It’s almost that time of year for the Moscow Victory Day Parade. I haven’t heard anything suggesting it’s canceled this year.
Assuming they have it, anyone heard any rumors that the Russians are going to show off some new or shinier toys? Or maybe some older stuff like how a couple years ago they brought out a fully functional WW 1-era Garford-Putilov armored car?
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
I heard they have a running T-35 replica and there's a lot of T-80BVMs that will be there this year.
Oh really when?
Cringe but free
British Army to get 148 Challenger 3 tanks in £800m deal.
New L/55 smoothbore to replace the Chally 2's rifled gun; new commander's independent thermal sight in place of the outdated day periscope; fully digitised controls and datalink to cooperate with other assets on the field.
The Challenger 3 tanks will replace the existing Challenger 2 vehicles which have been in use since 1998.
The vehicles will be produced at the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) plant in Telford, Shropshire.
Under the military restructure, announced in March, the overall number of tanks will be cut from 227.
The tank contract is part of a defence review which will see the Army's size reduced to 72,500 soldiers by 2025 as part of an increased focus on drones and cyber warfare.
The Ministry of Defence (Mo D) said the Challenger 3 would be able to travel up to 60mph (97kph) with an increased range and be the UK's first fully-digitised tank.
The digital elements mean the tank will be able to share data and information on the battlefield with attack helicopters and other ground vehicles.
The contract will create 200 jobs at RBSL's plant, including 130 engineers and 70 technicians, the Mo D said.
It added it would also mean 450 new supply chain jobs spread across the West Midlands, Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne and the Isle of Wight.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the new jobs would ensure soldiers "benefit from the very best of British engineering".
He added the new technology "allows us to deliver immense warfighting capabilities in battlespaces filled with a range of enemy threats".
In the words of Ben Wallace, this announcement shows "there is a future for tanks".
There will though be fewer of them. The British Army has 227 ageing Challenger 2 tanks. Only 148 of them will be modernised and they won't be entirely new. The Challenger 3 tank will use the existing chassis, but it will have a new digital turret and smoothbore gun. It will also have a more powerful engine.
Will there be risks in bolting on new systems to the old? A similar plan to upgrade the Army's Warrior Armoured Vehicle didn't work out. That programme's now been scrapped.
Ben Wallace insists it won't happen again. He says the Challenger 3 tank will deliver the most lethal tank in Europe. It's due to come into service by the end of the decade.
In reality, designing an entirely new tank from scratch would have cost too much and taken too long. While buying a tank from another country - without creating British jobs - was clearly politically unpalatable.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lt Gen Chris Tickell CBE, said: "The integration of Challenger 3 is key to ensure our success and integration in the land domain, ensuring that we meet our international commitments and continue to protect the nation."
The Army expects to receive the first Challenger 3 tanks by 2027 with the final ones due in 2030.
It takes six years to build 100 tanks? They're not warships ya cunts! They don't take that long!
That's fairly normal production numbers tom, the SDF is actualy the quickest take producer outside of russia atm and it takes them 5 years to make 300 type 10s.
If you could build 100 modern warships in six years, I'd be greatly impressed.
Return of the fletcher spam.
Cringe but free
The British Armed Forces: Procuring yesterday's equipment, tomorrow.
Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)
Cringe but free
There's an upcoming indie grog sim titled Gunner, HEAT, PC!, set in a 1985 Fulda Gap scenario. It has a playable demo available for download, and you can support the creators on Patreon.
Any reason why the CCKW truck series was nicknamed "Jimmy"?
Cringe but free
General Motors, G-M.
Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)
War Thunder fan says tank is inaccurate, leaks classified military documents to prove it
Some military grognard posted classified information regarding the British Challenger 2's armor from it's instruction manual online as a means to settle an argument on Gaijin's War Thunder forums. And the worst part? Apparently, this isn't the FIRST time Gaijin's moderators had to remove classified military documentation from their forums, going by their response!
NOTE: I was originally gonna post this on War Thunder's thread in the videogame forums... but since TV Tropes search engine sucks, I wasn't able to locate it.
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
Sadly the Warthunder thread is pretty dead but I got to see this happen, it was hilarious.
Oh really when?
Cringe but free
Something I just found out about: back in the '80s, Soviet Su-25 pilots in Afghanistan found it a hassle to lase targets for guided weapons. They only had a regular gunsight to work with, not a stabilised targeting pod, and the introduction of the Stinger in late 1986 made the OKSVA command put strict restrictions on the altitude, angle and number of attack runs that fixed-wing pilots could make.
To get around the problem, Soviet mechanics came up with an unusual solution. They took a BTR-80 and scrounged up a Klyon-PS laser rangefinder/designator unit from a decommissioned Su-25, which they mounted on the vehicle's NSV machine gun turret and aimed using the gunsight. In combat, the vehicle, which went by the codename BOMAN, would try to get as close as possible to its target before lasing, in order to create a powerful reflection that allowed friendly pilots to lock on with their weapons from standoff distances. Only a handful were made during the war, though the Russian military is looking to revive the concept using the GAZ Tigr platform.
Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)
The law in the night
From the makers of Cope cages, now cope houses!
Inter arma enim silent leges
Cringe but free
You go and train Assad's army, it goes and trains you right back.
Echoing hymn of my fellow passerine | Art blog (under construction)
I mean, I guess it probably helps by providing shade for the tank and crew.
The law in the night
Driving the T-34.
TL;DR: It is hard.
Inter arma enim silent leges
rollin' on dubs
x-post from the mil-thread:
Abrams-maker GDLS announces $1.1 billion tank deal for Poland
The $1.148 billion contract — awarded in late July, according to the Army — will get Poland new features in communications, firepower and armor for its future Abrams fleet, per an Aug. 25 company statement.
Initially requested by Poland a year ago, the first M 1 A 2 SE Pv 3 Abrams are expected to reach the country’s military in early 2025, according a U.S. Army statement. Training for Polish soldiers began following the inauguration of an Abrams Tank Training Academy at Biedrusko Training Area, the Army announced earlier this month. The service made 28 Abrams tanks available to the country last month for that purpose.
Poland is rushing to modernize its armored capabilities, as officials study the course of Russia’s assault on Ukraine. In that conflict, tanks and artillery have played a critical role on both sides. Western military support of these weapon types to Ukraine, including from Poland, has reportedly helped Ukrainian forces hold Russian invaders at bay in the east.
“NATO’s strength lies in its unity, which has never been greater than it is today,” said Doug Bush, the Army’s acquisition chief. “This award is an example of the Army’s continuing work with our industry partners to increase production of critical military equipment capabilities to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our partners and allies.”
Earlier this year, before war in Ukraine began, the U.S. State Department cleared Poland to buy American military equipment worth up to $6 billion. The proposed package, published by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for congressional review, included the 250 tanks now under contract.
Warsaw wants to buy additional tanks from South Korea, and faster. CNN reported in late July that the Polish government hopes to get almost 1,000 copies of South Korea’s K2-based tank in a large weapons package pegged at $14.5 billion in Korean media reports. The deal also includes hundreds of self-propelled K9 howitzers, manufactured by Hanwha Defense.
Made by Hyundai Rotem, the first 180 K2 tanks are scheduled to be shipped later this year, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, Polish officials were also hoping to get a batch of Leopard 2 tanks from Germany to replace some of the equipment donated to Ukraine. But such deal has yet come to fruition, with leaders in both countries haggling over how many copies Berlin could spare and in what condition.
The Showrunner of Dzwiedz 24
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
There's a problem with the K9 deal, though.
Namely, our Krab howitzers are a hybrid of the K9 chassis with a couple of locally-designed upgrades, gun from somewhere else and a homegrown fire control system, basically, a direct upgrade of the original Korean design. However, the CEO of the company that makes Krabs was recently fired for not being enthusiastically loyal enough to the Ruling Party. If you're thinking it's sabotage by the local MOD... well, this is where Hanlon's Razor fails.
Anyway: TIL that some lunatics in Sudan and Yemen slapped M167 AA guns on BTR-152s - you know, those clunky Soviet armored trucks phased out in the sixties. It's Bubba as hell and I love the idea.
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
There's no way in hell Korea can deliver that tank order.
Oh really when?
The Showrunner of Dzwiedz 24
It's not about the tanks, it's about the Party-loyal middlemen and their "consultation fees".
People in the know are calling BS on the entire deal.
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis
rollin' on dubs
- AbramsX Next Generation Main Battle Tank Breaks Cover (The Warzone): "Wakeup honey, new Abrams just dropped!"
- Youtube:
- The Chieftain's reaction:
Bumpity. Found this vid from the whole Ukraine thing.
One Russian tank vs 8 Ukrainian vehicles including at least two tanks of their own. Guess who won? The Ukrainians got their arses kicked in this particular fight. I counted confirmed at least six of the vehicles destroyed or disabled. No retreats visible so it’s likely all eight were taken out.
The drones they used in that hot little conflict were mostly spotter and/or ATGM carrying drones. They weren't using swarms.
Who watches the watchmen?