Rico

According to Rheinmetall, first Ukrainian-made Fuchs APCs/IFvs are to be delivered in 2024, Lynx IFV to follow in Summer 2025 - if the final contract is signed soon.
 
https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/industrie/rheinmetall-panzerproduktion-in-der-ukraine-soll-schon-2024-starten/29532760.html
 
 
Apparently the Boxer CRV will not become the Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie (all contracts valued more than €25 million have to be approved by the parliament). This was already reported a few months ago, but leaks suggest that the MoD does not plan to submit the contract for approvement during the next meeting of defence committee.
The reason for not accepting the Boxer CRV are two-fold. Supposedly the system is not as mature as claimed, inofficially the purchase was meant as a quid pro quo for selecting the Lynx. Not selecting the Lynx might have killed export chances for the Boxer CRV.
 
 
For a somewhat long time, it seemed as the Patria CAVS was the only contender for the 6x6 program really considered by the Army, but it has been decided that all candidates should be tested before a selection is being made. Aside of the Fuchs Evolution/Fuchs 1A9 and Patria CAVS, the GDELS Pandur EVO is also a contender.
These vehicles are also contenders for the Fennek replacement with a further competitor in form of the SuperAV/Guarani being offered by Iveco & Hensoldt.
 
 
 

https://www.facebook.com/43Mechbrig/posts/pfbid02aFQFmJfZKUcAmsFZjyJdw7FUcEzQybswSrgtqo2tB8Spyenx4vMHGhQQeRwwwAbEl?__tn__=-R

A third batch of 11 Wisent 2s was just confirmed for Norway. 8 will be in the AEV role, and the remaining 3 in the ARV role. FMA also makes a point to mention that some of these were needed to replace the 3 NM189 AEVs and the single NM217 ARV that were donated to Ukraine earlier this year.
 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/forsvaret-far-flere-ingenior-og-bergingspanservogner
 
Another 2 LEGUAN Leo 2 AVLBs are also in the pipeline, but there's been no news of any contract just yet.
 
And finally, the option to purchase the additional 18 Leo 2A8NOR apparently runs out today, so unless we see some kind of announcement on this today, even just an extension of the deadline, I don't have much hope for any additional MBTs for Norway.

The American company Miller Industries Towing Equipment Inc. (MITE) has received a contract to deliver seven light armoured recovery vehicles to the Norwegian Army, by developing and integrating a recovery module onto the newly developed ACSV G5. The contract also includes an option for two more light ARVs.
 

 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/forsvaret-far-nye-pansrede-bergingsvogner

Just some minor wheeled update:
Negotiations on the purchase of the Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie based (based on Boxer CRV) with Australia have started. An Australian delegation has visited Germany. The goal is to sign a government-to-government deal in 2023 and receive first vehicles by 2025. Overall 121 vehicles are to be purchased. A recent article written by authorized representative for the program in the German MoD detailed that the selection of the manned turret was a result of the vehicle commander somehow needing "direct visual contact and direct communication" to nearby infantry (apparently that is not possible when the commander has a hatch in the hull ).  As the Boxer CRV is a reconnaissance variant based on an IFV variant, it is designed with capacity for infantry (dismounting scouts), but the German Jäger will not have dismounts on the Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie... so they are trying to come up with some sort of use for the rear compartment such as carrying UAVs (which can be and are already carried in lighter vehicles at greater distance from the front line) or "UGVs armed for example with an autocannon" (currently market available UGVs with autocannon - unless talking about an anemic solution with the M230LF - are too heavy and too large to be carried inside the Boxer and have enough endurance - e.g. Milrem Type X UGV: 600 km - to be drive on their own). Also German media reported (based on "industry sources") that an alternative offer - likely from KMW - with full production in Germany supposedly was only half as expensive. The Caracal (a variant of the Enok 4.8 AB from ACS Armoured Car Systems offered in cooperation with Rheinmetall and Mercedes-Benz) has been selected as the new lightly armored vehicle airborne for the airborne units of the Dutch and German armies. At the moment 1,504 vehicles (1,000 for Germany and 504 for the Netherlands) have been ordered, but there is an option for a further 1,500 (1,000 for Germany and 500 for the Netherlands). Deliveries are to start 2025 at a rate of 300 vehicles (with 200 going to Germany and 100 to the Netherlands each year). The Netherlands have also purchased 138 armor kits for the Caracal; there are currently no infos on how many Germany has purchased/will purchase. The Caracal beat the GRF from KMW & Defenture. Originally GDELS also competed with the Merlin, but withdrew due to it being to heavy for the weight limit. As per the German concept for the Medium Forces (Mittlere Kräfte), at least some Marder IFVs are to be replaced with a Boxer IFV model. The latest plans suggest that a total of 148 Boxer IFVs should be procured. Supposedly the Army favors an unmanned solution, so there won't be any turret commonality with the Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie. Germany also remains comitted to the procurement of a wheeled SPG; the stated requirement is for 160 vehicles. Currently the maturity of the Boxer-based RCH 155 is being tested with (based on rumor mill) rather positive feedback, but also some minor improvement ideas that are being implemented by KMW. The "wheeled self-propelled howitzer" from a cooperation of Rheinmetall (providing the HX3 truck chassis, weapon system and local modifications) and Elbit Systems (providing the turret and autoloader of its SIGMA system) is not being tested yet due to the immaturity of the design (still in development, no real prototype has fired its gun) and for being incompatible with a partner's (UK) requirement. further Boxer variants are also planned including ARV, AVLB, long-range anti-tank vehicle, air-defence missile carrier and SPAAG with the Skyranger 30 turret are also planned, but not much concrete details regarding numbers and equipment. KMW has proposed the Boxer UAV variants (carrying & controlling more than a dozen small/micro drones) and Boxer Digitalization (for controlling UGVs) for the German medium forces The program for the Fuchs successor is also on-going. Currently the German Army plans to purchase 629 new vehicles. Germany has joined the Patria CAVS program, but this is not a final decision as it is a prerequisite for testing the Patria 6x6 vehicle. Patria has stated in an interview with German media that it is looking for local partners that would take care of the production for the Bundeswehr's program, if the CAVS is selected. Rheinmetall is offering its Fuchs Evolution, which is not really a Fuchs 2, but also more than the previously proposed Fuchs 1A9. Meanwhile Rheinmetall and Ukraine have agreed on the supply (and later local production) of Fuchs vehicles including a new upgraded IFV variant. There are/were two options being discussed: using the Skyranger 30 turret (which is an air-defence turret and thus not optimal for a modern IFV) or leftover Marder 1A3 turrets (which are quite outdated). Production of Fuchs vehicles in high quantities in Ukraine might be advantageous for the companies' chances against the CAVS. Last but not least, Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin have detailed their offer (based on HIMARS) in the German wheeled artillery program. The new system is called GMARS (German Medium/Multiple Artillery Rocket System) based on a HX3 truck and fitted with a full-sized launcher from the latest/improved M270A2 variant; so it is rather comparable K239 Chunmoo and HOMAR-K (Polish Chunmoo on Jelz truck) but based on official ToT/cooperation and not a bootleg copy. The two companies want Diehl to join their offer, competing against a team formed by KMW, MBDA, EGS and Elbit Systems offering the Euro-PULS system. Euro-PULS is likely cheaper and due to the removable pods, missile size is not limited to the MRLS-launche's internal dimensions, but it carries less ready-to-fire missiles (at least when using GMRLS-sized rockets). Germany favors having a Leopard 2-like "user-club" for its new vehicles (to share development costs, place common orders and help each other with training/logistics), which IMO favors Euro-PULS, as the normal PULS artillery system has been purchased by traditional partners of Germany (the Netherlands and Denmark). GMARS OTOH is based on some HIMARS components and HIMARS has seen a wider adoption in Europe (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Poland all have signed contracts for HIMARS).  

Wisent 2 for Hungary during visit of Stoltenberg at FFG.
https://epaimages.com/search.pp?flush=1&eventid=1186106

According to the Dutch MoD, a Boxer based solution would be considerably more expensive, but they do not mention any numbers.
 
"The SHORAD capability will be delivered on the Armored Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) G5. The SHORAD solution on the ACSV G5 is fully compliant and MOTS is available (the ACSV G5 is in production and will be delivered to Norway in Q3 of this year). The development risks for the integration with the MMR and the command and control IT of Defense are low, resulting in MOTS. The alternative, the SHORAD solution on the Boxer armored vehicle, is considerably more expensive, has a high development risk and has a longer delivery time."
 
https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/a7533034-3089-4996-9187-2603a070a97b/file

The "denuclearisation" of electrical power didn't have an impact on prices for industrial application, but the reduction of gas imports from Russia. However "overseas production" isn't limiting Rheinmetall to Germany. They have a brand now plant in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary specifically made for producing Lynx IFVs. The lower cost of labor and the lack of follow-up contracts for that site certainly favors proposing a Hungary-based production.
 
Rheinmetall already wanted to use this plant when bidding in the Slovak IFV program.

As with the Wisent 2s, it seems they’re looking to implement some weight saving measures on the new Leo 2 AVLBs:
 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/vintertesting-av-haerens-nye-bropanservogner?fbclid=IwAR2ENR_nhxj8kv8PvQjT7LXsmVUm04TERIp9GNe6IDrb_uHPM9HLCMt6U_I
 
* I wonder if these "light skirts" are just the standard Leo 2 skirts, that are only lighter in comparison to the heavier and better protected skirts on the German Army's Leo 2 AVLB?
 

The 62.5 tonnes figure concerned a dispensation limit for certain stretches of the road network, and we (as in people who don’t have inside knowledge) don’t know if there even existed such a requirement (probably not seeing as how the Norwegian government is on record stating that both tanks satisfied the requirements).
 
We also don't know for certain if Leo 2A7NO will exceed 62.5 tonnes, but considering that KMW’s own website lists a weight of 61.5-64.3 tonnes (likely empty vs combat ready, but a lot of the bells and whistles like APS are apparently not included in the latter figure either), it does seem rather likely. Of course, this is also going to limit where this tank can go compared to earlier Leo 2A4NO (and the proposed K2NO) unless the Norwegian Public Roads Administration start granting requests for heavier dispensations and/or more of the road infranstructure is upgraded to handle the extra weight.
 
Leo 2A7NO might also not be worse protected than its German and Danish counterweight if weight can be saved in other ways, e.g. lighter tracks, lithium batteries instead of APU, new materials and construction techniques (as mentioned by @SH_MM)etc.. Insufficient protection was among the given reasons for cancellation of the earlier P 5050 project, so Leo 2A7NO should at least be better protected than a Leo 2A4NO with add-on armor.
 
-------------------------
 
Now for some more juicy gossip & drama. Dagens Næringsliv – the same newspaper that broke the stories about the Chef of Defence’s advice to cancel this project and the compromise with a reduced order – now write that according to sources close to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (FMA) had actually recommended the K2 in their assessment of the candidates, with its lower price and better availability being what ultimately tilted the scale in its favour, It was apparently also the option that the Chief of Defence was the most on board with, which I suppose makes sense seeing as how it sounds like he’d rather spend as little as possible on new tanks (heh). Ultimately, though, the Norwegian government would not heed either them as they had already made up their minds on the importance of strengthening the military and industrial bonds with Germany (I hate to toot my own horn, but I did predict as much earlier in this thread).
 
Source: https://www.dn.no/politikk/jonas-gahr-store/stridsvogner/bjorn-arild-gram/dette-skjedde-i-kulissene-da-forsvarssjefen-fikk-stridsvognene-han-ikke-ville-ha/2-1-1400163?shareToken=NDkyMTMsMi0xLTE0MDAxNjMsMTY3NTkzMjMwNTk0Niw0ZTY0NDA0ODgyN2JjYzZjMzZiY2Q5MDhkNDlkNWI2Ng%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR04fgGVb6cffzIX2wZqmG84LRNTRSCElOfjreFJ0i9qNcOZRObb3GYb0TE

More details have been revealed by different news outlets regarding the Puma VJTF story. According to German media, several unnamed persons involved in determining why the Puma VJTF had issues, stated that the German Army already had been warned about potential issues with the Puma VJTF as several vehicles were within "maintenance intervals" (according to earlier sources, ten were shortly before scheduled maintenance while two others had already missed scheduled). Two different teams of technicians from Rheinmetall and the German MoD's own HIL GmbH were on-site, but they were not asked to fix the vehicles. Though apparently the team from HIL GmbH was not trained on repairing the Puma VJTF, because due to lack of capacity for at the German Army's technical/engineering school (all spots were taken up by German soldiers).
 
An investigation focuses on the durability of individual high-tech parts and the cable fire in one of the Puma VJTF IFVs. In general, the lack of proper training (due to there being too few Puma IFVs in the VJTF variant, that have been shared between different units) and maintenance are considered the main culprits of the Puma's failure in the December exercise.
 
Supposedly the parts of the German Army and the government overreacted - mostly the German minister of defence, the very unpopular Christine Lambrecht. The "confidental" damage protocol (that somehow was leaked to German media) made by Rheinmetall, KMW and HIL GmbH suggests that of 76 reported errors, 44 were false alarms. A quarter of the 32 real errors already existed before the exercise and should have been fixed during maintenance beforehand. Supposedly the unit knew that not all of their Puma IFVs were fully functional when starting the exercise.
The cable fire is blamed on an error during a maintenance procedure and not a design fault. The rest of the errors has been blamed on in-proper use and described as supposedly fixable in the two lowest levels of maintenance directly by the Puma IFV's crews or assigned maintenance units during the exercise.
 
 
There is probably a bit more to the story, as it this is based on the leaked report from one side (industry & maintenance company), while the German Army likely has a bit of a different opinion. However there has been no reaction or denial of these claims from the official side.
 
___
In an unrelated statement, Esa Rautalinko (CEO of Patria) has declared that his company wants to partner with Rheinmetall and/or KMW for production of the CAVS, if it was selected by the German Army as Puma Fuchs replacement. Apparently Patria does not have the production capacity for the projected German order (they can only produce 40 vehicles per year); increasing the production capacity for the expected German order is financially less attractive for the Finish company than to cooperate with the German defence industry.
Rheinmetall is at the moment competing against the CAVS, pitching a heavily upgraded Fuchs as Fuchs replacement. GDELS also wants to win the contract, offering the Pandur EVO.

17 out of the 18 "broken" Puma VJTF IFVs have been fixed. Damage was minor and sometimes related to incorrect use.
 
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/bundeswehr-bagatellschaeden-und-bedienungsfehler-fast-alle-ausgefallenen-pumas-wieder-einsatzfaehig/28897860.html

I cannot provide an exact break-down of what went wrong with the Puma VJTF. Don't have data on that.
 
But based on various news reports, the following happened:
Puma VJTF completes three exercises with acceptable availability (two with more than 80%, one with just 67%) to the fourth exercise, the unit did not - maybe they could not, maybe they weren't allowed or wanted to simulate worst case - spare parts and most of the tools required for fixing the Puma VJTF priority for over night repairs was given to Leopard 2A7V (makes somewhat sense, if you don't have spares/technicians/tools for other vehicles...) fourth exercise results in no vehicle being left operational, a complaint e-mail is written by major general von Butler and leaked "by accident" to the press. A photograph showing error messages on a Puma VJTF IFV's screen was apparently also shared big media fall-out regarding "bad, broken Puma IFV" apparently ten of the 18 Puma VJTFs were just shy of their scheduled maintenance, while two already had missed it. Apparently the Puma VJTFs were passed from multiple times from one company to another, resulting in a loss of maintenance industry mentions that they have not been given access to the vehicles to fix them (even though specialists from industry were on-site); they complain that the German Army intentionally waited until all vehicles were broken down (maybe for the headlines?) an investigation is launched, eight vehicles are sent to Rheinmetall's facility in Unterlüß for further inspections, the other ten return to Regen in Bavaria (unit's garrison location) industry claims that all vehicles can be fixed within 2-3 weeks (in one statement, they even said until end of the year 2022)   Now German newspapers - based on industry sources - claim that only two Puma VJTF IFVs are seriously broken/"badly damaged":
the heavily damaged vehicles are one vehicle as a result of a cable fire and one with damaged turret ring (previously incorrectly translated as "sprocket", because the newspapers use the wrong terminology) in one vehicle, a fuze was blown in another vehicle, a screen stopped working after being accidentally kicked in one case, the unit report that the auxiliary heating did not work... but the crew only forgot to turn it on in one case, a screw of a missile launcher was loose
Most vehicles can be repaired until January 2023.
 

Honestly they could just as well revive Anders. They apparently don't want to buy the AS21 Redback, but the Redback hull and fit it with the ZSSW-30 turret of the Borsuk & latest Rosomak. The same turret could also be integrated into Anders with ease.
 
Polish procurement is interesting... strongly driven by politics and somewhat erratic. Parts of the Polish defence industry are suing the government for the apparently cancellation of the Wilk program in favor of government-to-government deals.

Yes, the first batch which is going to be donated by the German government is from Rheinmetall stocks. They are in fact ex-Swiss Pz 87 (possibly with those curious silencers still installed). Also the ammo and spare parts shall come from Rheinmetall. 
 
For the rest of the tanks it was first said these wpuld be 2A7+ and that even the initial batch would be rebuilt into A7+ (which means only turret skelet would be kept of the original Pz 87). Now the MOD released some ambiguous words which seem to make an impression that the decision was not yet made but I think that's just a smoke screen. 

Hello
My pics of Eurosatory :

KF51 Panther : https://bit.ly/3MQI4TU

EMBT : https://bit.ly/3aRiXTB

2A7 : https://bit.ly/3QqK3l1

Lynx : https://bit.ly/3zIlCJH

Boxer (including tracked version) : https://bit.ly/3O1rPoj

Latest fuchs : https://bit.ly/3b6wPts

I'm still at eurosatory tomorow, let me know on discord if u need something, i'll try to get a bit of time to take a shoot.

@Alzoci have something for you, https://twitter.com/PGZ_pl/status/1536324327259398152?s=20&t=7Gm_HRpXIy1Oyge3-p4I_g 
Yep, K2PL is coming in hot more tanks for Poland I guess. Let's have a moment of silence in memory of Polish logistical and maintenance units, I peaty those brave men and women. Now, in theory, Poland will be using 247x Leopard 2PL and 2A5, +300x M1A1SA/FEP, 250x M1A2 SEP v.3, 232x PT-91 and probably some leftover T-72M1R with around 500x K2/K2PL to come. Our T-72M1R are being currently sent to Ukraine, but will we send all of them is hard to tell, though it is probable. The future of PT-91 is also uncertain. 

My understanding is that the first number stands for the weight class (i.e. the KF31 is a vehicle in the "30 tons class") while the second number might be for the vehicle generation (i.e. the KF31 is the first "KF" vehicle offered in the 30 tons class). However I don't think that Rheinmetall has ever confirmed this. Also note that the KF41 Lynx has an official GVW of 50 metric tons and I wouldn't be surprised if the Lynx 120 is actually exceeding that.

My suggestion would be that Spain does a "Ringtausch" with Germany. Spain delivers 40 Leopard 2A4 to Germany that can be upgraded to 2A7 in the next years and Germany delivers some 100 Leopard 1A5 to Ukraine.

Newer reports from German Der Spiegel suggest that Spain considers sending only 10-15 tanks to Ukraine, but the whole deal is still discussed internally within the Spanish government.

Few more details about the Czech-German Leopard 2 deal. The gift of the Leo 2A4 contains also certain ammo and spare parts package. The MOD again confirmed that the tanks will be rebuilt to 2A7+ standard after 2025 but they also admitted that it meant that only the turret skelet would be kept from the original 2A4 tanks, i.e. the tanks would be basically built anew. 
 
The MOD speaker also answered several other questions from the media. He stated that our currently used pontoon bridges could hold the Leo 2A4 but could not hold the 2A7+. The MOD is going to buy new ones with allowed load up to 72 tons. Regarding the need to introduce the loader back into the staff of the armed forces (loaders were removed with the end of service of T-55AM2 tanks) he said he didn't see that as an issue. 

Yes, you can read a bit about that here:
https://below-the-turret-ring.com/armored-vehicles/slovakia-announces-the-cv90-mk-iv-as-its-preferred-ifv/
 

There is something leaking about the Czech-German deal I mentioned in another thread. Nothing official so take it with a grain of salt. 
 
The deal is said to consist of
- 20 Leopard 2A4 for free
- 40 Leopard 2A7+ on commercial contract
- some recovery and engineering vehicles 
 
The Leo 2A4 shall be used for initial transition period and training before the newly built 2A7+ arrive. After that the A4 will be probably modernized. 
 
If it goes through it may also affect the already started project for another upgrade of our 30 T-72M4 tanks which shall consist mainly of a new FCS and optics (it is still in quotation phase). 

Well on one hand now that elections period are over both in France and Germany, there is now enough political stability to continue negotiations.
On the other hand the war in Ukraine kinda validated France position on the need of an effective European defense and Germany woke up noticing that their army is basically naked and that they can't do much to help their neighbour in case of an invasion.
Cue emotional response and German politicians put 100 billions euros on the table ... and the first thing they buy are F-35, CH-47 and the THAAD system.
 
Now I perfectly understand that those 100 billions are meant to plug in the holes with material that is available now, and on a lot of niches the American were the only one that could provide the material quickly. But frankly it sent a terrible political signal that at the first sign of trouble, Germany turned around and went toward the US.
 
Add on top of that the fact that even before the invasion of Ukraine Germany screwed up two major European program by buying PE-8 naval patrol aircraft instead of going forward with the MAWS program and then refusing to participate to the Tiger MkIII standard (Forcing France and Spain to downscale the number of helicopters that will be upgraded) and making noises that they would be interested by Boeing's AH-64 instead.
 
Between all of that, their dependency to Russian gas and the fact that their partners had to convince them (at least in the beginning of the conflict) to take meaningful sanctions against Russia and help Ukraine ...
Short answer, nobody in Europe have any kind of trust left in Germany regarding defence and military matters.
Sadly it is likely that all cooperation programs with Germany will be re-examined.