FN Herstal Minimi 5.56mm light machine gun. (Photo: Italian MoD)
The General Secretariat and National Armaments Directorate (DNA) in the Italian MoD has ordered machine guns from Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal.
Details of the quantity, type of weapons or delivery timescale were not disclosed, although a post on the official EU contracts database noted that the deal is worth €1.4 million ($1.58 million).
According to the Small Arms and Light Weapons Guide run by the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (using data provided by the German Armed Forces), Italian military and paramilitary units already use the FN Minimi light machine gun in 5.56mm and 7.62mm calibre.
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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