Saudi Arabia takes on 155-mm self-propelled howitzer M109A6

According to the magazine "Jane's Defence Weekly" article Jeremy Binnie "Saudis planning to buy M109A6 howitzers with new turrets", with reference to the information posted July 13, 2017 on the website of the US public procurement US Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), Saudi Arabia acquires unnamed number US 155-mm / 39 M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers.


The FBO website has posted a request for production and supply of the Anniston Army Depot (Alabama) towers for M109A6 self-propelled howitzers for the delivery of Saudi Arabia under the forthcoming contract for foreign government sales (FMS). The new production towers will have to be installed on the chassis of the M109A6 automatic control system, which are released when the US Army upgrades to the M109A7 PIP variant (in the process of upgrading the M109A6 to the M109A7, the M109A6 towers are rearranged to a new chassis manufactured by BAE Systems).

The contractor will have to install and integrate the towers on the chassis M109A6, with a bulkhead of the chassis itself and replacement of the necessary parts.

The request states that the US government intends to negotiate only with BAE Systems Land & Armaments as a possible supplier and contractor, but other companies can also submit their applications [this request is thus a mere formality and the purchase will be made from a "single supplier" In Russian terminology. - bmpd].

At present, the army of Saudi Arabia from self-propelled artillery of 155 mm caliber is believed to have 110 American self-propelled howitzer M109A2, 48 M109A5, 78 French 155 GCT (probably most of the latter is in storage) and 54 Chinese PLZ45. It is possible that the purchase of Saudi Arabia by SAU M109A6 is designed to replace 155 GCT howitzers acquired in the late 1970s.

The newest Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle CH-5 made its first flight. On July 10, 2017, at 7:00 am Beijing time, the serial model of the reconnaissance and strike drones (UAV) CH-5 ("Ceyhun-5"), the most perfect Chinese device of this type, made the first test flight, the Central Television reported. PRC.






According to CCTV7, the flight lasted more than 20 minutes and ended at the airfield in Hebei Province. Project leader Ou Zhongming said after the tests that "several countries, including both users of the previous models of the Tsaihun series, and new potential customers are already negotiating the acquisition of CH-5 with the developer - the Chinese Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics".

"The device is not inferior to the UQ MQ-9 Reaper of the US corporation General Atomics - a hunter-drone, which is considered the best Western analysts," said the chief designer of the "Tsaihun" series Shi Wen.

According to the designer, "a UAV made of composite materials can be kept in the air for up to 60 hours - three times as long as its predecessors", the range of its flight is 10 thousand km, the take-off mass can reach 3.3 tons.

The report notes that "the device can carry up to a ton of payload, in one version - 24 missiles." The UAV can also be used for long-range radar detection and control and carry EW assets. Shi Wen added that the CH-5, in addition, "can be equipped for patrolling the water areas and searching for submarines."

CH-5 - medium-altitude long-haul drone (MALE, medium altitude long endurance). His prototype made the first flight in August 2015.

In Baghdad, a military parade took place on the occasion of the liberation of the city of Mosul from the militants of the Islamic state. On Saturday, July 15, 2017, the Iraqi government held a military parade in Baghdad dedicated to the liberation of Mosul. The parade was watched by the Prime Minister of Iraq, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country, Haider al-Abadi, as well as high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A statement by the Prime Minister's office says that the parade took place early Saturday morning in a strictly guarded "green zone" in the center of Baghdad. The parade also attended the leaders of the Shiite militia - "The Forces of People's Mobilization."

The positions of the Iranian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems are revealed According to the British Janes, the positions of three of the four S-300PMU2 SAM divisions are now known. Two battalions (that is, one regiment) are deployed in positions in the Tehran area, one of them in the very capital near the airfield of the joint deployment of military and civilian planes Mehrabad (the 1st tactical airbase of the Iranian Air Force) in the western part of Tehran, and the other battalion On the basis of air defense a few kilometers south-east of Tehran, and the position of the Hawk or its Iranian copy of Mersad is also preserved on the same base.

The second regiment of Persians decided to deploy to protect the Persian Gulf coast, while the position of only one S-300PMU2 battalion is known, which was placed at the Busher airfield (6th tactical airbase of the Iranian Air Force) at the old position of the Hawk SAM. The position of the second division of this regiment is still unknown.

I looked in the locations indicated by Janes and found the positions of all three famous divisions on commercial satellite images that were laid out by Terraserver

The position of the S-300PMU2 SAM battalion near Mehrabad airport in Tehran

Turkey allegedly reached an agreement on the acquisition of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system

As Bloomberg reported on July 13, 2107, referring to the statement of an unnamed high-ranking Turkish official representative, Turkey allegedly reached a preliminary agreement with Russia on the acquisition of four "batteries" of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems worth 2.5 billion Doll.
The first two batteries of the S-400 SAMs allegedly should be delivered to Turkey in two years from the date of signing the contract, while the other two SAMs should be collected in Turkey, and the Russian side agreed to the appropriate transfer of technology. To prepare the contract, according to the Turkish representative, it may take about a year.

American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems deployed in Lithuania

It is reported that from July 10 to 22, 2017, a battery of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system from the US Army was deployed on the territory of the Lithuanian air force base in Siauliai. The deployment was carried out on an interim basis within the framework of the exercises of the NATO air defense forces "Tobruq Legacy 2017", taking place on the territory of Lithuania (and also the Czech Republic and Romania). This is the first deployment of the American Patriot Patriot in the territory of the former USSR. Part of the air defense of the armed forces of the United States, Great Britain, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania take part in the exercise in Lithuania.

The Turkish company FNSS reported July 12, 2017, that it had delivered to Oman its first armored personnel carriers, Pars III, with a 8x8 wheel formula.

According to the company, all of Oman had contracted 172 Pars III (8 × 8) armored personnel carriers, becoming their first customer.

In April 2016, the FNSS reported that it had contracted with the second customer of the BTS of the Pars family (after Malaysia), without specifically specifying the country. The announcement that this customer is Oman and that he was the first buyer of the BTR version of Pars III, circulated since the end of 2016, but the number of ordered cars was not known. According to one of the reports, the value of the Oman contract is more than $ 500 million.

New modifications to the Pars armored vehicle family with the 6x6 and 8x8 wheeled formulas, designated Pars III, were first introduced to the FNSS at the IDEF-2017 in Istanbul in May 2017. Differences Pars III from previous versions consist mainly of reinforcing ballistic and mitigation protection, bringing the total combat mass of Rars III (6 × 6) to 25 tons, and Pars III (8 × 8) - up to 30 tons (and the latter lost the ability to swim ) Introduced a new suspension with variable clearance, complete digitalization of equipment, etc. The capacity of Pars III (8 × 8) is 12 people (including nine paratroopers).

Judging by the common FNSS photos delivered to Oman, the linear Pars III BTR (8 × 8) is equipped with a one-seater FNSS Saber tower with a 25-mm automatic dual-power Orbital ATK M242 Bushmaster gun (with the same tower shown on IDEF-2017) .