It is quite incredible how much difficulty the Indian Army is having in obtaining new small arms to replace the likes of the INSAS assault rifle, with current requirements for close-quarter battle (CQB) carbines, assault rifles and light machine guns all currently on the go.
A contract for nearly 93,895 CQB carbines is expected soon as the army fast-tracks one of these aforementioned requirements. This is expected to be awarded to Caracal, with the UAE-based company’s 5.56mm CAR 816 rifle being down-selected last year to replace in-service Sterling 9mm submachine guns.
Caracal will be required to produce all the carbines
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Ukraine has highlighted the need for howitzers and radars as well as artillery and this commitment from Sweden will help to fill that gap and provide medium-distance fire in a defensive role post-war.
The armoured vehicles are fitted with 12.7mm heavy machine guns and came off the production line with specific Estonian requirements. Only the communications subsystems and some other minor equipment were added to vehicles in Estonia.
The newly disclosed Thales UK Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radio (VMSR) offers full interoperability with the soldier radio variant to provide secure and reliable voice connection.
Full electrification of their land and air vehicles may be beyond modern militaries for now. But how close are they to the tipping point of the widespread use of electric vehicles?
The contract follows news released in 2023 that a first customer had taken into service Pearson Engineering’s new Slice system enabling the interoperability of Front-End Equipment (FEE) between main battle tanks and dedicated engineering vehicles.
When compared to some other wheeled artillery systems Archer has the advantage of quicker deployment and relocation as the complete fire mission is carried out without the crew leaving the protected cab at the front.
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