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China upgrading tanks for export to Africa By Andrei Chang Hong Kong, China — China has recently exported T85IIM main battle tanks to Uganda, according to a military industry source. But the tanks may be more for display than for defense. “This is a very small batch, intended for a military parade only,” the source said. This would be the first instance for the Ugandan army to employ China-made tanks. The same type of main battle tank made an appearance at Sudan’s National Day military parade last year. Yet according to the source, the tanks were exported from China much...

Iraq's arms purchases provides insight on the potential distribution of armor in the Iraqi Army.

The U.S. Department of Defense approved up to $10.7 billion in arms sales for Iraq over the past week, including a $2.16 billion sale of M1A1 Abrams tanks built by General Dynamics Corp. The proposed tank sale would also include some equipment built by Honeywell International Inc and General Motors Corp, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said in a notice to Congress dated July 31 but posted on its website on Friday. Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sales from the day they are notified, but such action is rare since big weapons...

Russia to develop new generation of tanks by 2020 Russia’s armored troops will consist of T90 tanks and tanks of the new type by 2020. The Director of the Federal Service of the Russian Defense Order, Sergei Mayev, did not disclose the name of the new armored machines, but unveiled some of their constructive differences. “The new tank will have better fire and range capabilities and a higher weapon yield. In addition, it will be outfitted with 7-kilometer range missiles,” the official said. An average Russian tank develops the speed of 30-50 km/h, whereas the tank of the new generation...

Indian Army sounds indigenous battle tank's death knell The Indian Army seems to have sounded the death knell for an indigenous main battle tank (MBT) that has been in the development for nearly 36 years, saying it would purchase no more than the 124 it had signed a contract for. "The Arjun (as the MBT has been named) can, at best serve us for another five or maximum 10 years. What we need is a tank that can serve us for the next 20 to 25 years," an officer said. "I'm not saying it is a bad tank. It's just...

Israel recently rejected a request by the US security coordinator to the region to allow Palestinian security forces to receive personal armor kits, night-vision goggles and electronic communication systems that the PA planned to use to set up a military communications network, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The request was made to the Defense Ministry by Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, the American security coordinator to the Palestinians and Israel. Senior defense officials said Wednesday that Dayton made the request on behalf of the Palestinian Authority several weeks ago and that it was immediately rejected, since some of the items had the...

The U.S. military is reinforcing the sides of its topline mine-resistant vehicles to shore up what could be weak points as troops see a spike in armor-piercing roadside bombings across Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.

Nazi tanks, half-buried for decades along Bulgaria's south-eastern border as a Cold War defence against a NATO invasion, will be auctioned next week, military officials said on Thursday. The 97 rusty World War Two relics, which have lain forgotten since communism collapsed in 1989, came into the spotlight in December when police arrested thieves who stole a rare model and reportedly smuggling it into Germany. The theft prompted a recovery operation to save the remaining machines, some of which will go to the national military history museum, while others will be sold at auction. The first auction is due on...

Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS). In addition to battling insurgents in the cities of Iraq, the soldiers assigned to the armored support vehicle have had to fend off attacks from critics back home, including some in the military itself. The 2008 Pentagon Authorization bill included language to limit funds for MGS until the Army drafts a report detailing fixes to the vehicle. In an annual report that the Army disputed, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation described the MGS as “not operationally effective.” Media reports quoting crews unhappy with some design elements also surfaced this year, further diminishing...

I would of gotten to this earlier but IÂ’m on day one of a three day training cycle, better late then never I suppose. Obama has been making a few mistakes recently, enough to make you think the Messiah is indeed beatable seeing as how he hasnÂ’t even had to face a Republican yet in this race.First mistake, bring up faith as a reason to justify something which is obviously against ones faith: Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a crowd at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, Sunday that he believes the Sermon on the Mount justifies his support for legal...

Pfc. Andrew Gordon, from Westerly, R.I., Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, hands a soccer ball to a young boy during a visit to the Al Ashbal primary school in Khadra, Jan. 9. Photo by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU -- It’s a cold winter day at Al Ashbal primary school in the Khadra District of Baghdad. The broken windows and lack of electricity mean coats have to be worn inside the classrooms. Despite the cold, warm smiles appear as students see U.S. Soldiers...

Defense Focus: India buys T-90s -- Part 1 Published: Jan. 15, 2008 at 5:36 PM WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- India's decision last month to purchase a huge new order of 347 Russian T-90 Main Battle Tanks has many profound lessons to teach arms industry analysts and military strategists in the United States and around the world. The decision was neither unexpected nor unprecedented. Nearly seven years ago, in 2001, India purchased 310 T-90 MBTs from Russia. And that points to the first lesson: The T-90 is a very good tank. It has its problems, as Russian analysts acknowledge, but...

Zetix is a fabric so strong it will resist multiple car bomb blasts without breaking. It absorbs and disperses the energy from explosions thanks to an inner structure so adamantiumtastic it can be used in body armor, window covering, military tents and hurricane defenses—it might even be able to fend off my ex-wife. When not shielding from explosions, it can be used as medical sutures that won't damage body tissue. All of this is thanks to a property that apparently defies the laws of physics: Zetix is built around the principle of auxetics: objects that actually get fatter the more...

A Bartlesville High School junior is reaping rewards for improving the body armor of United States troops. Melissa Carvell was awarded an $8,000 scholarship from the U.S. Navy and $1,500 from the U.S. Air Force for her efforts in reinforcing ceramic plates in body armor with carbon fibers. She was recognized during a State Board of Education meeting November 29, receiving a certificate from State Superintendent Sandy Garrett in Oklahoma City. The body armor currently used by U.S. forces is basically comprised of ceramic plates placed inside of Kevlar sleeves. Through her research, Melissa Carvell determined the strength of the...

Indian Army seeks next generation battle tank New Delhi, Nov 13 - The Indian Army has sought a new generation main battle tank (MBT) even as it reluctantly prepares to receive the homegrown Arjun tank that has been over three decades in the making. 'What we have today is mid-level technology. What we need is a tank of international quality,' Indian Army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor said Tuesday. 'I have no doubt that the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) will be able to develop indigenous capabilities for coming up with a better answer and more versatile armoured fighting vehicle...

'200 suicide bombers await the Merkava' By JPOST.COM STAFF 200 female suicide bombers are awaiting the Merkava tanks, Hamas senior Dr. Nizar Rian told the Kuweiti Al Jareeda Friday. Hamas says Israel will pay a heavy price Rian also said his organization had more than 50,000 armed fighters, who were endowed with "courage and are able to fight in the relevant territory." Reportedly, Rian was appointed commander of Hamas's military units whose mission is to beat back an expected Israeli ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. "They sleep and walk about armed with explosives, ready to attack Israeli tanks and...

Diggers fired up as new tanks roll Andrew McGarry | September 12, 2007 THERE was no red carpet, just a thick layer of dust coating the gibber plain at Cultana Training Area yesterday. But there was a big, excited crowd of soldiers in the hills outside Port Augusta to look on and take a few pictures of an action premiere: the first big hit-out for the Abrams tanks that have recently arrived to bolster Australia's military armoury. For the next few weeks, the crews of 30 Abrams will be part of a huge influx of personnel at Cultana, on the...

Army News video: Leopard 2A6M: World Class ProtectionMUNSTER, Germany - WO John Harju explains features of new Leopard 2A6M tank for Afghanistan

August 10, 2007: Crews of the latest model (M1A2) Abrams tank can't help but notice that, while their workspace is well protected, air conditioned and a smooth ride, it also resembles the inside of a space ship. The current generation of recruits grew up with video games and spectacular science fiction films. The number of gadgets inside a tank has just kept increasing over the last decade. And all the new computers, and their software, have been redesigned to make them faster and easier to use. That's handy when you are under a lot of stress, or tired from being...

Soldiers Defend Body Armor FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Soldiers are volunteering dramatic personal accounts of lives saved and injuries avoided thanks to the Army's body armor. Their first-hand accounts of what happens demonstrate confidence in what the Army is doing to protect them. Interceptor Body Armor is a modular system that features an outer tactical vest with hard protective plates. Spc. Gregory T. Miller, 101st Airborne Division, told Congress at a hearing last month that this body armor saved his life while he was on patrol in Kirkuk in preparation for Iraqi elections in December 2005. He was hit in...

MUNSTER, Germany – "I think this is the best tank in the world," states Master Corporal Patrick Lepage, of 12e Régiment blindé du Canada (12 RBC). He shares his sentiments on the Leopard 2A6M tank that Canada has leased from Germany echoing the thoughts of all the troops at the training centre in Munster Germany. Capt Pascal Croteau (on right) and WO Yves Curadeau both from 12 RBC measure the distance between the 120mm holes to ensure that the tank that fired the rounds is functioning correctly. MCpl Lepage is the crew commander of 32C; his crew is comprised of...

'EFPs' a big threat to U.S. forces in Iraq Copper-plated explosives that pierce armored vehicles are proving so deadly that the military is advocating foot patrols instead.

Overall, the article "U.S. Strykers take beating in Iraq" by Robert H. Reid and Anne Flaherty (World, June 6) presents a fairly balanced view of what some critics view as shortcomings of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the Stryker family of combat vehicles. However, as I read through the article, several thoughts occurred to me. First, the Army did more than hope to create a faster, more agile armored unit than those equipped with tanks but with more firepower and protection than light-infantry units -- it did exactly that. The Army's Stryker Brigades are the fastest, most agile, most...

In terms of news stories, why do we continue to share what perhaps should not be shared with the entire world (which also means the enemy)? Case in point, yesterday's piece on MRAPs, Controversy over military vehicles for Iraq heats up, by Renee Schoof with McClatchy Newspapers. (MRAP, as I recently explained in a piece for The Washington Times, is “a U.S. Defense Department acronym for the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle design that soldiers want and contractors are bidding on to build in great numbers.” It is not, as Senator Joe Biden described it, a Humvee “with a V-shaped thing.” But...

The Marine Corps wants its Marines and sailors to know that the body armor it issues is the best available for combat despite recent inquiries concerning replacement gear. The armor the Marine Corps issues has met government test standards, and in many cases, the standards exceed civilian testing, said Maj. Bradford W. Tippett, infantry advocate for Headquarters Marine Corps in a recent interview with reporter Lance Cpl. David Rodgers.

The Army plans to brief Congress about test failures of Dragon Skin body armor after recent news reports touting the vest's capabilities prompted calls from lawmakers for an official explanation. The service's top soldier equipment buyer, Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, said he plans to meet with lawmakers and staff this week after NBC News broadcast an investigative report Sunday claiming Dragon Skin - which uses a series of interlocking ceramic disks to stop armor-piercing bullets - outperformed armor currently issued by the Army. "Since the report, we have gotten a flurry of interest" from Capitol Hill, Brown said at a...

Sword, armor found buried inside remains of James Fort Archaeologists Mary Anna Richardson, left, and Luke Pecoraro carefully begin excavating a potential cache of arms and armor that so far includes a broad sword with a basket hilt and blade, armor that protects the thigh and a rapier hilt, discovered recently at Historic Jamestowne. PHOTO BY MICHAEL LAVIN / APVA PRESERVATION VIRGINIA By DIANE TENNANT, The Virginian-Pilot © May 9, 2007 | Last updated 1:49 PM May. 9 JAMESTOWN – A cache of armor from the early 1600s has been discovered by archaeologists excavating a trash pit inside the remains...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

On April 28, 1918, the 1st Light Tank Battalion was organized at Bourg, France, with Lieutenant Colonel George S. Patton, Jr., in command. Patton had been the first soldier assigned to the fledgling Tank Corps in November 1917. Shortly afterwards, he established the first Army Tank School at Bourg. The first two companies (200 men) reached the school on February 22, 1918. Because no American-made tanks had reached France, Patton had to rely on twenty-five borrowed French Renault tanks in training his men. Two of Patton's staff officers received orders to create a new patch for his men to wear...

An Iraqi Army officer (left) with the 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) shows tankers from Troop D, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, which is attached to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, the insides of an Iraqi T-72 tank April 2 at Camp Taji, Iraq during a partnership day event. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. CAMP TAJI — Iraqi Army tankers took the lead on their first real mission by conducting a mounted patrol in their T-55 tanks on a major highway near Kem, Iraq Thursday.IA Soldiers from the1st...

U.S. military develops Robocop armour for soldiers By MATTHEW HICKLEY, Defence Correspondent 22:21pm on 9th April 2007 We may have seen it all before in science-fiction films. But the bionic warrior is in fact a vision of real-life warfare in the 21st century. U.S. defence chiefs hope to have their troops kitted out in the outlandish combat gear as soon as 2020. Included in the Pentagon's Future Warrior Concept are a powerful exoskeleton, a self-camouflaging outer layer that adapts to changing environments and a helmet which translates a soldier's voice into any foreign language. Armour-clad and armed to the teeth,...

An Israeli company has recently tested one of the most shock-resistant materials known to man. Five times stronger than steel and at least twice as strong as any impact-resistant material currently in use as protective gear, the new nano-based material is on its way to becoming the armor of the future. A year ago IsraCast reported on the development of the first commercial nano-based lubricant which was developed by the Israeli company ApNano materials. A year later we find ApNano working also on a wholly different application of their technology - shielding and protection. In recent research lead by Prof....

Click the following link and again click the video screen to start the video. It is 4 min. 26 sec. long Click Here for Video

A bit of an old story is coming to the surface as Panasonic is waving around pictures of a CF-M34 ToughBook which a soldier in the US 82nd Airborne division took with him into Northern Iraq, only to have some inconsiderate... person... put a bullet into it. The good news? The bullet went through the screen and part of the keyboard, but didn't come out the other end to do any harm to any piece of US military property on the far side. Impressive, no? Well, probably. Pretty much anything dense enough can stop a bullet, if you're lucky...

The grizzly man is back, and this time he's ready to take on bullets and bombs. Troy Hurtubise, the Hamilton-born inventor who became famous for his bulky bear-protection suit by standing in front of a moving vehicle to prove it worked, has now created a much slimmer suit that he hopes will soon be protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He has spent two years and $15,000 in the lab out back of his house in North Bay, designing and building a practical, lightweight and affordable shell to stave off bullets, explosives, knives and clubs. He...

ANNISTON, Ala. -- Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the 15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot -- the idle, hulking formations symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt. The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert sand and used up...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2006) -- "Adrenaline rush" doesn't describe what it's like to stand next to a tank as it fires. It's as if Thor, Norse god of thunder, got his Viking shorts in a bunch because someone makes a noise louder than him, so he grabs hold of the adrenal glands and squeezes for all he's worth. The ear-cracking, rib-crunching, earth-shaking "boom" of the M-1A1 Main Battle Tank's 120 mm main-gun round firing is nothing short of unnatural. It's the sound of a thousand trees snapping in half all at once, the smack of a semi truck...

The Russian T-72 tank is the most widely used tank ever. Over 50,000 have been built. More than any model in World War II. Ironically, the T-72 was a stopgap design, intended to provide a replacement for the more advanced T-64, which was not successful. Production began in 1972, and the T-72 entered service in 1976. Compared to the earlier T-62 and T-64, the T-72 was successful. It was reliable, or so it was thought. But in 1982, Syrian T-72s went up against Israeli Merkavas. The Syrians lost badly. In 1991, Iraqi T-72s were helpless against American M-1 tanks, and...

Merkava tank production to stop within four years. Leaders of the project decided that the benefits do not justify the cost of the product. Amnon Barzilai 28 Sep 06 16:21 The IDF has decided that the Merkava tank production line will be shut down within four years. "Globes" reports that the decision to stop production of the tank, one of the most expensive projects in the history of Israel's military industries and the pride of the army, was made shortly before the outbreak of the war in Lebanon. Leaders of the project decided that the benefits do not justify the...

The Australian Army has begun taking delivery of new tanks which, unlike their predecessors, are likely to see battlefield action, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has warned. The first 18 of 59 Abrams battle tanks - bought from the United States at a cost of $528 million - were unloaded at Port Melbourne on Friday. Each weighs in at 63 tonnes and at full-throttle can hit almost 70 kph. Chief of Army Lieutenant General Peter Leahy told a delivery ceremony in a container terminal that the Abrams were much superior to the army's 30-year-old Leopard tanks, which are being retired without...

BERLIN The German military has requested armored fighting vehicles to better protect its troops in Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said Monday. Commanders have asked for "a handful" of Marder infantry fighting vehicles for German troops in Afghanistan, ministry spokesman Joachim Schmidt said. While the government must still approve the deployment, "it makes military sense" to send the vehicles, which German troops already use on their peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, Schmidt said. Most of the 2,700 German soldiers serving in the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan are in the relatively stable north of the country. German officials say attacks on its...

Soldier Hit by Anti-Tank Mine Praises Up-Armor Up-armored humvee saves the lives of soldiers hit by anti-tank mine. U.S. Army Pfc. Durwood Blackmon 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs TIKRIT, IRAQ, Sept. 18, 2006 -- U.S. soldiers are issued cumbersome protective gear that they have to lug, carry and drag everywhere they go. With heavy steel doors and blast shields, vehicles in the Army are no exception either. For one soldier of the 25th Infantry Division, Combat Aviation Brigade, however, both of these security defenses helped to save his life and the life of his fellow comrades when their...

Today we are fascinated with asymmetric warfare, net-centric warfare and precision warfare and we are convinced that heavy forces and the tank (yet again) are passe. Asymmetry works both ways. There is nothing quite as asymmetric as a tank driving over an infantryman.

One of the major military surprises of the fighting in Lebanon has been the apparent vulnerability of Israeli armour to Hezbollah anti-tank rockets. --- The AT-13 Metis or Saxhorn is a modern tube-launched successor to the Sagger. Its tandem-shaped warhead can punch through armour of up to 46cm (18 inches) thick. The tandem warhead is designed to counter reactive armour as used on many Israeli vehicles. Reactive armour is essentially made up of explosive pads or bricks on the outside of the tank which explode outwards when hit by an incoming missile. This disrupts the effect of the missile warhead,...

(IsraelNN.com) IDF officials admit that the biggest surprise of the ongoing war against Hizbullah is the ease by which terrorists have destroyed IDF tanks. At least 30 tanks have been totally destroyed or seriously damaged in bomb and anti-tank rocket attacks involving state-of-the-art Russian anti-tank rockets. About one-half of the military personnel killed in southern Lebanon were inside tanks.

See for example this thread first. From the Aberdeen Proving Ground The best armor that can be found It's sort of a gel which when hit by a shell stiffens up, and defeats the round!

It flows like a liquid, but push it with enough force and it will stop you right in your tracks. Research at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen is at the heart of a new technology that could mean lightweight, flexible armor for U.S. soldiers. The armor would move more like normal clothing while protecting more of the body, including the joints often left vulnerable by traditional body armor, said Eric Wetzel, a researcher in the Army laboratory's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate. The liquid armor is actually traditional body armor soaked in a substance known as shear thickening...

HABBANIYAH, Iraq (June 12, 2006) -- The enemy snipers hit their targets- but it yielded them no results. In less than a week’s time, Sgt. Joshua S. Adams and Pfc. Jason Hanson, of D Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion were hit by sniper shots. But the enemy had little effect because both were left with only minor injuries thanks to their small-arms protective inserts, or SAPI, plates. While working in support of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, to complete counterinsurgency and humanitarian operations in the town of Habbaniyah, Hanson was the lead man on a patrol looking for roadside...

FORT BLISS, Texas (Army News Service, May 15, 2006) – It’s safer than rolling across the battlefield in a steel tank and allows Soldiers to fire a remote weapon system from inside the tank without the gunner hatch open. Members of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment recently became the first U.S.-based unit to have the Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station, and the only unit in the world to have it mounted on Abrams tanks. “The CROWS mount on the tank gives an urban advantage so the tank commander doesn’t have to stick out of the hatch,” said 2nd...