October 2022 News Global Defence & Security Industry - Military

 
 
 
 
 

According to MaxDefense Philippines on October 16, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson confirmed that the US Government has allocated US$100 million (approx Php5.8 billion) of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which she said can be used to procure US-made weapon systems like Heavy Lift Helicopters.

AM General formally submitted a Request for Prototype Proposal (RPP) to compete for the U.S. Army’s Common Tactical Truck (CTT) Program, which aims to develop a flexible and secure architecture to replace their Heavy and Medium Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Fleet (TWV). For this competition, AM General is teaming with IVECO Defence Vehicles (IDV).

Rheinmetall acknowledges the Australian Army’s declaration of the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Announced on Saturday 15 October by Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Boxer IOC declaration reflects the vehicle’s success in meeting the Australian Army’s stated operational needs; paving the way for the Boxer to be deployed on operations.

The European Union is increasing its military support for Ukraine with the launch on Monday, October 17, of a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers on its territory and the granting of a new allocation of 500 million euros for the supply of weapons, AFP and several media report. The foreign ministers of the 27 EU member countries will endorse these two decisions this Monday at a meeting in Luxembourg and the mission will be immediately operational. These training courses will be able to benefit from funding allocated by the European Peace Facility (EPF), the fund set up outside the European budget to help Ukraine militarily.

Within the next several days, RFPs (requests for proposals) will be released for the domestic procurement of 106 inertial navigation systems, 44 enhanced long-range surveillance systems, 80 micro remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), and 10 runway-independent RPAS, Anurakti Sharma reports in Times Now News. These RPAS are distinct from the autonomous surveillance and armed drone swarms (A-SADS), loitering munitions or kamikaze drones that are also being purchased.

According to information published by the British Ministry of Defense, the United Kingdom will donate hundreds of additional AMRAAM surface-to-air missiles used with the NASAMS air defense system, of other types, previously provided, will also be donated as part of the package, along with hundreds of additional aerial drones to support Ukraine’s information gathering and logistics capabilities, and a further 18 L119 105mm light towed artillery guns, in addition to the 64 already delivered.

According to Muhammad Irfan in Urdu Point, Croatia is engaged in talks with France on the purchase of short-range air defense systems as part of its national defense strategy, Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said on Thursday, October 13.

On October 13, the Direction générale de l'Armement (DGA, General Directorate for Armament) of the French Army announced that it had delivered, on October 4, four new light multi-role armored vehicles (VBMR-L) Serval as part of the Scorpio program. These four new vehicles were delivered to CAPCIA-51e RI (51st Infantry Regiment) in Mourmelon.

Spain and France have announced that they will both be delivering ground-based air defense systems to Ukraine, Emma Helfrich reports in The War Zone. This development has taken place as NATO member countries collectively rush to provide Ukraine with advanced air defense capabilities they need to combat attacks like the recent barrage of Russian cruise missiles and drones on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

The Norwegian government on October 12 announced that it intends to spend up to USD 19.75 Mn (NOK 210 million) of the money that is being donated to the British-led «International Fund for Ukraine» in order to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine. Effective artillery, including sufficient amounts of ammunition, has proven to be essential in Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion, says Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram.

Defence Ministers from 14 NATO Allies* and Finland came together in Brussels on Thursday, 13 October 2022, to sign a Letter of Intent for the development of a “European Sky Shield Initiative”. Spearheaded by Germany, the initiative aims to create a European air and missile defence system through the common acquisition of air defence equipment and missiles by European nations. This will strengthen NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence.

According to Ukrinform on October 12, the military-industrial complex of Belarus is already involved in the repair of Russian equipment damaged during hostilities. In addition, the first batch of twenty T-72B tanks was removed from storage and sent to Russia’s Belgorod region, as stated in the report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 06:00, October 12, posted on Facebook.

After 77 years, U.S. Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division — nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles" — touched down on European soil in a continued effort to assist the U.S. Army’s V Corps and the 1st Infantry Division in supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve and NATO’s eastern flank, Spc. Charles Leitner reports on U.S. Army’s website. To illustrate the event, Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade performed a ceremonial uncasing of the unit’s flag, streamers and colors soon after arriving at the Grafenwöhr Training Area in Grafenwöhr, Germany, on October 6, 2022.

Despite the worldwide economical embargo against Russia, the Russian defense industry continues to produce military equipment. On October 13, 2022, the Russian tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod announced on its VK Social Network account that the company Uraltransmash will deliver a new batch of 2S7M Malka self-propelled artillery guns to the Russian army, one of the most powerful artillery systems in the world which has the capability to fire chemical and nuclear shells.

On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the supply of radar and air defense missile systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks. He did not specify the number and type of air defense system that will be delivered to Ukraine, but according to information published by the News Channel "France24", France could deliver Crotale, a short-range air defense missile system that is in service with the French army.

During the G7 Summit that was held on October 11, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested European countries to deliver more air defense systems after the recent Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian cities. He asked France and Italy to deliver SAMP/T, an air defense missile system produced by the company Eurosam, a joint venture between the companies MBDA and Thales.

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