 December 2007

In the tread of military operations to Nahr el Bared against the Fatah, the Lebanese army engaged a process to make a rearmament of his army. Belgian governement make a proposal for the sale of 40 main battle tank Leopard 1A5 and 32 armoured infantry fighting vehicle AIFV for a cheaper price of 10 million of $. The transaction was suspended on this time, until the formation of new Belgian governement.
20 December 2007

This was the first purchase of armament that annouced the governement of Michelle Bachelet in March 2006, for the acquisition of 118 Leopard 2A5. The Army of Chile will be ready also to receive the first set of 100 armoured infantry fighting vehicle Marder 1A3, with another number of vehicles later. The contract includes also 30 air defence armoured vehicle Gepard. All this armoured vehicles must begin to arrive to the country, along with he following deliveries of Leopard 2A5, in December.
20 December 2007

Half a year ahead of schedule, the first Slovenian configuration Patria AMV 8x8 APC vehicle was delivered to the customer today. The vehicle was manufactured in Finland where also the Slovenian partners have been trained. After extensive end user tests starting as of now, the vehicle will be additionally customised at the Gorenje INDOP facilities in Sostanj, and will be ready for final hand-over later next spring. The Slovenian Ministry of Defence signed agreements with Rotis and Patria covering the supply of 135 Patria AMV 8x8 vehicles including Patria Nemo 120 mm single-barrel mortars in December 2006. Both products represent the newest technology on the market and offer superior protection and performance. Next deliveries of Patria AMV to the Slovenian customer are scheduled to take place in the late spring of 2008. Deliveries of the Patria Nemo mortar system are scheduled to start one year later in the summer of 2009.
18 December 2007

Iraqi special forces and armourd vehicle parade outside Basra Palace after a security handover ceremony. Britain's decision to "flee" Iraq shows the insurgency is stronger than ever, Al-Qaeda's number two said Sunday, after British forces transferred security control in Basra province to the Iraqis.
17 December 2007

Police stand beside an armoured personal carrier (APC) in front of the President House in Islamabad December 15, 2007. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf lifted emergency rule on Saturday in a move Western nations hope will stabilise the nuclear-armed state as Islamic militant violence spirals.
15 December 2007

The Spike missile family is designed around 2 key principles: low life cycle cost, and simple but reliable operation. Low life cycle cost comes from keeping prices down for all components by using "good enough" solutions that offer high quality without gold plating. The high-end option of integrated training as part of the system is included, however, because it improves the system's cost profile over its entire lifetime. While Spike is less capable in some ways than high-end missiles like the Javelin, it's also far more affordable, and hence useful as a more readily available fire-support option. The 2006 Lebanon war saw guided anti-armor missiles employed as a substitute for artillery, a role in which even very old designs like the AT-3 proved highly useful.
In Spain, 2007 was the Year of the Spike. January 2007, Spain chose Spike-LR as the next-generation anti-armour missile to equip its army and marines, as the RAFAEL/ General Dynamics partnership beat MBDA's Milan-ER and the Raytheon/Lockheed Javelin. In December 2007, Spain book ended its earlier commitment with a contract for Spike-LR's larger cousin to equip its helicopter force.
13 December 2007

In January 2006, the Czech Republic selected General Dynamics' European Land Combat Systems subsidiary Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH of Austria to supply its army with 199 new eight-wheeled Pandur II armourd personnel carrier (APCs) between 2007-2012. The vehicles would replace Soviet-era OT-64 SKOT APCs, and would be produced in Austria and the Czech Republic. The contract includes an option for 35 additional vehicles for a total of 234, and has a potential value of Koruna 23.6 billion ($1-1.4 billion). Steyr's Pandur II was a finalist, and eventually won the competition. But questions arose, the deal became a political football, and delivery issues jeopardized deal. Steyr recently issued a pair of releases that aim to put the Czech government in a tight spot, while detailing the project's industrial arrangements… but it wasn't enough. In the end, 3 issues killed the contract.
09 December 2007

Israeli soldiers ride in armored vehicles following an operation in the Gaza Strip near the Sufa Crossing between Israel and Gaza, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. Israeli tanks and bulldozers backed by attack aircraft moved into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing five militants in the widest operation in the territory since Islamic Hamas forces wrested control in June.
11 December 2007

Add one more European nation to the bandwagon of emergency mine-resistant vehicle purchases. On Dec 7/07, Sofia News Agency Reported that Bulgaria has just signed a deal with Textron Land Systems for armored vehicles. The memorandum is to be in force until 2011, and each year a concrete agreement will be signed for a given number of armored vehicles. The first 7 vehicles, worth 14 million leva ($10.5 million), are meant for the Bulgarian contingent in Afghanistan and are to be delivered by the end of the 2007. The vehicles are almost certainly the firm's mine-resistant M1117 Guardian ASVs, an armored car design that combines good mobility and protection with strong anti-personnel firepower from the combined .50 caliber machine gun and 40mm grenade machine gun in its turret. The ASV is popular with US military police, but was removed from the MRAP competitions by the US Marines after testing.
09 December 2007

The Indian Army is seeking a new generation main battle tank (MBT) even as it prepares to receive the locally designed Arjun MBT that has been over three decades in the making. "What we have today [Arjun] is mid-level technology. What we need is a tank of international quality," India's army chief General Deepak Kapoor said in New Delhi at an international seminar on armoured fighting vehicles.
"I have no doubt that the Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO] will be able to develop indigenous capabilities for coming up with a better answer and more versatile armoured fighting vehicle [than Arjun] in the future," he added. Arjun was designed by the DRDO.
07 December 2007

Greek military seeking to buy more than 400 BMP-3 armored vehicles from Russia. A Defense Ministry official said senior Cabinet officials approved the start of "substantive negotiations" on the purchase, which would include talks on possible joint production of the medium-sized tanks. State NET television said some €1.2 billion (US$1.8 billion) had been budgeted for the military vehicles.
07 December 2007

The magazine Army Recognition is very proud to annonce a award receive during the first Defence Technologies Exhibition SITDEF 2007, Lima, Peru The organisators give this price to our magazine for the quality of our internet site, the promotion of the first Defence Technologies Exhibition SITDEF 2007and the photographs report make during the show. After ten years, the web site Army Recognition become one of the most important media communication to internet for promotion of Defence Exhibition and Defence Industries products. This year we have signed a contract for 2008 with four Defence Exhibition 2008 to cover and make promotion to our magazine and web site : SOFEX 2008 Jordan, DSA 2008 Malaysia, Eurosatory 2008 France, and MSPO 2008 Poland.
I hope, in the futur more Defence companies will be ready to make partnership with us.
07 December 2007