2805662

Link to some reference pictures of the Warrior Capability Sustainment Program:
 
https://www.scorpion-miniature-models.co.uk/warrior-2

Link to some reference pictures of the Warrior Capability Sustainment Program:
 
https://www.scorpion-miniature-models.co.uk/warrior-2

RMA roadshow marking the end of Phase 1 continues. 
 
Good that the tradition of bringing along the vehicle being replaced by one of the contenders continues into the phase of L400. 
 

Maybe IR mode.

I occasionally play this mental game where I imagine describing, let's call it the Schwer-mittel panzerkampfwagen 44 "Cougar", to the typical wehraboo.
 
"It had a low profile, only 10cm taller than the PzIV. But the vehicle is much more heavily armed and armoured (equivalent or better to a Tiger frontally, only a little thinner on the side)."
"Fantastic. Really good, compact design. The Germans were known to be good at efficient layouts."
 
"The drivetrain was extremely compact and reliable, with a better power-to-weight ratio than PzIV, as well as a slick automatic gearbox that reduced workload on the driver and improved offroad mobility."
"Wonderful, truly a vehicle for mobile warfare. Didn't Guderian say, after all, that the principle weapon of the tank was its engine and radio?"
 
"The vehicle had lots of vision devices, a large, roomy interior and nice-to-haves like panoramic gunner's sights and an azimuth indicator in the commander's cupola."
"Brilliant. We know that the crew which sees the target and fires first usually wins. This all adds up to an improvement in firepower!"
 
"Over 2000 were produced in less than a year, making it a relatively common sight on the battlefield when compared to older heavies such as Tiger."
"That's great! Wars are won by industrial production as much as by feats of arms - look at the miracles that Speer accomplished."
 
"It had lots of upgrade potential. Prototypes were produced with guns and armour equivalent to Tiger II, but without completely sacrificing either mobility or reliability."
"This is what made the Germans so formidable during the second world war - their ingenuity and ability to improve on existing designs. If only it had been fielded for longer, it would have had the potential to turn the tide of the war."
 
"It was made by Americans."
"Oh, it's absolute shit then."

Video of the AS21 Redback with the Elbit Systems MT30 turret test firing the Spike LR2
 
 

Leopard 2A7A1 with Trophy. Not sure of the veracity of this pic. 

Leopard 2A7A1 with Trophy. Not sure of the veracity of this pic. 

Leopard 2A7A1 with Trophy. Not sure of the veracity of this pic. 

Left side for the coax for Lynx. 

Left side for the coax for Lynx. 

Two full page spread advertisements of the AS21 from DTR Magazine (https://defencetechnologyreview.partica.online/defence-technology-review/dtr-feb-2021/flipbook/24/).  
 

 

Iron Fist seems pretty integrated in that picture...

AFAIK according to the original schedule (before covid-related delay) by this time the Lynx shall have been under state trials here in CZ in its final configuration, i.e. including the Iron Fist. For sure the Australian version is different but the Iron Fists shall be present in both and by now already integrated at least in one. 

In the past days, there have been a lot of discussions and news regarding the integration of the Trophy active protection system into the Leopard 2 tank. The short version:
The purchase and integration of Trophy has been approved by the German parliament (as the contract has a volume above €25 million, approval was required). The price of the systems (including spares, training equipment, dummy rounds, etc.) is supposedly €40 million, total cost (including integration into the tanks) is more than €100 million. Trophy is purchased for 18 tanks (one testbed and 17 tanks). Rumors say that the system weighs more than 3,5 tonnes, which seems quite plausible given the weight increase of the M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams when fitted with Trophy. Trophy has passed a number of German tests including performance in cold environments, resistance to shock and vibrations, and safety tests. Firing trials are still to be made. Also it has been stated, that Germany has no access to the source code and algorithms used by Trophy, which is deemed as bad. German companies are required to disclose the source code of their systems (not only APS, but in general) and to meet certain ISO norms (with certification). Trophy is purchased as a "black box". Trophy will not be integrated into the Leopard 2A7(V) tank, but instead into the Leopard 2A7A1 tank. These are based on the Leopard 2A6A3 turret with newly-made hulls, as the old Leopard 2A6 hulls are unfit for Trophy (e.g. they lack an APU and thus have very limited electrical energy, but it seems that there might be other modifications required). There seem to be two options here: either the Leopard 2A6A3 was chosen in order to free the Leopard 2A7V tanks for the VJTF 2023 or Trophy requires so many/deep changes, that the Leopard 2A7V hull would not be suited for Trophy (which would mean no future purchases of Trophy for Germany). One side effect is that Germany will have 17 more Leopard 2A7 tanks. No Leopard 2 tank with Trophy will be ready for the VJTF 2023, i.e. the only reason why Trophy was purchased at all. Delays in the program will result in a delivery between 2024 and 2025. Instead of 17 Leopard 2 tanks with Trophy, Germany will send 30 Leopard 2A7V tanks for its participation to the VJTF 2023. There are apparently voices in Germany arguing (following the issues with Trophy) that the government should declare (active) protection systems a "national key technology", which would lead to more money being invested into homegrown systems and national solutions being prefered to foreign offers. https://soldat-und-technik.de/2021/01/mobilitaet/25410/entscheidung-fuer-trophy-bleiben-abstandsaktive-schutzsysteme-nationale-schluesseltechnologie/
https://soldat-und-technik.de/2021/01/mobilitaet/25620/abstandsaktives-schutzsystem-trophy-fuer-leopard-2-erst-ab-2024/
 
 
It seems that Trophy really isn't suited for fast integration into further platforms.

More on the RNLA/Dutch CV9035NL MLU:
 
 

More on the RNLA/Dutch CV9035NL MLU:
 
 

More on the RNLA/Dutch CV9035NL MLU:
 
 

Never (personally) had an issue with tracks tearing up roads. T130, Diehl 513, T150F: never damaged the roads I operated on, in Australia & overseas. Re. Dirt tracks, we’d normally parallel them if we thought we’d damage them by repeated traffic. 
 
We’d also road run Leopard AS1 (similar MLC as AS21/KF41) with no issues regarding damage. Can’t imagine composite rubber track would be any more aggressive than conventional track using rubber pads. 

RWS
 
EOS is claiming roughly 12,500m. 5,500m and 4,500m for both thermal and day vision for dectection, recognition and identification (respectively).

Video of the AS21 Launch Ceremony.
 
 

Yeah, tracking. The original ASLAV stuff used actual rebar. Inefficient weight-wise. It was also very vulnerable to damage due to it being overly rigid. Simply showing an alternative that’s current generation. 
 
Also, to quote the press release: “The vehicle boasts an advanced layered protection system including Elbit’s active protection system, Plasan’s world class armour and a structure designed to protect occupants from the effects of blast.”

More detail pics of the Redback. 
 

 
With Spike LR2.
 

 
Can’t link the tweet. 

More detail pics of the Redback. 
 

 
With Spike LR2.
 

 
Can’t link the tweet.