If it seemed odd to some observers for Israel Aerospace Industries, with its long aviation heritage, to acquire the manufacturing operations for three all-terrain 4x4 vehicles, there does seem to be some method to it.
Officials from the land systems division of IAI subsidiary Elta told Shephard there is a potential market worth hundreds of millions of dollars for sensor-equipped ZD, Zibar and Zmag vehicles, both from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the export market.
Elta also foresees adding levels of autonomous operation to these vehicles. It will manufacture hundreds of them per year at a plant in southern Israel that
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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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