French soldiers operate the DHY 208 system. (Photo: Sylvain Barthélémy)
The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) in the French MoD on 4 February announced the delivery of 110 CILAS ground laser target designators, as part of an initiative to improve the equipment available to dismounted troops.
The systems were acquired under the Taranis programme that aims to equip conventional and special forces with the latest equipment.
DGA awarded two contracts to CILAS in 2016 and 2017, covering the procurement of around 200 short-range units (DHY 208) and 50 long-range (DHY 308) systems to be delivered by 2025.
The qualification of the long-range model is scheduled for 2022 and should allow the first 30 systems already ordered to go into production for delivery in 2023.
The DGA placed a separate order for 25 DHY 208 ground laser target designators in December 2021.
The One-Way Effector (OWE) is a ground-launched missile or drome designed to act as a swarm to overwhelm air defence systems. It was displayed for the first time in Paris this week.
The new artillery and howitzer factory pre-dates the emphasis on this capability from this month’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The first joint industry-government meeting outlined in the review took place this week.
Romania received its first Cobra MkII 4×4 light tactical armoured vehicles, ordered Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) and VAMTAC light vehicles, and is set to invest billions-of-dollars in infantry fighting vehicles.
The Italian Army operates Pumas in 6×6 and 4×4 configurations but the platforms are ageing and numbers have fallen with obsolescence also being an issue. Any replacement is likely to have a focus on the involvement of local industry.
The VAMTAC (Vehículo de Alta Movilidad Táctico or High Mobility Tactical Vehicle) 4×4 by Urovesa is in service with or has been ordered by eight countries, the most recent being Spain this month and Romania last month.
Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a next-generation surface-to-surface missile with the solid rocket motor (SRM) provided by Northrop Grumman. The company is working to boost its SRM production capability.
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