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Military/Intelligence Bulletin 05/2019 – Russian Lotos 120mm SPG

Russia presents Lotos, a self-propelled gun prototype .

The Rostec corporation, Russian state-owned, presented the first prototype of the Lotos 120mm self-propelled gun based on the BDM-4M tracked infantry fighting vehicle.

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Lotos – Self-propelled gun based on the BMD-4M IFV

On the 5th June, they announced that the gun was fully equipped and ready to operate in the manual mode. The next stage would be around software development to further improve the operation of the main gun. It appears to also have a remote weapons station along with the soft-kill elements of the Afghanit active protection system.

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Prototype of the Lotos 120mm SPG

Photo credit – Sputnik/Alexander VILF

During the roll-out ceremony, it drove at a speed of around 30kph, then elevated the barrel before firing its first round.

The Lotos weighs around 18 tonnes and has a top speed of 70kph. It has a crew of 4.

It’s artillery range is said to be 13km with a rate of fire in the region 6-8 rounds per minute.

The the turret and gun assembly resemble those fitted to the MTLB based 2S34.

 

Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Military/Intelligence Bulletin 04/2019 – Flight test of Russian Avangard HGV.

Flight test of Russian Avangard HGV.

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On the 26th December 2018, President Putin announced a flight test of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV)

Putin claimed that the HGV was launched from the Dombaroskoye missile base in the southern Ural mountains. It flew for about 6,000km, manoeuvring both vertically and horizontally at hypersonic speeds. It engaged a simulated target at the Kura Range in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula.

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The UR-100UTTKh ICBM launched from the Dombarovskoye airbase.

By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0

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Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Forces, Vladimir Putin watches the launch of the UR-100UTTKh carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle at the National Centre for State Defence Control in Moscow on the 26 December 2018.

By Kremlin.ru

The claimed engagement speed of the Avangard, powered by a solid propellant scramjet engine,  is Mach 27 (32,202 km/h).

The reports are that the HGV can be integrated as a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) with the Russian Strategic Rocket Force’s ICBMs.

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An UR-100N UTTH ICBM system with the Avangard HGV before installation into a silo launcher..

Photo credit – Janes.com

The Avangard system has been integrated with several dozen brand new UR-100N UTTH ICBMs, with which the Avangard fits well.

The base-line variant will be fitted with six HGVs. General Karakayev stated that the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces will stand up to two missile regiments, each equipped with six Avangard systems by 2027.

The first missile regiment is expected to be operational in 2019.

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The first carriers of the newest Russian weapon, the Vangard HGV, will be the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) UR-100N UTTH.

Photo – Vitaly Kuzmin

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An UR-100N UTTH ICBM system with the Avangard HGV before installation into a silo launcher..

Photo credit – Janes.com

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Photo – The Rand Corporation

Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Military/Intelligence Bulletin 03/2019 – Belarus upgrades its APCs.

Belarus upgrades its APCs with the new BTR-70MB1

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The Belarusian armed forces are upgrading their fleet of armoured personnel carriers. Their current BTR-70 APCs are being modernised to the standard of the BTR-70MB1.

By the end of 2019, 32 of the BTR-70MB1s will have been delivered to the Belarusian armed forces.

This will replace the current older BTR-60s and BTR-70s in the Belarusian army’s first-tier units.

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BTR-70MB1 Manufactured by a Belarusian company

Photo source 42.TUT.BY

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The BTR-70MB1 APC during an Independence Day parade in Minsk.

Photo credit – Janes.com

The BTR-70MB1 weighs 13 tonnes and mounts a 14.5 KPVT and Kalashnikov 7.62 PKT. There is no change from the original BTR-70. The main improvement is the replacement of the two ZMZ-4905 petrol engines with a KAMAZ-7403 Russian-made diesel engine, which also powers the BTR-80. This gives it a top road speed of 90 km/h and a range of 700km.

In addition, it carries six 902V Tucha 81mm smoke dischargers on the rear turret.

The R-123M radio has also been changed to a Belarusian made radio.

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The older BTR 60PA

Post copyrighted to Harvey Black

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Military/Intelligence Bulletin 02/2019 -Spanish Army’s Pizarro combat engineer vehicle.

Spanish Army’s Pizarro combat engineer vehicle ready for testing.

General Dynamics European Land Systems – Santa Barbara Sistemas is completing the first of their 36 Pizarro combat engineer vehicles.

Following trials, the vehicle is being handed over to the the Spanish Army for formal qualification. If accepted, it will be followed by a further 35 production vehicles. Final deliveries are due in 2021.

 

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Combat Engineer Vehicle – Pizarro

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It has a new all welded steel hull design with a higher level of ballistic and mine protection than that of the Pizarro Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).

At the front there is a Pearson Engineering Common Interface Attachment, which enables a variety of engineer equipment to be quickly attached.

All will be fitted with the hydraulically operated Pearson earth Anchor Dozer Blade.

Mounted on either side at the rear is an obstacle marking system. When deployed they swing out to the side and dispense marker poles into the ground as the vehicle moves through the cleared minefield.

The crew consist of a Commander, Gunner and driver. It can also carry six additional engineers.

For defence, it has a Mini Samson remote weapon station armed with a stabilised .50 calibre M2 machine gun. The sensor pod on the left consists of a day camera, thermal camera and a laser rangefinder. There is also a bank of four electrically operated smoke grenade launchers mounted on each side.

The power pack is different from that in the IFV. The CEV uses a German MTU 8V-199 TE-20 V8 diesel developing 721 hp.

The CEV has a gross weight of 33 tonnes and a speed of 65 km/h with a range of 500km.

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The Pizarro IFV with appliqué armour..

Post copyrighted to Harvey Black