The New Zealand Army's Bushmaster vehicles at the Trentham Military Camp located in Upper Hutt near Wellington. The Bushmaster vehicles are designed to transport infantry into a battlespace. (CPL Maddy Butcher/New Zealand Defence Force)  The New Zealand Army has laid out its plans to introduce Bushmaster 4×4 Protected Mobility Vehicles into service.  The army has procured 43 Bushmasters from Thales Australia – under a NZD102.9 million (USD62.3 million) contract signed in July 2020 – to replace the ageing armoured Pinzgauer Light Operational...

The DGA has awarded Nexter a contract for 109 CAESAR 6×6 Mk II SPHs, with deliveries beginning in 2026. (Nexter)    The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), the French defence procurement agency, has awarded Nexter a contract for 109 CAESAR 6×6 Mk II new generation self-propelled howitzers (SPHs), KNDS (KMW+Nexter Defense Systems) announced in a press release on 2 February. Later the same day, a KNDS spokesperson confirmed to   Janes  that all 109 CAESARs would be newbuilds, with deliveries beginning in 2026.   Developm...

Iron Fist Light Decoupled system mounted on the Lance turret of the 8×8 Rheinmetall Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle. (Elbit Systems)  The US Army is a step closer to awarding General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems a sole source contract to upgrade Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with Elbit Systems' Iron Fist active protection system (APS), following a pre-solicitation notice published on 18 January.    The announcement proposed an eight year, firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery contract worth an undisclosed sum, f...

NATO countries are buying F-35 aircraft. (Swedish Armed Forces)  NATO countries are on course to reach the goal of spending at least 2% of their GDP to defence spending to continue to ensure the alliance's military readiness, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on 31 January during an event at the Heritage Foundation.  NATO defence ministers agreed to commit to the 2% minimum in 2006, but Stoltenberg acknowledged that even as of a few years ago only three countries had met that bar. Complaints from US officials prompted more countrie...

The AD Counter FPV C-UAS developed locally by Kvertus is in service with the Ukrainian military. The device disrupts FPV RF signals, rendering the threats uncontrollable. (Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine/Mykhailo Fedorov)  Ukraine is deploying a new locally developed, portable counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) that blocks first-person view (FPVs) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  The system – AD Counter FPV – is manufactured by Ukraine company Kvertus and is designed to disrupt FPVs operating in the 850–940 MHz radio freq...

The British Army is understood to be interested in procuring a new SHORAD system to replace British Army Stormer SP-HVMs (seen here on exercise with the 3rd (UK) Division on Salisbury Plain in 2015) sent to Ukraine. Given that the Stormer SP-HVM is scheduled to be retired in 2026, this new system could serve as an interim capability until the procurement of GBAD systems based on the Land Mobility Programme's Medium Protected Vehicle. (Janes/Patrick Allen)    The British Army is considering the procurement of a new mobile short-range air...

The US Marine Corps ACV is designed to deploy off the back of a ship and swim in open waters as well as operate in littoral environments. (US Marine Corps)  Amphibious combat vehicles (ACVs) and other tactical vehicles find themselves with an uncertain future until after the US Marine Corps (USMC) finishes its Infantry Battalion Experimentation (IBX), service officials said in January.  The USMC first released its Ground Combat and Tactical Vehicle Strategy (GCTVS) in 2021, but service leaders have since incorporated the vehicle strategy into...

SkyShield, displayed at IDEX 2023, is an omnidirectional C-UAS that can detect and neutralise multiple unmanned aerial threats. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a contract with Edge company SIGN4L for the provision of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs).  Announced by Edge on 30 January, the contract includes the provision of the vehicle-based SkyShield and the NavControl-G jammer.  SIGN4L had not responded to Janes at the time of publication regarding the number of units being supplied and the delivery...

The VMIMS (seen here at DefExpo in October 2022) consists of a modified MDSL ALSV 4×4 armoured vehicle fitted with a two-door cab and an Alakran-L deployable mortar system equipped with an 81 mm mortar. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  Milanion NTGS, the UK manufacturer of the Alakran deployable mortar system, has said deliveries of the Indian Army's Vehicle Mounted Infantry Mortar System (VMIMS) are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.  The announcement coincided with the Indian Army's first public display of the system at the 75th Republic Day...

The M10 Booker combat vehicle will equip US Army infantry BCTs starting in 2025. (US Army/Bernardo Fuller)    The US Army's first M10 combat vehicle is scheduled to be delivered in February,   Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armour Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January. The first phase of low-rate initial production (LRIP 1) of the M10 began in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2023, following a USD1.4 billion contract award to General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in June 2022...

The Hawkei (seen here in a four-door configuration) is one of the platforms from the Thales Australia portfolio that will be offered for the Light Protected Mobility aspect of the LMP. (Thales)    Thales intends to offer its Bushmaster and Hawkei wheeled protected patrol vehicles for elements of the British Army's Land Mobility Programme (LMP),   Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicle (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January.   The heavier Bushmaster will be pitched for the Medium Pr...

The CV9035NL mid-life upgrade has a new turret with a pop-up ATGM launcher, a mast-mounted commander's sight, and a hard-kill active protection system. Although the first production-standard vehicles have yet to be delivered, the RNLA is considering further upgrades for some of its subsystems. (Dutch MoD)  The Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) is considering multiple engineering change proposals for its CV9035NL mid-life upgrade (MLU) infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), Janes learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conferen...

General Dynamics submitted one ARV prototype to the USMC for testing in 2023. (General Dynamics Land Systems )    The US Marine Corps (USMC) is planning to select one to two companies for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the advanced reconnaissance vehicle (ARV) programme, a USMC official in charge of ground combat told   Janes  .     Testing for the ARV ended in November 2023 following trials on a platform command, control, communications, and computers/unmanned aircraft system (C4/UAS) pro...

The Nurol Makina Ejder Yalçın is one possible contender for the LMP that was displayed at IAV 2024. A UK subsidiary of the company was formed in 2023 to market the company's products to the UK. (Janes/Sonny Butterworth)  Details of the British Army's Land Mobility Programme (LMP), including the number of vehicles required and procurement timelines, were revealed at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January.  The LMP aims to simplify the British Army's armoured vehicle fleet by redu...

The Spanish Army is planning to upgrade the firepower, mobility, protection, command, control, and communications of its Leopard 2E fleet by 2032 under a three-phase modernisation programme. (Janes/Patrick Allen)    Spain is making progress on several armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) modernisation programmes and intends to start a three-phase programme to modernise its Leopard 2E main battle tank (MBT) fleet,  Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January...

An Ajax armoured vehicle displayed at Defence iQ's IAV 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  The British Army only has confirmed funding for 18% of its GBP44 billion (USD55.9 billion) Equipment Plan 2023–33, British Army's Chief of the General Staff General Patrick Sanders told Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicle (IAV) 2024 conference held in London from 22 to 25 January.  He also spoke of the need for the British Army to have a strength of 120,000 personnel, comprising regular soldiers, rese...

Kintsugi plans to bring out a road-legal concept of the Magnus hybrid propulsion vehicle by 2025. (Janes/Amit Kalra)  United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based artificial intelligence (AI) electric solution provider Kintsugi unveiled its Magnus tactical ground vehicle concept on the opening day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) 2024 show held in Abu Dhabi from 23 to 25 January.  The Magnus concept is being developed by Kintsugi subsidiary Eneron. Kintsugi corporate communications manager Waleed Alblooshi told Janes, “Leveraging...

The Gidrán is a version of Nurol Makina's Ejder Yalçın modified for the Hungarian Defence Forces. (HDF)    Hungary has a framework agreement for Nurol Makina vehicles,   Janes  learnt at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2024 conference being held in London from 22 to 25 January.   The agreement was signed in October 2023 for up to 600 Nurol Makina 4×4 vehicles, including the Gidrán version of the Ejder Yalçın modified for the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) and different versions and sizes of the Turkish c...

The GY300 can transport payloads weighing up to 300 kg. (Edge Group)  Edge Group unveiled three new autonomous platforms on the opening day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) 2024 show held in Abu Dhabi from 23 to 25 January.  In a statement issued on 23 January Edge Group said that the latest platforms are purpose-built to operate in demanding environments, covering tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as logistics support. The three new platforms include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV...

The Pinaka 214 mm (12-round) MBRL is an all-weather, indirect fire, free-flight artillery rocket system. The system is designed for shoot-and-scoot operations and is based on a locally manufactured Tatra 8×8 truck chassis. (BEML Limited)    The Indian Army has approved the development of advanced rockets for its Pinaka Multi‐Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs),    a source at India's state-owned rocket manufacturer Munitions India Limited (MIL) told  Janes  on 24 January.   The army has granted official permission t...