Along with the CAESAR, the TB2 and the Javelin, the HIMARS mobile artillery system was one of the great operational revelations of the first year of the war in Ukraine. Armed with 6 M30 or M31 rockets with a range of 15 to 90 km, this system mounted on a 6×6 truck is both very mobile thanks to its 290 hp for a mass of only 16 tonnes, and very effective against the enemy's rear lines, thanks to its great precision and the destructive power of the warhead of the rockets. The HIMARS can also implement the Ground Launch Small Diameter Bomb ammunition,…
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Romania will spend 10 billion euros to modernize its armies
With a defense budget of €7,8 billion per year, or 2% of the country's GDP, Romania is one of NATO's good students, even if this effort is handicapped by a GDP of less than $300 billion and one of the lowest per capita GDPs in the European Union. The increase in the defense effort, which began in 2013 after Vladimir's return to the Kremlin and the significant hardening of the Russian posture in Eastern Europe, made it possible to increase the defense effort by 1,2% of GDP to 2% today, and to aim for 2,5% in the years to come,…
Read the articleThe hypothesis of the KF-51 Panther tanks built in Ukraine puzzles specialists
At the beginning of March, the fiery president of the German industrial giant Rheinmetall caused a surprise by announcing that negotiations were underway with Kyiv, with a view to building a factory in Ukraine capable of assembling 400 KF-51 Panther tanks per year, so as to give the Ukrainian armies not only a major technological and operational advantage against the Russian forces, but also to standardize and rationalize the armored fleet of the Ukrainian armed forces which, today, has little to envy to the course of Miracles so many references and micro-fleets are there. In addition, Kyiv would have the possibility of acquiring a fleet of…
Read the articleUS Air Force Begins Development of Space Component Long-Range Kill-Chain
The war in Ukraine has produced many new lessons, in particular on the potential duration of a very high intensity engagement, or on the role of artillery and heavy armor in the land maneuver. In other areas, it has above all confirmed developments anticipated by military planners, such as the vulnerability of combat helicopters and close air support aircraft to modern anti-aircraft defences, while the US Army has precisely launched the FLRAA and FARA programs of new generation helicopters and that the US Air Force has towed for almost a decade with Congress to withdraw from service its A-10 Thunderbolts...
Read the articleThe British Army Ajax armored vehicle emerges from the rut to enter service in 2025
Of all the European armies, the British Army is undoubtedly the one that has experienced the most drastic slimming since the end of the Cold War, going from 158.000 men and 900 Chieftain and Challenger tanks in 1989, to 79.000 men and 227 tanks Challenger 2 today, especially since unlike the Army or the Bundeswehr, it was already made up exclusively of professional soldiers, a centuries-old tradition in Great Britain. In addition to this size reduction, it was also exposed to intense operational pressure, in particular due to the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan alongside the United States, Great Britain having been,…
Read the articleAfter the A-10, the US Air Force wants to withdraw its F-15Cs from service by 2030
The preparation of the annual budget of the American armed forces is a very rich period of lessons, allowing in particular the 3 forces of the country, the executive on the one hand, the Congress on the other hand, but also the armed forces themselves, to publicly express their vision and expectations for the coming year and beyond, in terms of investments but also of format and strategy. If, during the 90s, 2000s and 2010s, everyone's considerations were above all technological or economic, since the beginning of the decade they have taken on a new, very applied character, while tensions with Russia, China and also Iran or Korea...
Read the articleBritish Army urgently orders 14 Archer self-propelled guns to replace AS90 sent to Ukraine
In November 2019, at the request of the British Ministry of Defence, the think tank Royal United Services Institute, made a vitriolic statement about the means available to the British Army, in particular in the field of artillery. Indeed, at that date, it only fielded 2 artillery regiments each equipped with 24 self-propelled guns of 155mm/39 caliber AS90 out of the 89 in the park, as well as 2 batteries of 6 light towed guns L118 of 105 mm assigned to the 16th Air Assault Brigade. As for the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery, it fielded 35 of the 44 unmodernized GMLRS multiple rocket launchers, which…
Read the articleFaced with the Chinese navy, the US Navy aims for the asymmetrical balance of power in the Pacific
A few days ago, the shipyards of Dalian, in the northeast of the country in Liaoning province, simultaneously launched 2 new Type 052D destroyers, the 27th and 28th units of this class designated within NATO under the code Luyang III, while 5 other hulls were observed at various levels of finish on this site. As with previous years, there is little doubt that 2023 will see the arrival of 7-9 new destroyers to the People's Liberation Army Navy. 157 meters long for a displacement of 7.500 tons, these ships…
Read the articleWith the CVX program, will South Korea build the ideal aircraft carrier for export?
At the beginning of the 2000s, the South Korean defense industry was still in its infancy, even if it had already designed certain armored vehicles such as the K1 heavy tank, the K200 armored combat vehicle or the Donghae light corvettes. Since then, relying on significant technology transfers in connection with its acquisition and local manufacturing programs, but also on the general immobility of Western armament manufacturers between the end of the Cold War and the middle of the 2010s, Seoul rose to the podium of designers and producers of advanced military equipment, such as in the field of land combat with a family of heavy armored vehicles…
Read the articleLithuania wants to acquire 50 battle tanks to arm its new mechanized division
Like the two other Baltic states, Lithuania, which joined NATO in March 2004 and the European Union 2 months later, devotes a relatively large part of its wealth to its armies, with a defense effort reaching 2,53% of GDP in 2023, while the country shares a border of 227 km with Russia (Enclave of Kaliningrad) and 567 km with its Belarusian ally. Its armed forces today consist of 23.000 active professional soldiers, mostly in the land forces, and 28.000 reservists forming, in particular, one of the 3 brigades of the country, the light brigade of Aukštaitija formed…
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