Clan_Ghost_Bear

ROKMC K1E1s and KAAV-7A1s during the recent joint KMEP 23 exercise.
 

 

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.
 
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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.

Photo dump
 
Photos of the Strv Ny contenders + Leopard 2 TVM Max that participated in the competition.

 
Strv 2000 mockup + photos of the dummy 140mm round proposed for the Strv 2000

 
Strv 105

 
Initial deliveries of Leopard 2A4s, Strv 121s, to the P4 Garrison. They still retain their German Army camouflage and markings in most of the pictures.

 

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

USAR is gauging having 230 M1299 self-propelled howitzers with a possible first unit equipped in FY2026.
 

http://news.tvchosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2022/12/14/2022121490191.html
The Canadian army has shown interest in the K9, supposedly 16-18 units.

http://news.tvchosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2022/12/14/2022121490191.html
The Canadian army has shown interest in the K9, supposedly 16-18 units.

An updated design of the Hyundai Rotem Next Generation Main battle Tank was showcased recently at the autumn conference of the Korean Institute of Military Science and Technology. Don't have much other in the way of info.
 

 

A little summary of what went down.
Both systems met the basic requirements of protection and performance required of the program. We don't know the specific scores of both systems so it's unknown which categories each system won. The Patria AMV was a much better value than the MAV which was one of the main reasons why it was picked. As for performance, the AMV's mine protection is one of the biggest factors as well. The MAV and Type 16 both have V hull add on plates, but are not purpose built so the AMV is much better in that category. Now to the specifics. On top of the AMV being a better value, another suspected reason why it was picked was to have other companies producing vehicles. MHI is already committed to producing the Hawkei under license, the Type 89 replacement and possibly the CTWV program. Alongside that, the JSDF has been rapidly arming in the last few years and the AMV would be much quicker to production which seems to be the trend the MoD wants. The AMV contract will likely be given to another company to relieve MHI production lines and maintain other companies production lines. While not specifically a requirement, the amphibious capability of the AMV is also another thing that was alluring for the AMV. While the MAV would've been really convenient for a vehicle family, it's not all bad news for the AMV. The AMV replaces the Type 96 and the Type 82 CCV 6x6, so it reduces those systems into a single 8x8 platform which is still an improvement.
 
Contrary to what I've been seeing posted a lot, the AMV is not part of the CTWV program which is the armed ICV, RCV, and mortar system posted above. The AMV is just a new WAPC for the entirety of the JGSDF which means that Type 16 commonality isn't as important. The CTWV is only for the RDR and Recon units already using Type 16s which makes the family more valuable. So far there is no plans for any competition for that program as the platform commonality is seemingly so important there that competition wont be considered. However there was a request for companies to sign up for unmanned turret research.
There is no guarantee that this is specifically for the AMV, but there is a distinct possibility. A competition could potentially happen for the CTWV, but it's unlikely. I more see it that the JGSDF wants to have organic IFV capability inside of normal units operating the AMV and will act as an army wide IFV rather than the recon/RDR specific CTWV.
 
The AMV is a good platform, but hopefully Japan gets favorable production rights such as modification and exporting. I know with some past AMV sales, the modifications countries would make would be considered Patria intellectual property. I trust that Japan made the right choice on this one.

Patria AMV XP wins competition:

https://www.patriagroup.com/newsroom/news/2022/patria-amvxp-8x8-vehicle-selected-by-japan-as-a-new-wheeled-armored-personnel-carrier-wapc-for-japan-ground-self-defense-force

"Seems that AMV scored higher in terms of basic performance and cost."
 
 

Arguably, the most interesting part is the financing. Check it out. 
 

Poland really is buying a lot of new tanks.
 
 

Combined arms exercise in the Alps :
 

As part of the major defense reforms going into effect next year it seems like the LDP wants to reduce the barrier to entry for defense contractors. The government plans on building factories for the production of defense equipment that they will own. The factories will then be staffed by private contractors to build the equipment to try and reduce the production costs. This will also reduce hesitancy of companies to enter defense contracting as they won't have to build their own production facilities or modify existing production lines for the civilian sector.
https://www.bloomberg.co.jp/news/articles/2022-12-02/RM77IAT0G1KW01

A rare picture: an overhead shot of the M1 Thumper, used to test the XM291 ATAC gun (sometimes referred to as LW120) in conjunction with the XM91 cassette autoloader.
 

 
The Thumper, which was built out of a M1A1 at Anniston Depot, used a 120mm XM291 in three different barrel lengths, one 265in/6.75m long (the standard, "long tube" XM291), a second one cut the same length as the M256 ("short tube", 5.3m) and a third, intermediary one ("medium tube") that stands somewhere between 6.75m and 5.3m.

On-the-move test fires done at speeds of 10, 15 and 20mph showed that the target impact dispersion (TID) was bigger (read: lower accuracy) with the "long tube" XM291 compared to the "short tube" or EVEN the M256, which was problematic. To support the increased barrel length, Benét Labs also had to create a 415lbs and 22in-long extension for the gun cradle...which was later reused in the proposed installation of a XM360E1 inside the notional M1A3...and, quite likely, inside the M1 AbramsX demonstrator showcased at AUSA 2022.
 
 
 
The 1988 M1 Thumper was only fitted with the 120mm ATAC gun, but the XM291 installed on the 1993 M1 CATTB, on the other hand, went on to trial a 120mm and a 140mm barrel. At one point, the ATAC prototype pool was noted to have successfully fired 1,300 rounds, 150 of which were of the 140mm variety. The latter (at least the KE part) was even judged capable of defeating the armor of what was tentatively described as the FST-3 (Future Soviet Tank 3, essentially a Obj.477/477A); there are no known numbers for the 140mm XM964's performance, but the 140mm ATAC itself was expected to produce a great maximum of 25MJ of muzzle energy. The ammunition for the ATAC was developed by Valentec International and Hercules.
 
 
 
While the Thumper was originally meant to trial the 120mm ATAC, some of the official literature indicates it may have also undergone the 120-to-140mm tube conversion and done static test firings at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where it showed precision equal to a M1A1 but "with greater penetration".
 

>> Source document for the two above scans <<
 
Also, a common mistake (one I've also been guilty of, mea culpa) I often see around in forums and milblogs is that the Thumper is a derivative of the CATTB, which is false, as the Thumper (AKA the ATAC Demonstration System) predates the CATTB Phase I by at least five years.
 
M1 CATTB Phase I (using a M1 hull as basis), in 93/94, about to be shipped to Aberdeen Proving Grounds for testing:
 

 
Picture of the CATTB Phase II (ATTD?) hull under construction, completed in 1994. Note the closed back with no exhaust grille, the absence of apertures for torsion bars (replaced by a hydro-pneumatic suspension system) and the smaller engine compartment designed to receive a Cummins XAV-1000 AIPS instead of a Honeywell AGT-1500. The freed-up volume between the XAV and the turret basket was reclaimed to accept two vertically-stacked non-ready cassettes housing a total of 22 rounds (either single-piece 120mm or two-piece 140mm), which would have given the CATTB Phase II a maximum loadout of 39 rounds (either 120mm or 140mm), just five less than a M1A2. The huge tradeoff, of course, was that all this made the CATTB massively overweight.
 

 
Apparently, at least one of the two CATTB testbeds is currently sitting at the Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, California, but one has to wonder if it's not a case of mistaken identity; the Thumper was, after all, spotted in 2010/09/30, in Ohio, as it was being relocated by train to parts unknown. Here's to hoping any of these big bois shall make their way to a museum one day, as did the TTB, the Crusader and many others before them.
 
XM291 ATAC with its 17-round Benét Labs XM91 bustle autoloader:
 

CATTB turret

Interview with the AMPV product manager & walkaround. 
 
 

Ah this clarifies that the cage you sometimes see is in fact a wire guard.
 

 

From BAE's website.

A longer and more complete video of the K9A1 and K10 demonstration that was held at Yuma Proving Ground.
 
 

M1A2s and an M1A1 of the 1st Battalion, 7th Calvary Regiment during the recent Project Convergence 22. According to DVIDS photos at least one M1A1 was equipped with an ATLAS System as shown in these photos.