The US Army has announced funding for the acquisition of over 5,000 rifles as part of its Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) programme, which will utilise the Heckler & Koch HK417.
The FY19 Budget revealed the SDMR as a new start programme for the next fiscal year with $46.2 million currently assigned. This funding will support the procurement and fielding of 5,180 7.62mm off-the-shelf rifles according to budget documentation.
Unit cost will be close to $9,000 a rifle accounting for the hardware itself, programme management, training and logistics support.
The new start programme could be overlooked as it is filed
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Australia already operates M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) after receiving first units in March and conducting the first firings in August. Canada’s order comes in the face of a commitment from the government to move away from US products.
The former Yugoslavia built a version of the Russian T-72 main battle tank under the local designation of the M-84. Hundreds of these remain in service with Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Kuwait.
Iran’s anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs) are generally lesser known but systems were put on display at the Partner 2025 exhibition in Serbia late last month, many of which are based on US weapons.
The standard Pasars mobile air defence system has been in service with the Serbian Army for several years and was developed by the Serbian Military Technical Institute.
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Rheinmetall has been increasing its production capacity since 2022 and aims to be able to produce up to 1.5 million 155mm artillery shells annually by 2027.
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