Alzoc

More technical details on the ASCALON :
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/ascalon-du-concept-aux-champs-de-tirs-portugais/
 
Energy of an APFSDS rod at the muzzle of 17 to 20 MJ Increased energy attained by increasing the volume of the chamber which is doubled compared to the Leclerc. For comparaison Rhm went the other way with their 130 mm, they kept a small chamber volume (15L) and increased the peak pressure, so we can assume the volume of the ASCALON's chamber is probably around 30L 20L (thanks @SH_MMfor the correction). Lower peak pressure in the ASCALON may (if the gun can handle it) indicate more growth potential by increasing the peak pressure in the future. Peak pressure in the ASCALON's chamber is lower than in the Leclerc (GIAT CN120-26). For comparaison the nominal pressure for the Leclerc firing an OFL 120 F1/DM43 at 21°C is around 4160 bars (don't know the peak value associated). Gun lenght of 7,3 m (40 cm more than the Leclerc's 120 mm L52 and 10 cm more than Rhm's 130 mm) Mass of around 3 tons (roughly the same than Rhm's 130 mm) The semi-telescoped APFSDS round is 1,3 m long for a mass around 30 kg.

Given that big fires are becoming more common in Europe and the lack of available Canadair, airbus is testing a firefitgthing kit for the A400M :
 
 
Two tanks of 10 m3 each which can be refilled by two on-board pumps in 5 minutes after the plane landed. Combined whith the ability of the aircraft to land on short and unprepared runways, there may be some interest to it.
 
Even though a normal Canadair only carry 6 m3 of water, the fact that it doesn't have to land/stop to refill likely mean it is still able to deliver more water on target in a given time frame, so this kind of solution is only a backup at best.
 
Converting military cargo planes for firefighting has been done before (I don't know with how much sucess) but there is over 88 A400M in Europe and that number will keep growing, so a kit which could potentially be installed on any one of them would actually be a nice addition.

Maps based retrospective of the invasion on le Monde  (click to zoom for some maps):
 
https://www-lemonde-fr.translate.goog/international/article/2022/05/24/la-carte-de-la-guerre-en-ukraine-jour-apres-jour_6118209_3212.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=wapp
 
Nothing new but a good recap after 4 months of conflict. The credence of the sources is of course debatable as some of it comes from Ukrainian or Russian opposition media.
Didn't posted everything of course, only the (mostly) recent or interesting ones.
 
Evolution of the beliggerent's positions week by week :
 
 
Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast :
 
 
Potential attack scenarii for Russian offensive in Donbass (published April 19th):
 
 
Number of Russian soldier killed by region of origin (if I understand correctly this was done using death notifications) :
 
 
Number of Russian soldier's death by date (left) as well as by age (right) :
 
 
 Number of "violent events" (mainly explosions and bombardments) since February 24th (as of May 23rd) :
 

Russian territorial gains in Donbass since the abandon of the push toward Kiev (29th of March) :
 
 
Main supply lines in Ukraine (May 23rd) :
 
 
 War in Ukraine and agriculture :
 
 
 Situation in Transinistria (explosions in late April):
 
 
Kaliningrad enclave and NATO :
 

 

More technical details on the ASCALON :
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/ascalon-du-concept-aux-champs-de-tirs-portugais/
 
Energy of an APFSDS rod at the muzzle of 17 to 20 MJ Increased energy attained by increasing the volume of the chamber which is doubled compared to the Leclerc. For comparaison Rhm went the other way with their 130 mm, they kept a small chamber volume (15L) and increased the peak pressure, so we can assume the volume of the ASCALON's chamber is probably around 30L 20L (thanks @SH_MMfor the correction). Lower peak pressure in the ASCALON may (if the gun can handle it) indicate more growth potential by increasing the peak pressure in the future. Peak pressure in the ASCALON's chamber is lower than in the Leclerc (GIAT CN120-26). For comparaison the nominal pressure for the Leclerc firing an OFL 120 F1/DM43 at 21°C is around 4160 bars (don't know the peak value associated). Gun lenght of 7,3 m (40 cm more than the Leclerc's 120 mm L52 and 10 cm more than Rhm's 130 mm) Mass of around 3 tons (roughly the same than Rhm's 130 mm) The semi-telescoped APFSDS round is 1,3 m long for a mass around 30 kg.

Last year the Swiss Festungsmuseum received two Panzer 87 prototoypes: RUAG's Leopard 2 MLU with full add-on armor kit and a variant with partial add-on armor kit.
 

A more detailed article on the ASCALON :
 
https://lasd.online/140-ascalon/
 
 
 

More technical details on the ASCALON :
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/ascalon-du-concept-aux-champs-de-tirs-portugais/
 
Energy of an APFSDS rod at the muzzle of 17 to 20 MJ Increased energy attained by increasing the volume of the chamber which is doubled compared to the Leclerc. For comparaison Rhm went the other way with their 130 mm, they kept a small chamber volume (15L) and increased the peak pressure, so we can assume the volume of the ASCALON's chamber is probably around 30L 20L (thanks @SH_MMfor the correction). Lower peak pressure in the ASCALON may (if the gun can handle it) indicate more growth potential by increasing the peak pressure in the future. Peak pressure in the ASCALON's chamber is lower than in the Leclerc (GIAT CN120-26). For comparaison the nominal pressure for the Leclerc firing an OFL 120 F1/DM43 at 21°C is around 4160 bars (don't know the peak value associated). Gun lenght of 7,3 m (40 cm more than the Leclerc's 120 mm L52 and 10 cm more than Rhm's 130 mm) Mass of around 3 tons (roughly the same than Rhm's 130 mm) The semi-telescoped APFSDS round is 1,3 m long for a mass around 30 kg.

More technical details on the ASCALON :
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/ascalon-du-concept-aux-champs-de-tirs-portugais/
 
Energy of an APFSDS rod at the muzzle of 17 to 20 MJ Increased energy attained by increasing the volume of the chamber which is doubled compared to the Leclerc. For comparaison Rhm went the other way with their 130 mm, they kept a small chamber volume (15L) and increased the peak pressure, so we can assume the volume of the ASCALON's chamber is probably around 30L 20L (thanks @SH_MMfor the correction). Lower peak pressure in the ASCALON may (if the gun can handle it) indicate more growth potential by increasing the peak pressure in the future. Peak pressure in the ASCALON's chamber is lower than in the Leclerc (GIAT CN120-26). For comparaison the nominal pressure for the Leclerc firing an OFL 120 F1/DM43 at 21°C is around 4160 bars (don't know the peak value associated). Gun lenght of 7,3 m (40 cm more than the Leclerc's 120 mm L52 and 10 cm more than Rhm's 130 mm) Mass of around 3 tons (roughly the same than Rhm's 130 mm) The semi-telescoped APFSDS round is 1,3 m long for a mass around 30 kg.

More technical details on the ASCALON :
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/ascalon-du-concept-aux-champs-de-tirs-portugais/
 
Energy of an APFSDS rod at the muzzle of 17 to 20 MJ Increased energy attained by increasing the volume of the chamber which is doubled compared to the Leclerc. For comparaison Rhm went the other way with their 130 mm, they kept a small chamber volume (15L) and increased the peak pressure, so we can assume the volume of the ASCALON's chamber is probably around 30L 20L (thanks @SH_MMfor the correction). Lower peak pressure in the ASCALON may (if the gun can handle it) indicate more growth potential by increasing the peak pressure in the future. Peak pressure in the ASCALON's chamber is lower than in the Leclerc (GIAT CN120-26). For comparaison the nominal pressure for the Leclerc firing an OFL 120 F1/DM43 at 21°C is around 4160 bars (don't know the peak value associated). Gun lenght of 7,3 m (40 cm more than the Leclerc's 120 mm L52 and 10 cm more than Rhm's 130 mm) Mass of around 3 tons (roughly the same than Rhm's 130 mm) The semi-telescoped APFSDS round is 1,3 m long for a mass around 30 kg.

The chamber volume of a 120 x 570 mm smoothbore gun is 10.2 litres. So ASCALON's would be ~20 litre-ish (while basically the whole sabot of APFSDS rounds would be included in that).

It is also possible that this is yet another consequence of the British mucking around the feed system (don't quite remember the particulars) instead of using the one that was designed for the gun. For example, could the chamber not sealing properly (wrong ammo positionning) cause this kind of reduction of barrel life (asking the question as I don't know)?
 
The minimal goals for barrel life was 10 000 rounds if I recall correctly. I have a hard time believing that the DGA would accept a gun that can't even reach a 1/20th of the minimal specs.
 
It could also be the simple explanation : If you want to kill your dog, accuse him of having rabies.

And of course
 
 

It is also possible that this is yet another consequence of the British mucking around the feed system (don't quite remember the particulars) instead of using the one that was designed for the gun. For example, could the chamber not sealing properly (wrong ammo positionning) cause this kind of reduction of barrel life (asking the question as I don't know)?
 
The minimal goals for barrel life was 10 000 rounds if I recall correctly. I have a hard time believing that the DGA would accept a gun that can't even reach a 1/20th of the minimal specs.
 
It could also be the simple explanation : If you want to kill your dog, accuse him of having rabies.

It is also possible that this is yet another consequence of the British mucking around the feed system (don't quite remember the particulars) instead of using the one that was designed for the gun. For example, could the chamber not sealing properly (wrong ammo positionning) cause this kind of reduction of barrel life (asking the question as I don't know)?
 
The minimal goals for barrel life was 10 000 rounds if I recall correctly. I have a hard time believing that the DGA would accept a gun that can't even reach a 1/20th of the minimal specs.
 
It could also be the simple explanation : If you want to kill your dog, accuse him of having rabies.

Video of the first RapidFire unit (not the mock-up) at Nexter (still lacking it's sighting system which will be installed later by Thales).
Nothing new in terms of technical informations and it remain unclear whether the system can participate in terminal missile defence (and to what extent).
Another line-up of the ammunition types available with a 40mm Bofors behind them for size comparison (6:56).
 
 
First units will be installed on a ship (likely the new BRF Jacques Chevalier which was launched last month) by the end of the year or early next year. Live fire trials are expected by the end of the year.

Short video on the firing tests of ASCALON at the field firing range of Alcochete, Portugal :
 
 

Proposed AMX-30 upgrade by EODH :
 

Somewhat similar to the Leopard 1 C2 I guess :
 
 

VBCI vs Leclerc race on flat terrain in the desert :
 
 

Proposed AMX-30 upgrade by EODH :
 

Somewhat similar to the Leopard 1 C2 I guess :
 
 

Proposed AMX-30 upgrade by EODH :
 

Somewhat similar to the Leopard 1 C2 I guess :
 
 

Proposed AMX-30 upgrade by EODH :
 

Somewhat similar to the Leopard 1 C2 I guess :
 
 

Ammunition concept for railguns by the ISL :
 
Sabot 120 mm (scale 2/3 rd) with a projected range of ~200 km :

 
Salvo ammuntion for CIWS railgun applications (3D printed model, scale 1 : 1):

Since railguns don't do well regarding rate of fire, the idea is to launch five of those within a 1/10th of a second allowing fire them within one discharge cycle.
With a low dispersion, those rounds could intercept an hypersonic missile at a range of 1 km (which doesn't leave much time for reaction).
 
Last concept presented (no photo here) is a hollow aluminum round used to test the resistance to acceleration (30 000 g) of electronics.
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/eurosatory-de-nouveaux-concepts-de-munitions-pour-le-rail-gun-de-lisl/
 

Ammunition concept for railguns by the ISL :
 
Sabot 120 mm (scale 2/3 rd) with a projected range of ~200 km :

 
Salvo ammuntion for CIWS railgun applications (3D printed model, scale 1 : 1):

Since railguns don't do well regarding rate of fire, the idea is to launch five of those within a 1/10th of a second allowing fire them within one discharge cycle.
With a low dispersion, those rounds could intercept an hypersonic missile at a range of 1 km (which doesn't leave much time for reaction).
 
Last concept presented (no photo here) is a hollow aluminum round used to test the resistance to acceleration (30 000 g) of electronics.
 
https://www.forcesoperations.com/eurosatory-de-nouveaux-concepts-de-munitions-pour-le-rail-gun-de-lisl/
 

Yep you're right, miss-read that and didn't though about it. I was reading in French and writing in English so I mixed up the decimal separators (because the Anglo-Saxons had to be special again^^).
The article say 30 000 g.
 
 
Thank you.

That does not make any sense. 30 G is by 4 orders of magnitude less than how standard cannon munition accelerates. In simplified linear case a 1750 m/s muzzle speed from 120/L52 travels the barrel distance of 6,24 meters in 0,007 seconds which results into about 24500 G. 
 
For your information 100 G is a limit acceleration which is considered survivable for human brain in a crash scenario (head vs. windshield, head vs. solid floor etc.), i.e. roughly an acceleration of a thing falling from 2 meters on a solid ground.