Trump Signs Executive Order Establishing First National Artificial Intelligence Initiative

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  September 18, 2018 | International, Land

  Arquus to adapt additional 1,200 unarmored vehicles for French military use

  By: Pierre Tran PARIS — France on Sept. 5 ordered from Arquus a 1,200-strong batch of VT4 Mk2 light tactical vehicles for the French armed forces, the Direction Générale de l'Armement procurement office said. That is the second batch of VT4 four-wheel drive cars ordered by the DGA, which placed an initial order for 1,000 Mk1 units in December 2016. The planned total fleet of VT4 vehicles is 4,380 units, based on a modified version of the Ford Explorer car, for the Air Force, Army, Navy and support services, a DGA spokesman said Sept. 17. The first of a batch of 500 units are due for delivery this year, with a second 500-strong batch to be shipped in 2019, he added. A first shipment of the VT4 will go to the Army, the DGA said in a Sept. 6 statement. “To effect this, the DGA put in a place a procedure to execute the program in the most timely manner,” the procurement office said. This swift delivery is part of the government's drive to transform the DGA in acquiring equipment, the office added. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/09/17/arquus-to-adapt-additional-1200-unarmored-vehicles-for-french-military-use

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  December 21, 2018 | International, Land

  US Army moves closer to equipping an active protection system on Bradley Fighting Vehicles

  By: Jeff Martin WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has chosen to move forward with the Iron Fist Lightactive protection system for its Bradley Fighting Vehicle, after evaluating the APS' ability to be installed on the vehicle. The Army will now install the system onto a number of Bradley vehicles for a second phase of more extensive testing and evaluation, according to a release from the industry team providing the system. That team, made up of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and Israeli companies IMI Systems and Elbit Systems, are working to integrate and test the system, designed to protect the Bradley from threats like anti-tank missiles, rocket propelled grenades and other weapons. Iron Fist It uses a variety of sensors and countermeasures to stop those threats before they reach the vehicle. They include a electro-optical “soft kill” jammer and a physical “hard kill” interceptor to stop threats from getting closer to the vehicles. “We are excited to move into Phase II and bring the vast capabilities of our Active Protection System to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Army on advancing this important technology as well as enhancing integration capabilities across multiple Army platforms” Steve Elgin, vice president and general manager of armament and platform systems for GD-OTS, said in a statement. While the release announcing the progress in testing did not say what the next phase would look like, it could mirror the same process the Army has used to qualify and evaluate Rafael's Trophy for the Abrams tank. More advanced tests will likely be against multiple types of threats in a simulated urban environment. The decision can be seen as a vote of confidence in the system and could mean further fielding on a larger number of vehicles down the road. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/12/20/army-moves-closer-to-equipping-an-active-protection-system-on-bradley-fighting-vehicles

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  February 24, 2021 | International, Land

  Germany orders Israel’s Trophy active protection system for its Leopard 2 tanks

  The German military plans to successively equip its tanks with active protection systems in light of the threat posed by modern anti-tank weapons.