European Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

FORBIN said:

Italians FREMM 7 and 8, Lucky Italian Navy get the 10 planned.
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Boxer armored vehicles armed with Israeli made RAFAEL Samson Mk II enhanced survivability multiple weapon station with 30mm gun and

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anti-tank missiles.

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Lithuania Signs €385M Deal for Boxer IFVs

Less than 8 months since selecting the Boxer in December 2015, Lithuania has signed a €400 million contract to buy 88 of the vehicles, becoming the third NATO member to buy the vehicle, which will be delivered from 2017. (Artec photo)
On August 22 the contract of procuring infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) for the Lithuanian Armed Forces was signed at the Ministry of National Defence. 88 IFVs manufactured according to requirements set out by the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be bought for the sum of EUR 385.6 million.

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Aviationist said:

An ItAF combat pilot has recently become the first

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IP (Instructor Pilot) with the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona.

The Italian IP has got the qualification to train Italian and partner nations pilots on the Joint Strike Fighter through a 6-month syllabus made of two distinct classes respectively called “Transition” and “Intructor Pilot Upgrade” (IPUG).

During Transition the pilots train in various forms of flight: air-to-air combat, air-to-ground missions including SEAD/DEAD tasks (Suppression / Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses). At the end of this stage, the student IPs have gained skills to fly these missions in all-weather conditions.

During the subsequent IPUG class, the students are taught how to teach follow-on pilots to fly and fight in the F-35A. The IPUG course ends with a check ride required to achieve the IP qualification.

The syllabus has become more focused on full combat training last Spring, as the U.S. Air Force prepared to declare the

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ready for war by the U.S. Air Force with the 34th Fighter Squadron based at Hill AFB in Utah (that eventually achieved the Initial Operational Capability on Aug. 2).

[For a detailed analysis of the IOC milestone, please read our report published

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.]

The newly qualified Italian IP will serve in the

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at

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in Arizona, the world’s premier conventional F-35 training base where, under a pooling arrangement, USA,

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,

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and Italy, share IPs and aircraft to train new pilots and instructors within the same standardized framework.

Two Italian F-35As are already part of the “shared pool” at the airbase near Phoenix: the first one, dubbed AL-1 and serialled MM7332, the

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the first JSF built outside the U.S., arrived in the U.S. at the end of the

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Aviationist said:

The first F-35A Lightning II destined to the Italian Air Force rolled out of the Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility at Cameri, in northwestern Italy.

The aircraft, designated AL-1, is the first

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assembled internationally, the first of eight aircraft currently being assembled at Cameri, that will perform its first flight later this year.

The Italian FACO, a 101-acre facility including 22 buildings and more than one million square feet of covered work space, housing 11 assembly stations, and five maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade bays, is owned by the Italian Ministry of Defense and is operated by Alenia Aermacchi in conjunction with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. According to Lockheed, the current workforce consist of more than 750 skilled personnel engaged in F-35 aircraft and wing production.

The FACO will assemble the first 8

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s and the remaining F-35A and

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(for a total of 90 aircraft

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that should be procured by the Italian Air Force and Navy), will build F-35A for the

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and it was selected in December 2014 as the European F-35 airframe Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade center for the entire European region.

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, F-35s will replace the Italian Air Force ageing

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and

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attack planes and the

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Lithuania's BOXER vehicles to receive Rafael's Samson Mk II Weapon Stations with Spike launchers
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., developer and manufacturer of land, air and naval systems, has won a contract to supply its advanced Samson Mk II Remote Weapon Stations to the Lithuanian armed forces, as part of a deal that was signed to provide Lithuania with 88 high-protection

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starting in 2017.

The Samson Mk II is a dual-axis, gyro-stabilized, dual-sight (Gunner and Commander) remote-controlled weapon system capable of mounting multiple weapons. The Samson Mk II offers significant improvements, including lower silhouette, add-on armor protection, and improved hit accuracy, boosted crew survivability with under-armor reloading and increased rigidity - all of which enable improved combat continuity.

Rafael will deliver the Lithuanian army Samson Mk II RWS systems with a 30mm automatic cannon, 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, with Rafael's Spike LR (Long Range) ATGM launchers carrying two missiles and eight smoke grenade launchers on each station. This will provide the Lithuanian armed forces improved lethality, increased mission flexibility in both urban and open terrain scenarios, with maximum survivability for the crew and vehicle.

Deployed in over 25 countries, Rafael RWS offered in four land configurations and two naval configurations (Typhoon Weapon Stations). Samson RWS support diverse, interchangeable weapons and sensors including 5.56/7.62/12.7 mm machine guns, 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank missiles, observation pods, and non lethal capabilities.

Mr. Moshe Elazar, Executive VP and Head of Rafael's Land and Naval Systems Division stated that this contract signifies Rafael's leadership in land systems that ensure force survivability, maneuverability and lethality at a cost-effective price and cutting-edge quality and performance, tailored to customers' individual needs and requirements. "We are proud to be an integral part in Lithuania's most significant land force program with our remote weapon stations and Spike missiles, and to provide the Lithuanian army with a major force-multiplier", added Elazar.

In this contract, Rafael is serving as a sub-contractor under ARTEC, a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, which will deliver the vehicles with medium-calibre weaponry in a remote-controlled turret.

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Infantry Weapons
Portugal plans small arms replacement project
Victor Barreira, Istanbul - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
02 August 2016

The Portuguese Army is working on plans to begin a tender to replace the bulk of its infantry weapons, like the HK21 machine gun and G3 rifle. Source: Victor Barreira
The Portuguese Army is currently working on plans to entirely replace the bulk of its small arms, the Portuguese Ministry of National Defence (MoND) told IHS Jane's on 29 July.

The plans will see the acquisition of 10,225 weapons including: assault rifles, light machine guns, sub-machine guns, and pistols. These arms will equip at least three battalions or about 1,500 troops, the MoND said.

An amount of EUR80.8 million (USD90.2 million) has been allocated for the period of 2017-26 to fund the project as part of the Military Programming Law 2015-26, approved in May 2015. The project integrates with the army's Force Protection and Survivability Capability programme.

To set up the weapon acquisition project, the army is fleshing out its desired technical specifications for the types of weapons, it recently said to IHS Jane's . The project itself has two associated sub-projects consisting of the acquisition of soldier gear and procurement of light armament.

The new plans finally replace Portugal's subsequently cancelled issuing of a letter of intent in December 2004 to procure 31,000 assault rifles, 1,700 machine guns, and 6,800 pistons.

Portugal's Mechanized and Intervention Brigades and General Support Forces mostly field INDEP G3 assault rifles, HK21 and MG42-59 light machine guns, UZI sub-machine guns, and P38 pistols. The Rapid Reaction Brigade also utilises the G36KV/CV, SG-543, Galil AR/ARM and HK416A5 assault rifles; MG4 machine gun upgraded MP5 SD6 and UMP sub-machine guns; and P228 and USP pistols.

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HELLENIC NAVY WILL BASE A NEW POWERFULL FLOTILLA IN CRETE

Hellenic Navy is planning to create a 9 ships strong flotilla and deploy this force to its naval base in Crete, at Souda Bay. The Hellenic Navy currently has one main naval base at the island of Salamis near Athens and a secondary naval base at the island of Crete.

Till now the ships of the Hellenic Navy are based in Salamis and only few ships visit occasionally the naval base in Crete for replenishment when they conduct patrol missions in the region.

The new strategy of the Hellenic Navy includes the creation of a new 9 ships strong flotilla that will be based in Crete for a period of 30 days. At the end of every month the flotilla will be replaced with another one of similar strength.

This rotation scheme will continue throughout the year and will allow the Hellenic Navy to maintain a strong presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, the southeastern Aegean Sea and the Libyan Sea.

The new flotilla will include three frigates, three fast attack missile boats, two submarines and one fleet replenishment ship. The new flotilla represents 16% of the total surface and submarine force of the Hellenic Navy fleet.

This is the first time since the 1970’s that the Hellenic Navy decides to split the fleet and permanently base a strong naval force in Crete.

The naval base in Crete was founded in 1951 and it occupies an area of 500 hectares, including the old artillery barracks of the Hellenic Army’s 5th Infantry Division and later land acquisitions.

The naval base is divided in two sectors, located on both sides of the Souda Bay, the Southern and the Northern Sector.

The facilities of the naval base include a dry dock, three floating docks, three piers, workshops, a fuel depot, an ammunition depot and a military hospital.

The new flotilla will conduct patrol missions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the southeastern Aegean Sea and the Libyan Sea.

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FORBIN said:

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