Hyundai Rotem readies K806 and K808 wheeled armoured vehicle production

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via Janes

Hyundai Rotem is expecting to commence production of 600 6x6 KW1 and 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicles (WAVs) for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) from 2018 at a rate of about 100 vehicles each year, the company said. These will be designated K806 and K808 in RoKA service, respectively.


Speaking to IHS Jane's at the DX Korea 2016 exhibition in Goyang city, South Korea, principal research engineer at Hyundai Rotem's research and development centre Shin Yong-Cheol said the company expects a firm order from the South Korean government by October, which will call for a batch of 16 low-rate initial production vehicles to be delivered to the RoKA for field trials scheduled to last till the end of 2017. Production will commence thereafter from 2018.


According to Shin, the order of 600 vehicles will comprise 100 K806 and 500 K808 platforms. These will be outfitted with a one-person protected weapon station armed with an M2 HB machine gun. IHS Jane's understands that there are no plans by the RoKA to equip the new vehicles with remote weapon stations to reduce acquisition costs, although Shin said the company is ready to supply these systems if requested.


Both the 16-tonne K806 and 20-tonne K808 share many of the same performance characteristics. According to the latest specifications supplied by Hyundai Rotem, the vehicles are powered by a 420 hp Hyundai Motor Company diesel engine that provides a maximum road speed of 100 km/h via a seven-speed automatic transmission. They are also operated by a two-person crew with accommodation for up to nine fully equipped troops.


However, Shin explained that the concept of operations for the vehicles is quite distinct, with the K806 aimed at performing rear echelon roles such as the defence of civilian and military facilities and logistics convoy protection while the K808 will conduct high-intensity combat operations alongside the service's K1A1 and K2 main battle tanks.

Interesting.  So the 6x6 will be used for rear echelon work and the 8x8 is for high intensity combat.  That explains why they're building two different models.

The other thing that caught my attention is the weights.  20 tons?  That's light in today's market.  I wonder how much protection they're giving up for what I'm assuming is increased mobility.

Regardless the S. Koreans bear watching.  As funky as this rig might look its got an almost perfect hull form for amphibious operations.

F-35 Stealth Fighter May Never Be Ready for Combat (MUST READ)!!!!

via National Interest.

The memo from the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation makes very clear that the constant stream of positive pronouncements made by the Joint Program Office and Air Force generals have been false.

and then this...

This latest DOT&E memorandum undermines one of the fundamental arguments in favor of the F-35 in the CAS role: that the F-35 will need to provide close air support in places with high levels of enemy air defenses, a mission that would require stealth capabilities. But the battles in which CAS is needed don’t generally take place in areas where there are high levels of enemy air defenses. The memo points out that close air support is normally conducted in low-air defense threat environments. This is a simple acknowledgement of the “close” in close air support. When close air support is discussed, it is important to consider the entire military system, both air and ground forces. These forces support each other mutually. By the time the ground troops who engage the enemy in close combat get involved, our military has already cleared out the heavy air defense. And the enemy ground troops will not be dragging around bulky, lightly armored, slow-to-move, hard-to-resupply “high threat” missile systems into the battle area because they will be too busy maneuvering and dodging bullets in the ground fight.
Beyond that, the F-35’s ability to perform any CAS right now is extremely limited. As the DOT&E memorandum says clearly, “The F-35A in the Block 3i configuration has numerous limitations which make it less effective overall at CAS than most currently-fielded fighter aircraft like the F-15E, F-16, F-18 and A-10.”

This is a must read.  For the first time I've seen a publication take apart the lies that surround the F-35 point by point.

Its quite refreshing.

Now we know why the services are rolling out pilots to try and bolster the program.  The generals know that they lack credibility and hope that they can hide behind the skirts of fighter jocks.

It won't work.

All they're doing is jeopardizing what little respect remains for the military (generals involving themselves in the political mess are helping too but that's another more tragic and perhaps more dangerous tale to tell later).

Say it with me F-35 fan club.  Death spiral.  They'll never buy the programmed number of F-35s.  The program office is trying to hold the line because they know the planes are worthless and need massive upgrades.  LM is holding the line because they know that the costs won't go down and the program could be canned at any moment.

They're screwed.

Polish 7th Mounted Rifles Battalion trains with US forces ahead of Combined Resolve VII

A Polish fighting vehicle with the 6th Mechanized Company, 7th Mounted Rifles Battalion, moves forward while another provides security on the ridgeline during an advance-to-contact enhanced maneuver training exercsie at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Sep. 2, 2016. The Polish soldiers were practicing how to maneuver their armored vehicles through the mountains and forests of Germany in anticipation of tough simulated fights during Combined Resolve VII. Combined Resolve VII is a 7th Army Training Command, U.S. Army Europe-directed exercise taking place at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, Aug. 8 to Sept. 15, 2016. The exercise is designed to train the Army's regionally allocated forces to the U.S. European Command. Combined Resolve VII includes more than 3,500 participants from 16 NATO and European partner nations. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. David L. Nye, 302nd MPAD) (Photo Credit: Sgt. David L. Nye, 302nd MPAD)

The exercise before the exercise.  This does bring up an interesting question though.

How many exercises have we seen in Europe this year?  Doesn't it seem a bit excessive?  We didn't see this much activity at the height of the Cold War so why now?

Everyone makes Russia into the boogeyman, but if I was in their shoes and saw this much training going on I would expect that some type of attack was imminent!  Its almost as if leadership is trying to break the force.  I really wish I understood the thinking here.

China conducts more high altitude armor tests.

pics/story via China Defense Blog.

The PLL-09 122-mm self-propelled howitzer system fires at a simulated target during the live-fire training conducted by a mechanized infantry regiment under the PLA Western Theater Command in the Pamir mountains in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sept. 9, 2016. The training aims to test the performance of the PLL-09 in plateau environment. (81.cn/ Wang Ning)

I just thought this was about a territorial dispute with India but I'm starting to give the talk of China prepping for a "new silk road" more credit.  It sounds like a tin foil hat conspiracy theory but they seem to be orienting more and more of their forces to defend it.

The crazy thing?

If the silk road is completed and with the number of countries involved, many unfriendly to the US, then we will be unable to cut China off economically with our Navy.  One of our biggest trump cards goes away before the war even starts.

Indonesia will have a tank force rivaling Australia's by 2017.

via AESEANmildef

Indonesia has taken delivery of 24 of the 61 Leopard 2 RI (Republic of Indonesia) main battle tanks (MBTs) ordered from Rheinmetall Defence in December 2012, sources told IHS Jane's on 8 September.

The balance of 37 MBTs would be delivered in two tranches, concluding in March 2017, the sources added.

Question.  Will Indonesia end up with a more powerful tank force than Australia?  It will matter on how you rank the tanks, but numerically they're about equal...or will be in March 2017.

D90's photo log of MPSO..part 2. (pic heavy- bandwidth killer!)

The photo thread continues for MSPO. Is it just me or will the Poles soon have three different classes of tanks in operation soon? The T-72, the Leopard 2A4 and then an upgraded Leopard 2A4! That doesn't count whatever they're gonna do with the PT-16 and the next gen tank!

  

 

dogs are too good for this world

 

http://snafu-solomon.tumblr.com/post/150145180960/theanimalvines-dogs-are-too-good-for-this-world

 

Infantry Fighting Vehicle weight penalty for amphibious capability.

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via Shepard Media.

The Terrex 1 is not only seen by ST Kinetics as a combat IFV but a vehicle to share information with other platforms such as UAVs.
‘When we developed it, [the Terrex 1] was not meant to be just a fighting platform. It was meant to be a mothership for the fighting soldier,’ said Toh.
Toh explained further that one of the capabilities of the IFV was to allow soldiers to talk with other vehicles and share information on the enemy’s location, data that can be transmitted through the battlefield management system.
The Terrex 2 is an amphibious IFV which has the capacity to go 111km/h in water. However, the vehicle can be non-amphibious with the removal of the swimming kit – saving up to 1.5t.
Further to the Terrex 1, a new design for the hull was developed to withstand mine blasts.
‘We designed a new hull...a V-shaped hull, and we added another V below the protected driveline,’ explained Toh.

I don't know if this is common, but if it is then IFV/APC pay a huge price to be amphibious.  Interesting.

NOTE:  For all you guys saying 1.5 tons is no big deal, I tell you you're wrong (in my opinion).  We're not talking about tracked but wheeled vehicles.  We're talking about suspension systems, wheels, etc.  Any weight savings will translate to increased mobility and flotation over broken ground.  It matter for vehicles in general and it might be dinosaur thinking but I believe it counts double for wheeled vehicles.

Terrex 3 @ DVD 2016

BAE Systems is debuting its CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle in Australia for Land 400 Phase 3

via UPI

BAE Systems is debuting its CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle in Australia this week at the Land Forces 2016 Exhibition, the company said.
BAE, in partnership with Patria, is offering the CV90 to Canberra as part of the government's request for information on the LAND 400 Phase 3 program, BAE said in a statement.
LAND 400 is a Ministry of Defense program to acquire and support the next generation of Australian armored fighting vehicles.
The CV90 is a family of tracked combat vehicles designed by BAE Systems in Sweden, a system the company says offers high performance and unique operational advantages.
It features high mobility, air defense systems, anti-tank capability, high survivability and lethality in all terrains and tactical environments.
The turreted vehicle can carry eight dismounted troops.
BAE said it is the only vehicle of its type in the world that is in ongoing production, offering a low-risk, off-the-shelf offering for LAND 400's Phase 3.
Nine CV90 variants are currently in service and more than 1,280 vehicles have been sold to seven European nations.

Wow.

This kinda confuses me.  I thought they would offer the Norway variant, not the APC for the contest.

Australia's Land 400 Phase 3 is gonna be as goofy as Phase 2.

D90's photo log of MPSO. (pic heavy- bandwidth killer!)

NOTE:  D90 did us all a favor and provided a VERY nice overview of MPSO.  Best I've seen on the net.  Make sure to send him a shout out.

Turkish M-60 Sabra MBTs brewed up by ISIS anti-tank missile fire.

Thanks to Flanker 7 for the link!



If you aren't convinced then I don't know what it takes.  Armored vehicles MUST have superior sensors/optics so that anti-personnel fire can be directed at the missile men AND some type of active protection system is necessary to knock down the missiles.