Russian Ministry of Defence Launches Military-Technical Exposition in Moscow

From 15 to 21 August 2022, Moscow will host the eighth edition of the Military and Technical Forum ARMY 2022, organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence. The exhibition features approximately 28,000 military and civilian items presented by over 1,500 Russian and foreign companies from the defence industry. During the inaugural ceremony, Russian Federation’s president Vladimir Putin declared that “…Russia stands for the broadest, all-around development of military-technical cooperation”, without missing the chance to address Western countries, as he commended the Kremlin’s allies and partners for “not bowing down to the so-called hegemon”. Putin remarked that these allies would be granted access to Russia’s most modern types of weapons, including artillery, warplanes and drones. Attendees to the exposition will look at the new generation of T-14 Armada tanks, Sprut-SDM1 light amphibious tank, K-17 Boomerang wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, Medved and Tiger wheeled armoured vehicles, and advanced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) such as the Orlan-10E.

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German Government Approves Sale of 100 Self-Propelled Howitzers to Ukraine

On 13 July, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs informed the Munich-based arms industry company Kraus-Maffei Wegmann that it is licensed to produce 100 self-propelled howitzers for the Ukraine. A company spokesperson confirmed the approval on 27 July to Der Spiegel. The howitzers are of the type Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) and, when signed, the deal is expected to cost €1.7 billion. Since the agreement concerns freshly produced PzH 2000s and not a donation from the existing Bundeswehr inventory, the delivery could take several years. Germany has currently handed over ten howitzers to the Ukraine from its ranks. This brings the total of PzH 2000s in Ukrainian service to 23, following similar Dutch and Italian deliveries.

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Latest EU Commission Proposal to Reinforce EU Defence Industry: A new Regulation Establishing the European Defence Industry Reinforcement Through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) for 2022-2024

Boosted by the current UE’s geopolitical context, this Regulation proposal echoed previous initiatives (the European Defence Industrial Development Programme, the Preparatory Action on Defence Research, and the European Defense Fund) and was shaped to complete them consistently. Those instruments aim to rethink the EU’s defence plans and capacities and enhance responsibility assumptions. The European Council triggered the EDIRPA Regulation initiative last May during the Versailles Declaration dating from 11 March (Informal meeting of the Heads of State or Government Versailles Declaration, 2022).

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Greek Army Receives a new Batch of 90 M117 Guardian ASV from the US

On 25 July, the Hellenic Army received 90 M117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicles (TTOA-ASV) from the US. The vehicles have been sent in the framework of the American Excess Defence Articles (EDA) Program, with which the US transfers excess defence equipment to foreign governments or international organisations, thus enabling the modernisation of partner forces and strengthening the capabilities of the allies. Formally, vehicles declared EDA are no longer part of the US Army’s inventory. Greece already received an initial batch of 44 M117 ASV in 2021, and it expects to get a total of 1200 units by the end of 2022. As envisaged by the program, the Greek Army has received the vehicles at a meager cost, covering only the transportation expenses.

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BAE System’s CV90 MkIV to be the New IFV of the Czech Republic

On 20 July, the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic announced having chosen the CV90 MkIV by BAE Systems Hägglunds as its new Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). The decision comes after the Czech Government cancelled the tender to acquire over 200 new infantry fighting vehicles after two of the three bidders dropped their proposals (Rheinmetall’s Lynx KF41 and GDELS’ ASCOD 42). The Czech Ministry of Defence will thus start negotiations with the Swedish Government to acquire CV90 vehicles. As indicated by Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová, the participation of the Czech defence industry in their manufacturing will remain a high priority in the negotiation process.

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