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Rheinmetall Reinforcing NATO Partner Nation: Norway Orders Almost 300 More Trucks Worth Over €150 Million

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023

Rheinmetall is making another important contribution to strengthening NATO’s European member nations: starting in late 2026, Norway will be taking delivery of almost 300 advanced TG3 MIL 8×8 military trucks, worth over €150 million. The contract was signed on 31 May 2023 in Oslo by Gro Jeare, director of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), and Michael Wittlinger, chairman of the board of management of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV).

In terms of volume, it is the largest single call-off of trucks to date under the framework contract concluded between Rheinmetall, Norway and Sweden. Earmarked for the Norwegian armed forces, the package encompasses multiple vehicle variants, including hook loader trucks, special vehicles with crane and hook loader systems as well as trailers and flatracks.

The primary purpose of the vehicles will be to enhance the transport capacity and operational capabilities of the Norwegian military. The latest call-off represents less than half of the necessary logistic vehicles covered by the framework contract, meaning that follow-up orders from Norway and other Scandinavian nations are likely.

“We see this follow-up order as clear proof of the professional and partner-like cooperation in recent years as well as the compelling performance of our products”, declares Michael Wittlinger. “As we see it, the fact that more and more NATO armed forces are opting for our TG and HX vehicles is an important step toward greater interoperability and resilience. We take our responsibility to supply the best possible systems here very seriously.”

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Green Force Gear – The PUZZLE

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023

Made from laser cut laminate, the PUZZLE from Green Force Gear can be used to build chest rigs or chest rig components using MOLLE pouches. Base set 55€. Additional QR and zipper components available. NIR-compliant and a lifetime guarantee.

Posted in International, Load Carrying | 4 Comments »

Artillery Ammo Deal to Deliver Ongoing Capability Edge

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023

NIOA has confirmed an extended partnership with Defence which it says will “future proof” supply surety of advanced artillery rounds for the Australian Army.

At a time of unprecedented worldwide demand for 155mm ammunition, the Australian-owned Defence prime has locked in another five-year term to supply the Assegai suite of munitions under the LAND 17-1C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition (FAA) program.

The modular Assegai ammunition system of projectiles, propelling charges, fuzes and primers can be configured in many ways to increase lethality and range for training and operational purposes.

Over the past five years, NIOA and supply partners JUNGHANS Microtec GmbH, Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH and Rheinmetall Denel Munitions have worked in close collaboration with Defence to deliver and integrate this artillery system into the Army’s M777A2 howitzers and are preparing for integration into K9 Protected Mobile Fires platforms.

Projectile variants include conventional HE, Insensitive Munition High Explosive (IHE), IHE Pre-Fragmented (PFF), screening smoke, illumination (infrared and visual), base-bleed and Extended Range Velocity Enhance (V-LAP), practice and inert projectiles.

A key recommendation of the recent Defence Strategic Review (DSR) was to accelerate and shore up supply of critical munitions and projectiles which have been included in a $2.5b investment in Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO).

Reliable sources such as the joint venture Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions (RNM) shell forging factory in Maryborough, Queensland, which recently shipped its first consignment of export 155mm shells to Germany, are likely to become more critical.

NIOA Australia and New Zealand CEO Ben James welcomed the LAND 17-1C.2 deed extension, saying the new partnership would capitalise on a highly successful LAND 17 Program and a key period for ADF capability.

“The LAND 17 FAA program will deliver a step change in reach, coverage and flexibility for the ADF’s artillery capability,” he said.

“NIOA welcomes this significant deed extension and looks forward to working with Defence to deliver against accelerated preparedness objectives.

“The DSR identified the need to rapidly acquire additional ammunition stocks from existing suppliers and contractors and rapidly establish a domestic GWEO manufacturing capability.

“This LAND 17 deed extension provides the opportunity for NIOA to deliver on both of these objectives for Government and for the ADF.”

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Milrem Robotics Led Consortium Successfully Delivers the iMUGS Project

Sunday, June 11th, 2023

The iMUGS consortium, led by Milrem Robotics and composed of several major European defence, communication and cybersecurity companies and high technology SMEs, successfully completed and delivered the project to the European Commission.

The consortium, that started work on the 32,6 MEUR integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System (iMUGS) project in late 2020, completed all the contractual activities and tasks, reaching the operative and technical objectives in May 2023.

“This project set a great example of cooperation and high-level results which we can expect also from coming European Defence Fund Projects. On behalf of the participated Member States, I would like to thank the Coordinator, Milrem Robotics, and all the industry partners involved for making this happen,“ said Martin Jõesaar, iMUGS project officer in the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments.

“The completion of iMUGS is a huge milestone for all involved parties. It is also a testimony that cooperation within 7 European Member States and between 13 different companies and organizations, in no way a simple task, is possible when working towards a worthy goal – strengthening the defence capabilities of the Union,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.

iMUGS created a European-wide architecture for ground and aerial platforms, command, control, and communication equipment, sensors, payloads, and algorithms. The project addressed challenges for interoperability, perception, and decision-making.

Progress was shown in periodic events arranged at all participating Member States consisting of Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain. “During iMUGS the consortium demonstrated that unmanned systems play a crucial role in military environments and scenarios, paving the way for wider adoption and use of these systems in the near future,” Väärsi added.

As a result of the project and the technology developed, the European Union will have a pathway for improved ability to respond to emerging military threats and challenges. iMUGS and its envisaged follow-up and peer projects will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of EU military operations through improved coordination of multiple assets and resilient collaboration between manned units and unmanned systems benefiting from digital communications.

The systems developed will improve situational awareness, leading to faster and more accurate decision-making for increased mission success rates and increased overall safety of military operations.

“The project also improved EUs competitiveness and reputation as an expert and innovator in the field of unmanned systems,” Väärsi said.

iMUGS was a 13-party collaboration focused on developing a modular and scalable architecture for hybrid manned-unmanned systems. The parties involved are Milrem Robotics (project coordinator), Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Talgen Cybersecurity, Safran Electronics & Defense, NEXTER Systems, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Diehl Defence, Bittium, Insta Advance, SOL1, dotOcean, GMV Aerospace and Defence, and the Royal Military Academy of Belgium.

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Australia Defence Extends NIOA Strategic Munitions Deed

Friday, June 9th, 2023

NIOA is set to provide the Australian Defence Force with key munitions options well into the second half of this decade, shoring up supplies against growing international supply chain pressure and responding to priorities identified in the Defence Strategic Review (DSR).

NIOA Australia and New Zealand CEO Ben James has welcomed Defence’s decision to extend the Major Munitions Deed (MMD) by five years.

Under the MMD, the Australian-owned prime is able to deliver more than 50 different munitions to the ADF, including small calibre ammunition, 40mm products, 120mm tank ammunition, aircraft decoy flares, smoke and 30mm ammunition providing options for purchase.

The MMD was established as a five-year, wide-ranging and flexible munitions standing offer deed with options to extend munitions acquisitions for a further 10 years in two five-year increments.

“The DSR noted the requirement to rapidly acquire ammunition stocks from existing suppliers and contractors” Mr James said.

“NIOA is proud to be extended as Defence’s strategic supply partner for the range of natures included in the MMD supporting ADF preparedness.

“Through the MMD, NIOA, with supply partners Northrop Grumman, Vista, Rheinmetall, Winchester and RUAG, will provide options to directly support accelerated preparedness objectives identified in the DSR.

“With a successful track record of proven delivery, NIOA’s partnership meets Defence’s objectives for reduced transactional costs associated with munitions supply arrangements, consolidated supply arrangements and modernising selected ADF munitions.”

NIOA is the largest supplier of non-guided munitions to the ADF delivering Australia the medium calibre munitions for the LAND 400 Rheinmetall Boxer CRV, a selection of mortar capability, as well as the products listed under the MMD.

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The Agilite Warfighter Cummerbund

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

Agilite just launched their revolutionary patented Warfighter Cummerbund which fixes the issues with regular cummerbunds-Check out the video to see how it works here.

It has several very unique features and it attaches to their K-Zero™ plate carrier or any other plate carrier with hook and loop flaps.

It has patented interchangeable ends so you can switch out either First Spear Tubes or velcro flaps in seconds.

The Warfighter has 3 full rows of MOLLE but only the top two are stiffened so it doesn’t chafe the wearer’s hip bones.

See more at www.agilitegear.com

Posted in Armor, Guest Post, International | Comments Off on The Agilite Warfighter Cummerbund

UK Royal Marines field over 1,000 Persistent Systems MPU5 Handheld Networking Radios to Support Future Commando Force

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

UK’s Ministry of Defence’s Future Commando Force program transforming Royal Marines into forward-deployed special operations force using new sensors, unmanned systems, and mobile ad hoc network

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, N.Y.—May 11, 2023—Persistent Systems, LLC (“Persistent”) a leader in mobile ad hoc networking (MANET), announced today that it has so far received orders to supply over 1,000 MPU5 handheld networking radios to the UK Royal Marines in support of their transformative Future Commando Force program.

“The network is the foundation on which future technologies will be deployed,” said Eve Shapiro, Director of Business Development, International Team, at Persistent Systems. “Our MPU5’s will transport data from sensors and unmanned systems enabling small agile commando teams to exert a disproportionally large effect on the battlefield.”

The Android-loaded MPU5 runs the Wave Relay® MANET algorithm, enabling seamless and robust peer-to-peer sharing of voice, video, text, GPS location, and sensor data without requiring vulnerable base stations or external communications infrastructure, speeding up the tempo of military operations.

“This is key in light of the objectives set forth by the Future Commando Force program,” Shapiro said.

These restructured Royal Marines will serve in two new Littoral Response Groups (LRGs) and are busy taking on new equipment to reflect that role.

This gear includes new helmet cameras, hand-thrown unmanned aircraft and ground systems, rotary-wing drones for ISR and resupply, and MPU5s to provide the MANET that connects the troops, equipment, and command. Indeed, for the past few years, the Royal Marines have been experimenting with Persistent’s Wave Relay® MANET:

• The Royal Marines used MPU5s to great effect during the Green Dagger exercise, held in the Mojave Desert. During that exercise, the Royal Marines of the newly formed LRG (South) were part of a U.S. Marine force that performed well in multi-national wargames.

• And last December, the Royal Marines likewise used MPU5s during Musandam Fort, in Oman. According to the Royal Navy, “it was a test of new communications equipment—which are designed to create powerful, secure networks anywhere in the world.”

Delivery, training, and customer support to the Royal Marines will be provided by Steatite Ltd., Persistent’s UK based partner. Deliveries are already underway and will continue throughout 2023.

Persistent Systems officials say that they expect to see more purchases from the UK military and the wider European market. “When people see what you can do with an MPU5 MANET device, and what missions you can support, there will be increased demand for the technology,” Shapiro said.

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Defence and Military Fabrics Market Growth for Carrington Textiles with Strategic Appointment

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

Adlington, United Kingdom: Global manufacturer of military fabrics, worn by armed forces across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Australasia, Carrington Textiles, has announced the appointment of its new Head of Defence and Security, Graham Dobson.

Graham’s focus will be the development of products and opportunities within the defence sector globally, with a focus on new markets and tender management. He brings over 30 years of knowledge and experience from within the military, police, fire and workwear markets, with the last 10 years helping military and police end users, as well as manufacturing partners, to develop suitable fabrics to meet their specific performance requirements.

Graham says: “I’m extremely proud and excited to be working for Carrington Textiles which has such a strong heritage in manufacturing military fabrics. They have an amazing reputation for printing camouflage textiles and the opportunity to work for Carrington Textiles knowing that the market trend is to bring production nearer to home was simply too difficult to pass.”

Carrington Textiles’ Sales Director, Paul Farrell, adds: “As we continue to grow in the defence sector, Graham’s extraordinary knowledge coupled with his expertise in product development, will help us in continuing to bring new, innovative products to customers. We are delighted that he’s joined our team and are looking forward to working on many exciting military projects together.”

Posted in Industry, International, Materials, Press Release | Comments Off on Defence and Military Fabrics Market Growth for Carrington Textiles with Strategic Appointment