• Land Warfare

  Puma AIFV enters service amid spiralling costs

  27th March 2015

  The German Army’ new Puma AIFV will enter operational service in early April. But the Puma acquisition programme that started in 2002 has been hampered …

• Military Logistics

  TAE wins Abrams engine maintenance contract in Australia

  27th February 2015

  TAE announced on 18 February it had received a five-year contract to maintain and refresh Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine engines used in the Australian Army’s …

• Land Warfare

  Peru IFV has priority over MBTs

  13th February 2015

  A lot has been made about plans by the Peruvian Army to upgrade its main battle tanks (MBTs) but the actual priority is infantry fighting …

• Land Warfare

  Poland plans 7-year land modernisation

  11th February 2015

  The Polish Armed Forces (PAF) will upgrade and modernise their vehicle fleets by 2022 with PLN91.5 billion (€21.9 billion) of funds. The priorities are three-fold …

• Land Warfare

  Pearson to assess Challenger 2

  17th December 2014

  Pearson Engineering has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence to assess up to 60 of the British Army’s Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank …

• Land Warfare

  Dutch reverse MBT decision

  9th December 2014

  The Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) is planning to reinstate a limited tank capability, it has emerged. Shephard has learned that the Dutch military has commenced …

• Land Warfare

  Airshow China: NORINCO brings heavy armour

  11th November 2014

  China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) is exhibiting at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai for the first time this year.  Among …

• Land Warfare

  Russia plans 70% land modernisation by 2020

  10th October 2014

  Russia intends to buy more than 5,000 new combat vehicles and will upgrade 6,000 vehicles as part of a programme to modernize its forces. Oleg …

• Land Warfare

  Belgian army withdraws Leopard 1 MBTs

  18th September 2014

  The Belgian military’s land component conducted a final live fire exercise with the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 1 MBT on 10 September, it has emerged.  …

• Land Warfare

  Indian artillery goes backwards

  2nd September 2014

  If it seemed that Indian defence procurement programmes are somewhat static, it now seems they are going in reverse. The new Indian government is going …

• Land Warfare

  Japan to reform ground forces

  7th August 2014

  Japan’s Defence White Paper published yesterday has outlined some wide ranging changes to the Japan Self-Defence Force. Although the main focus is on securing the …

• Land Warfare

  Is this the beginning of European land consolidation?

  2nd July 2014

  French military vehicles manufacturer Nexter and the German armaments producer KMW have signed an agreement to create a joint holding company. The two industrial giants …

• Land Warfare

  DVD2014: UK Challenger 2 LEP upcoming

  26th June 2014

  The British Army’s Challenger 2 MBT Life Extension (CR2 LEP) upgrade is expected to kick off early next year. The Initial Gate (IG1) for the …

• Land Warfare

  Further MMP validations planned for 2014-15

  9th May 2014

  The Missile Moyenne Portee (MMP) system from MBDA is expected to complete long range testing and missile firings over the next 18 months. A spokesperson …

• Defence Helicopter

  Defense Services Asia: Russia advances Malaysia connection

  17th April 2014

  Rosoboronexport courted the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) with tanks, attack helicopters, boats, and medium and short-range air-defence systems at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  MBT (Belgium)

  Programme Background Belgium formally retired its MBT capability in 2014, when it took the last of its 132 KMW Leopard 1A5BE MBTs out of service. ...

• Tanks

  Peru T-55 MBT Replacement

  Programme Background Peru received 280 T-55 MBTs from the Soviet Union during the 1970s. Despite their age, these tanks continue to see service, alongside even ...

• Tanks

  MBT (Tunisia)

  Programme Background The Tunisian MoD has not disclosed any intention to modernise or replace its M60A3s, but an unconfirmed report published by Tactical Report in January ...

• Tanks

  PETEF - MBT

  The Colombian Army has evaluated several offers for MBT platforms in the past, though none of these have progressed to the formal contract stage. For ...

• Tanks

  MBT Replacement [Czech Republic]

  Programme Background In order to meet its NATO obligations to field a modern mechanised brigade by 2026, the Czech Army is seeking new tracked IFVs ...

• Tanks

  M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  New MBT [Romania]

  Programme Background Requirement The Romanian Army's MBT fleet is composed of T-55 variants that are due to be retired in the mid-2020s. Although Romania's TR-85 ...

• Tanks

  New MBT (Spain)

  Programme Background One of the long-term needs identified in the Spanish Army's Force 2035 modernisation plan is a next-generation MBT. To this end, the Spanish ...

• Tanks

  C1 Ariete Replacement [Italy]

  Programme Background Background Following nearly 20 years of service within the Italian Army, the C1 Ariete MBT is due for an upgrade or replacement. Suffering ...

• Tanks

  MBT (Egypt)

  Programme Background The Egyptian Army operates a vast number of MBTs, including 1,130 General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) M1A1 Abrams assembled in fits and starts between 1984 ...

• Tanks

  Botswana K2 MBT

  Programme Background The only indication that the Botswana Ground Force was considering the acquisition of the K2 MBT came from a report in Botswana's The ...

• Tanks

  Saudi Arabia New MBT

  Programme Background Between 1993 and 1994, 315 M1A2 Abrams MBTs were delivered to Saudi Arabia as part of a US$1.5 billion deal with the US. ...

• Tanks

  Leclerc Upgrade (UAE)

  Programme Background The UAE MoD has not disclosed any intention to modernise or replace its Leclerc MBTs, but an unconfirmed report published by the Asian Defence ...

• Tanks

  VT4 Haider (Pakistan)

  Programme Background Pakistan appears to have commenced its programme to acquire a new military off-the-shelf MBT in 2015, when several MBT designs were tested under ...

• Tanks

  New MBT (Oman)

  One platform that is known to have been under consideration for this requirement is the Hyundai Rotem K2 Black Panther MBT. It is understood that ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Tanks

  MBT-2000

  Norinco originally developed the Type 90-II for China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), but when it was not selected by the PLA, it continued to develop and ...

• Land: vehicle simulators

  MBT-S

  The DynaSim Main Battle Tank Simulator (MBT-S) is a medium-fidelity training system for crews and platoon/company commanders. It provides interoperable simultaneous tactical training of multiple ...

• Tanks

  Al-Khalid/Al-Khalid-I

  In 1990, China and Pakistan agreed to jointly develop a new MBT which would be manufactured by HIT for the Pakistan Army.  The Al-Khalid is ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  GPTTS

  Deployed on the Korean K1 MBT, the Gunner’s Primary Tank Thermal Sight (GPTTS) is an integrated FCS that combines direct-view optics, a Gen I 120-channel ...

• Tanks

  KF51 Panther

  Rheinmetall unveiled the KF51 Panther at Eurosatory 2022. The MBT uses Leopard 2 components in its bare chassis but with a brand new turret. Its main armament is the ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems

  ELRF M1/LRFD M1

  The ELRF M1 eyesafe laser range finder (LRF) and the LRFD M1 LRF/designator both bolt onto the gunner’s primary sight on the M1 Abrams MBT. ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  P-200 Credo-1

  The P-200 Credo-1 is a tripod-mounted, pulse-Doppler ground/coastal surveillance radar capable of detecting and tracking a variety of targets. This includes people, vehicles, ships and ...

• Tanks

  VT4 (MBT-3000)

  The 125mm-armed VT4, also known as the MBT-3000, is the latest MBT developed and manufactured by Norinco. Displayed internationally for the first time at Eurosatory in ...

• Tanks

  EMBT

  KNDS (KMW + NEXTER Defense Systems) presented its first joint product, the EMBT (European Main Battle Tank) demonstrator, at the June 2018 Eurosatory defence exhibition. The EMBT mounts ...

• Land: battlefield and ground surveillance radar

  RATAC-S

  The Radar d’Aide au Tir d’Artillerie de Campagne (RATAC-S) is a multipurpose radar designed to detect, locate and classify ground targets or low-flying aircraft at ...

• Tanks

  Leopard 2 Next Generation

  Aselsan unveiled its Leopard 2 Next Generation (NG) MBT upgrade proposal for the Turkish Land Forces Command’s fleet of almost 300 Leopard 2A4s at Turkey’s ...

• Tanks

  Type 74

  The Type 74 MBT was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to replace the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's (JGSDF) Type 61 MBT. Equipped with thicker ...

• Tanks

  CV90120-T

  BAE Systems developed the CV90120-T as a private venture to provide customers with a vehicle that combines the firepower of a 120mm-armed MBT with the ...

• Self-propelled guns

  Arjun Catapult Mk II

  India's Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) publicly unveiled the Arjun Catapult Mk II at Defexpo India in February 2014. The Arjun Catapult is ...

• Land: vehicle surveillance/target acquisition systems, Sea: optronic masts and periscopes

  Iris

  The Iris is a thermal imager designed for multiple applications, including ship optronic masts. The Iris has claimed detection/recognition ranges with two FOVs of 13/5km ...