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Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom jointly acquire 436 BAE Systems BvS10 all- terrain vehicles

Monday, December 19th, 2022

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Dec. 16 2022— Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement with BAE Systems to purchase 436 BvS10 all-terrain vehicles. The joint procurement, worth $760 million, is in support of Arctic operations for the Collaborative All- Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program.

BAE Systems’ military all-terrain vehicles are designed for operations in the harshest and most remote environments and this agreement signals the Company’s position as the defense industry’s leader for these capabilities.

“We‘re seeing increased interest from numerous countries for the extreme mobility capabilities offered by the BvS10 and its unarmored sister vehicle, Beowulf,” said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems Hägglunds, which manufactures the vehicles in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. “Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom will be getting an excellent return on their investment in these highly capable vehicles for decades to come. This further demonstrates the strong relationship between BAE Systems and our customers to deliver these critical capabilities.”

The three-nation acquisition will deliver the 436 vehicles beginning in 2024, with 236 BvS10s going to the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV), 140 to the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BAAINBw), and 60 to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD). The vehicles are based on the latest version of the BvS10 currently operated by Sweden, and will include variants for troop transport, logistics, medical evacuation, recovery, and command and control.

The CATV program includes a framework agreement that could lead to the purchase of more vehicles by the three nations, keeping the BvS10, the world’s leading all-terrain vehicle, in production for many years to come. Sweden is the lead nation and has established a joint procurement office to lead the effort with representatives from all three nations.

This acquisition follows Sweden’s order last year of an additional 127 BvS10 all-terrain vehicles for its existing fleet. In parallel to this agreement, Sweden is also procuring an additional 40 BvS10s in a separate contract valued at approximately $50 million.

The BvS10 and Beowulf are the world leaders when it comes to all-terrain solutions. Their articulated mobility systems provide optimal maneuverability across varying terrains so they can traverse snow, ice, rock, sand, mud or swamps, as well as steep mountain environments. The vehicles’ amphibious feature also allow them to swim in flooded areas or coastal waters.

The vehicles can deliver personnel and supplies to sustain strategic, tactical, and operational mobility.

BvS10’s unprecedented mobility is based on terrain accessible North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standards. Its modular design allows it to be reconfigured for varying missions and can be delivered in multiple variants that include carrying personnel, command and control, ambulance, vehicle repair and recovery, logistics support, situational awareness, and a weapons carrier with additional mortar capability.

BvS10 is currently operated by Austria, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. BAE Systems’ Beowulf, the unarmored variant of the BvS10, won the U.S. Army’s competition for its Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program in August. The U.S. Army will receive 110 vehicles over a five-year period.

www.baesystems.com

Posted in Contracts, International, Mobility, Press Release | 1 Comment »

Flimmuur Tactical Safariland Belt Mount

Monday, December 19th, 2022

Our design philosophy is produce innovative solutions that offer the latest features and materials, at a highly affordable price point. Not to mention, the incremental weight reductions when compared against current solutions available on the market.

Weighing just 47g, the Flimmuur Tactical Safariland Belt Mount lowers your holster to where you want it and offers +/- 10 degrees cant. It’s designed for to resist corrosion found in maritime environments.

ftactical.myshopify.com/products/safariland-holster-belt-mount

Posted in Holsters, International, Load Carrying | 9 Comments »

Rheinmetall Supplying an European Customer with 155mm Ammunition

Sunday, December 18th, 2022

Rheinmetall is supplying an European customer with 155mm artillery ammunition. In December 2022, the customer placed an order for the delivery of 10,000 L15 shells. To be delivered in 2023, the ammunition is worth around €33 million.

Rheinmetall has been a reliable partner to the artillery since the very beginning of its foundation in 1889. Against the background of its many years of experience and innovative expertise in the fields of armoured vehicles, weapons, ammunition, reconnaissance sensors, networking as well as training and simulation, the technology company offers a wide range of products and systems for the artillery of the 21st century. Rheinmetall covers the entire reconnaissance – command – effect chain – from sensor to shooter.

Posted in Advertiser, Ammo, Contracts, International, Press Release | 1 Comment »

Saab Receives Orders for Short-Range Air Defence Systems from Latvia

Saturday, December 17th, 2022

Saab has received orders for the RBS 70 NG ground-based air defence system and the Giraffe 1X radar from the Latvian Ministry of Defence. Deliveries will begin in 2022.

The Giraffe 1X radar, combined with the RBS 70 NG, will further strengthen Latvia’s air defence capabilities by enabling improved performance.

“Our wide knowledge within ground-based air defence enables us to offer a complete solution within the area. With this order, the Latvian National Armed Forces will receive the Giraffe 1X radar with its best-in-class capabilities, as well as the world’s most capable short-range air defence system RBS 70 NG,” says Mats-Olof Rydberg, head of Marketing and Sales, Saab’s business unit Missile Systems.

RBS 70 NG is used by a number of nations across the world, including Sweden, the Czech Republic and Brazil. The latest version offers an automatic target tracker and a built-in night sight. Giraffe 1X is on contract for a range of customers and is a truly compact, lightweight high-performing 3D radar. Giraffe 1X can be used for tasks including ground based air defence, Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) and site protection as well as naval applications for all types of vessels.

Posted in Contracts, International, Munitions, Press Release | Comments Off on Saab Receives Orders for Short-Range Air Defence Systems from Latvia

Beretta to Supply New Combat System for the Australian Defence Force

Friday, December 16th, 2022

MELBOURNE, Victoria, 16 December 2022 – In a landmark event, Managing Director of Beretta Australia, Luca Scribani Rossi, has officially signed an agreement with NIOA to supply the Australian Defence Force with a new military capability from Benelli Defense.

Beretta Australia has been awarded a contract by NIOA to supply the Benelli M3A1 Combat Shotgun as part of a series of new weapons systems selected in the first tranche of the Lethality System Project (LAND 159 Tranche 1).

The Benelli M3A1 will provide the Australian Defence Force with a solid and versatile platform that can be used in various roles. The dual-mode allows the shotgun to convert seamlessly between pump and semi-auto operation and is equipped with Benelli’s patented inertia-driven action system. “The selective fire system of the Benelli M3A1 will provide ADF Warfighters with the broadest flexibility across different mission profiles to employ a spectrum of lethal and non-lethal effects using a variety of munitions, from breaching, less lethal and kinetic options”

The Lethality System Project (LAND 159) will equip the ADF with next-generation weapon systems, surveillance and target acquisitions ancillaries, ammunitions, facilities and training and support systems. The Lethality System will ensure ADF ground combatants maintain an advantage over potential adversaries beyond 2030 and will be delivered in three Tranches. Tranche 1 includes the Combat Shotgun System, as part of the Close Combat System (comprising fighting knives, pistols, shotguns and the assault breaching system) and the Sniper System.

Dr Mauro Della Costanza, Head of Sales Benelli Armi S.p.A. Defense Division, said, “end users are looking for combat-proven products, premium quality, reliability and high manufacturing capabilities for state-of-the-art shotguns, and in this category, Benelli comes first.”

In addition to supplying the Australian Defence Force, Benelli has also secured essential Tenders at NATO and Aligned countries in the last few years, including –

• NATO NSPA for Portuguese Army in 2010

• Italian Armed Forces CSSS-Consortium for Safe Soldier System in 2021

• French MOD & Armed Forces in 2022

Beretta Australia will work in partnership with Benelli Defense.

Posted in Contracts, International, weapons | 1 Comment »

“Ringtausch”: Rheinmetall Supplies Slovenia with State-of-the-Art Swap Body Trucks

Friday, December 16th, 2022

In a further multilateral exchange of equipment, or “Ringtausch”, Rheinmetall has provided Slovenia with military swap body truck at the behest of the German government. Forty newly build trucks, based on the UTF unprotected transport vehicles Rheinmetall produces for the Bundeswehr, have now been handed over to the Slovenian military in Ljubljana. For Rheinmetall, the transaction represents sales volume in the lower two-digit million-euro range.
In exchange for the new military trucks, the Slovenian armed forces furnished significant military aid to Ukraine several weeks ago. In addition to the vehicles, Slovenia is receiving variable loader platforms, five palletized water tank modules, as well as an initial service package, including training.
The project was completed at a remarkable pace. The equipment exchange was based on a declaration of intent made several weeks earlier on 21 September 2022 by German defence minister Christine Lambrecht and here Slovenian counterpart, Marjan Šarec, followed by an order placed with Rheinmetall on 5 December 2022. Negotiations between the the three parties – the German Ministry of Defence, the Slovenian armed forces and Rheinmetall – went quickly and smoothly.
Transfer of the vehicles took place at Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH’s local partner, MAN Truck & Bus Slovenija d.o.o. Immediately afterwards, Slovenia’s minister of defence, Marjan Šarec, took delivery of the trucks on behalf of the Slovenian Army. Delivery is thus largely complete, though individual components and training modules will still be shipped over the next two years.
In terms of configuration, these swap body trucks are comparable to the logistic vehicles developed by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles on behalf of the Bundeswehr. Many of these protected and unprotected trucks are currently being produced under a framework agreement between Rheinmetall and the Koblenz-based Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).
The “Ringtausch” is a procedure developed by the German government to support the Ukrainian war effort in cooperation with neighbouring European countries

and NATO partner nations. Here, NATO countries transfer Soviet-era heavy equipment to Ukraine, receiving surplus Western-made systems in return. Rheinmetall is already taking part in multilateral equipment exchanges with the armed forces of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Greece, supplying them with main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

Posted in Advertiser, Contracts, International, Mobility, Press Release | Comments Off on “Ringtausch”: Rheinmetall Supplies Slovenia with State-of-the-Art Swap Body Trucks

New York Air Guardsman Completes Brazil Jungle Training

Friday, December 16th, 2022

MANAS, Brazil – For New York Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Jeremy Miter, adapting to the heat and humidity of the Amazon basin was the toughest part of the six weeks he spent at Brazil’s jungle warfare school from the end of September until mid-November.

“Once we got into the jungle, it was a whole other level of heat,” Miter said. “The triple canopy rain forest keeps the heat in and all around you. It creates a pressure cooker.”

Despite the heat, Miter became the fifth New York National Guard member to graduate from the course.
CIGS — the acronym for the school’s name in Portuguese, Centro de Instrução de Guerra na Selva — conducts the course for foreign military personnel in Manas, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state.

The Brazilians run a 10-week course for their own Soldiers.

New York Soldiers and Airmen have been attending the school since 2019 as part of the State Partnership Program relationship between Brazil’s military and the New York National Guard.

Army National Guard Sgt. William Dunn, a member of the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, was to attend with Mitre but could not because of a medical issue.

To operate in the heat and humidity, the students from India, France, Spain, Portugal, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, and two other Americans from the 7th Special Forces Group learned how to stay hydrated.

Miter said students begin the course with physical fitness tests and swimming in uniform with combat gear.

The next step is surviving in the jungle. The students learn what to eat and not eat and how to find drinkable water and shelter.

“They put us out in the woods for 48 hours on our own to survive without food and only the water that you bring with you,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody ate for the entirety of the survival event,” Miter recalled. “Luckily, it rained at the end.”

As a joint tactical air controller assigned to the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron, part of the 107th Attack Wing, Miter supports ground troops by calling air strikes.

Miter, 33, joined the New York Air National Guard in 2006 and served as a firefighter at the 109th Airlift Wing until becoming a JTAC in 2010.

He deployed to Syria in 2019 and to the Horn of Africa in 2021.

In civilian life, Miter is assigned to the Syracuse Fire Department’s Engine 3.

Miter was picked to attend the course because “he has the mental focus and physical strength” to succeed, said New York Air National Guard Command Chief Master Sgt. Denny Richardson.

Swimming is central to the training, Miter said. The students learned to use the rivers to move around. Using makeshift rafts, they would swim with their rucksacks full of equipment. They also learned how to use boats to infiltrate an area.

The round-the-clock training kept the 25 class members so tired that nobody had the energy to worry about the caiman — Brazil’s version of the alligator — or piranhas in the river, he said.

Students also learned how to navigate in the dense jungle using terrain association and practiced rappelling from helicopters.

Since most of the students were from special forces units, that was simply refresher training, Miter said.

Working with 25 soldiers from different countries who didn’t speak the same language was challenging, but they managed to find ways to communicate.

“The exchange of knowledge between us and Brazil was great. Plus working with soldiers from other countries you don’t normally work with was valuable,“ Miter said.

By Eric Durr, New York Air National Guard

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, Guest Post, International, Training | 3 Comments »

Rheinmetall Stepping Up Delivery of Combat Helmets to the Bundeswehr: Quality Inspection Successfully Concluded

Thursday, December 15th, 2022

Rheinmetall has reached another milestone on the road to equipping the German military with a new combat helmet. On 6 December 2022, Christine Lambrecht, the German defence minister, took official delivery of the first items of military clothing and personal equipment ordered by the Bundeswehr in response to the abruptly changed security situation in Europe. The equipment includes the new combat helmet being supplied by Rheinmetall. Quick off the mark, Rheinmetall had already successfully concluded formal qualification of the tactical headgear as well as quality inspection of the first three lots of subsequent procurements.

In November 2020 the Bundeswehr placed an initial order with Rheinmetall for an advanced combat helmet. The framework agreement encompassed delivery of up to 20,000 “Combat Helmet, Special Forces, Heavy”. A first call-off of 5,000 helmets came the same month. The helmets were initially earmarked for special operations forces and specialized troops with an expanded basic capability for conducting special operations, as well as for equipping NATO’s VJTF 2023 spearhead force. In March 2022, spurred by the dramatic turn of events in Europe, the Bundeswehr significantly expanded its order. The new helmet model would now be known as the “Combat Helmet, Armed Forces”. In all, the follow-up order encompasses some 300,000 helmets, which will be supplied to the German military during the period 2022-2025. Rheinmetall is cooperating in this programme with two strategic partners. Total order volume exceeds €200 million.
Providing improved protection and more comfortable to wear, the new combat helmets feature decibel-independent hearing protection and a night observation device. They will substantially enhance the combat effectiveness of German infantry forces.

Since 2020, nearly 34,000 helmets have been supplied. By the end of the year, a further 11,000 will reach the troops. The order was won by Rheinmetall Soldier Electronics of Stockach, Germany. A specialist supplier of laser light modules, the company is extremely well-connected in the soldier systems segment.

Posted in Advertiser, Contracts, Helmets, International, Press Release | 2 Comments »