Delhi has signed an INR8.8 billion ($116.7 million) contract with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) for thousands of light machine guns, it was announced on 19 March.
The Indian Army will receive 16,479 Negev NG7 7.62mm machine guns. However, the armed forces actually need more than 40,000 such weapons, so this contract does not even reach halfway to the full requirement.
The MoD stated: ‘The Indian Armed Forces’ long-standing requirement of a modern state-of-the-art light machine gun (LMG) has finally fructified. The Acquisition Wing of the Ministry of Defence has signed the capital acquisition contract with Israel Weapon Industries for procurement
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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.
The CV90 is in service with or ordered by ten countries. The agreement between six of these countries is designed to create commonality to provide economies of scale and a reduced training burden.
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