Otokar moves to buy Romanian military-vehicles partner Automecanica
The takeover is meant to facilitate the Turkish manufacturer's work on a $1 billion contract to make Cobra II vehicles for Romania's armed forces.
Europe
Italy gets first Lynx fighting vehicles, due to reshape the army
“This is a strategic signal,” said Björn Bernhard, Rheinmetall’s European vehicles head.
New Trophy deal expands defensive suite’s Leopard 2 A8 tank user base
The active protection system by Israel's Rafael will go on tanks in Lithuania, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Croatia under a $351 million deal.
Army’s next-gen tank has ‘Formula 1’ cockpit, top general says
The M1E3's “Formula One cockpit” contains a driver interface that “looks like an X-Box controller,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
Latvia eyes indirect-fires boost with new Archer howitzer acquisition
Latvia and Sweden plan to create a joint Archer unit around which to structure howitzer training and exercises.
Rheinmetall’s Lynx fighting vehicles could soon see combat in Ukraine
The decision to procure the Lynx followed extensive testing by Ukrainian forces, according to the German arms giant.
US Army launches artillery battalion focused on Europe deterrence
The U.S. Army this fall activated an artillery battalion in New York that is intended to give commanders in Europe new options for long-range strikes.
Croatia buys German Leopard tanks using EU loans
Deliveries of the tanks to the Croatian land forces are to take place between 2028 and 2030.
The British Army’s faulty Ajax vehicles come back to rattle Parliament
The armored vehicles had been declared fully functioning after nine years of delays to the $8 billion program and repeated problems with vibrations.
Tanks, howitzers galore: Australian Army embraces influx of new armor
Australia has never operated a self-propelled howitzer before, and the weapon extends the range of the army’s tube artillery to around 25 miles.
Slovenia stalls Patria vehicle purchase amid political wrangling
The government in Ljubljana is playing for time on buying armored vehicles in an effort to avoid rankling some supporters ahead of an election.
US Marine Corps stands up 3 new combat logistics companies in Japan
The activation comes as part of the Corps' Force Design 2030 recalibration toward agile logistics in the contested island chains of the Pacific.
US Army wants to manufacture 30,000 155mm cluster shells per year
The XM1208 cluster shell, which carries nine M99 Advanced Submunitions, is designed to be fired from both the M109A6/7 Paladin and M777A2 howitzers.
KNDS unveils the Leopard 2A8, first new battle tank build since 1992
Order books for the new variant are filling up, with Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Norway all planning to use the latest Leopard.
Elbit to upgrade Israeli main battle tanks as firm’s land sector grows
The tank contract announcement comes amid a mysterious sale to the tune of $2.3 billion, which the company reported on Nov. 17.
Military experts warn security hole in most AI chatbots can sow chaos
Current and former military officers are warning that countries are likely to exploit a security hole in artificial intelligence chatbots.
Remembering the battles of Najaf and Fallujah in ‘The Last 600 Meters’
Airing on PBS, a new documentary tells the stories of Marines and soldiers in combat during 2004 operations to clear two Iraqi cities of insurgents.
