Former Air Force acquisition boss joins drone maker Volansi

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  November 8, 2019 | International, Land

  UK Ministry of Defence orders more than 500 Boxers in €2.6 billion contract

  November 8, 2019 - The Artec consortium, led by Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to produce more than 500 Boxer 8x8-wheeled armoured vehicles for the British Army. The total current value of the order is approximately €2.6 billion (£2.3 billion). The contract has been awarded to Artec via the European procurement agency Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR). The contract awarded to Artec falls under the UK's Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) procurement programme and includes more than 500 vehicles. Artec will each sub-contract 50% of the order volume to Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The total number of Boxer vehicles already delivered by Artec or currently on order now exceeds 1,400 vehicles. The Boxer vehicles ordered by the British Army will be supplied in several different configurations, including an armoured personnel carrier, command vehicle, specialist carrier and field ambulance. Delivery of the vehicles is expected to start from 2023. Most of the production will take place in the UK, ¬safeguarding and creating a substantial number of British jobs. Full-scale production will begin in Germany, but 90% of the Boxer vehicles destined for the British Army will be produced in the UK, principally at plants operated by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) and KMW's subsidiary WFEL. This order marks the return of the UK to a European defence programme having taken part in the Boxer project when it was still in its infancy. Boxer is now on its way to becoming one of NATO's standard vehicles. A modular vehicle – versatile, tried and tested The Boxer is a highly protective 8x8-wheeled armoured vehicle. Its modular architecture enables more operational configurations than any other vehicle system. At present, some 700 vehicles in twelve different versions are on order from three different NATO nations: Germany, the Netherlands and Lithuania. Australia has also ordered 211 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) in seven variants, the first of which was recently delivered. Artec GmbH was established in 1999. It is a joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG, Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V.. The company coordinates serial production of the Boxer and serves as the point of contact for export enquiries. View source version on Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH: https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/rheinmetall_ag/press/news/latest_news/index_18880.php

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  September 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land

  Marines award contract for lighter, better fitting plate carrier

  By: Shawn Snow Marines will soon be getting their hands on a new lighter and better fitting plate carrier. On Wednesday, the Defense Department announced that a five-year contract of $62,612,464 was awarded to Vertical Protective Apparel LLC, a New Jersey-based company, to produce the Corps' Plate Carrier Generation III. The contract calls for a maximum of 225,886 new plate carriers over a five-year period. The Corps has been in collaboration with the Army for new lighter and better fitting plate carrier and ballistic armor since a policy update in 2016 from the Capabilities Development Directorate called for a fit update. “The legacy carrier fit the span of the Marine Corps, but this new system is more tailorable to fit Marines of various sizes with three new smaller-stature options,” Flora “Mackie” Jordan, body armor engineer for the Infantry Combat Equipment Team at Marine Corps Systems Command, said in a command release. “We wanted to give as much mobility back to Marines as possible by reducing the weight and bulk of the vest without decreasing ballistic protection. We were able to reduce the weight of the vest by 25 percent.” The Corps managed to shave an inch-and-a-half from the bottom and removed some material from the shoulders.The new fit will help lighten the load and reduce fatigue on the battlefield. The new plate carrier is "less bulky, lighter in weight, and provides a smaller overall footprint than the current plate carrier while maintaining the same soft armor coverage and protection level," Barbara Hamby, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Systems Command, told Marine Corps Times last July, while describing a prototype of the new plate carrier. The new carrier also comes with a quick release, which will help Marines take the carrier off faster than the legacy system Marines are also amid plans to procure lighter ballistic armor. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/09/27/marines-award-contract-for-new-plate-carrier

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  April 24, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Here are the two companies creating drone wingmen for the US Air Force

  The decision marks the service’s most significant step yet as it aims to create a series of drones using autonomous software to fly alongside piloted jets.