The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence has signed an agreement with Heckler & Koch for the procurement of G36 automatic rifles and under-barrel HK269 40mm grenade launchers, the ministry announced on 29 August.
The deal, worth around USD$14 million, will see the Lithuanian armed forces take delivery of the weapons during 2017.
The G36 automatic rifle will be improved based on recommendations from the Lithuanian defence force. The sight rails, handguards and buttstocks on the rifles will be modified and the updated weapon will be called G36 KA4M1 in Lithuanian service.
The new HK269 under-barrel grenade launchers will differ from those currently in service with the ability to be charged by opening a barrel to both sides, as opposed to the fielded version that may be opened to only one side.
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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