Nicholas Drummond seems to be suggesting that the LEP now features a requirement for a new smoothbore gun???

Some interesting comments on the MDP contained at the bottom of this article, specifically about the prospect of "changes to the defence budget..." Maybe im reading too much into it, but it seems to imply that there will be some form of "change". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/...

Lord Jim wrote:Probably the best you could get is the Italian Centauro Mk2, but this platform still falls way short on protection.

If you are trying to use it as a like-for-like replacement for an MBT then sure, not if you know to play to its strengths though.

MDP to be published in full "before Christmas"

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-sho ... christmas/

Thoughts on the timing??

Either way, investing in more HETs/and or our wider logistics capacity is something we should be doing anyway.

All I'm saying is this is the reasoning they have chosen in the past with similar things. The US are notoriously specific about upgradability in design. As a note, several IFVs these days can resist 140mm ammunition from the frontal arc, and some from a frontal 30 degree arc, at the ranges that wer...

US Army often has a big thing about ongoing development potential. That is one of the weaknesses of the CT40. Its rounds have no real room for enhancing the size of the dart. Not a major weakness, but still, it is the sort of thing the US have used in the past as reasoning. I'd have thought that if...

The acknowledgement that decisions need to be made on long term funding solutions is, for me, the most important thing to come out of the Budget. Personally, i'm cautiously optimistic that the acknowledgement, combined with the fact that a small-ish cash boost was provided today, hopefully signals t...

Sacrificing our tanker "surge" capability in order to convert them to AWACs is a terrible idea, all the more so if it is being done simply to appease a stropping Airbus. You have to be in it to win it, so they say. If they felt that have been cheated, maybe they should consider their produ...

Even in 1998 it was regarded as no longer being the top. The comparatives to the British Army standard on the 2E were tested in Greece and found to be considered lower protection than the M1A2 Export variant, and the 2A5. Err...? What gave you this idea? It pretty much runs contrary to every piece ...

All governments or just this one? Highly likely that the currents occupants of No10 and No11 will move on in the next year or so. I think it must be at least possible that a change of leadership may result in a change of priorities. I see no real reason to believe that any change of leadership with...

Do articles like this really make any difference? I'm not sure, but at least it highlights the ongoing issues and decline with the wider public. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6195491/amp/An-army-cut-ribbons-Navy-struggling-stay-afloat.html?__twitter_impression Well, it was opined in a de...

Wonder if Rheinmetall's offering will break cover soon then? The Black Knight certainly looks err...busy on top, doesn't it?

Number of dismounts shows the impact of different turrets on the vehicle. Not necessarily. Personal kit has just as much an of influence on carriage capacity as the internal profile of any weapon system. I believe it is the commonly cited reason behind the allegedly reduced carriage capacity of the...

This ASRAAM thing has always confused me, doesn't it completely negate your stealth? No. Everything is relative. An externally loaded F-35 will have a larger RCS than a clean F-35 (only mariginally you would have thought, depending on what external stores you are carrying of course) but will still ...

As for the minimi, i think we should take a look at what the Danes have done with the latest M60 iteration. From what i have heard they have been getting on very well with them. It's 7.62, it's lighter than the GPMG, surely it is the best compromise? There are other alternatives of course, but i thi...

Could we be seeing the emergence of an Anglo-American project perhaps??

https://www.janes.com/article/82256/uk- ... et-concept

I personally doubt it, but involvement from US industry would be no bad thing in my books.

Call me easy but im relatively impressed by how Leander is maturing on paper. I actually think that its present form offers the basis of a truly useful, capable ship. It may not be gold plated, but it could well be perfectly credible. In fact, the only real changes that need to be made come from the...

http://www.janes.com/article/82008/japa ... on-with-uk

Potential signs of early interest from Japan.

^ Further to the above, could a change in allocated funding possibly explain a pause in the programme? I mean, if the MoD was to suddenly say, "alright the budget per ship has now increased to XYZ amount", would that necessitate the programme being paused or could the bidder not just ammen...

Underrated tank with an underrated gun to my mind. Both the Cromwell and the 6 pounder/QF 75mm deserve far more credit than they are typically given.

Begs the question what you can cut from what was already an essentially empty hull and still come under the Govenment's determination to call it a frigate to get by Defence Committee hearings. Take the small gun away? Saves almost nothing. Take the missiles away? Not a frigate. Take the flight deck...

Well, we know the amount of money won't go up. That means the already woeful spec must come down if they are to get anything at all...

Ours will come with B-kit armour... I wonder what the "A" class would provide? The "A" kit is the baseline level of protection that every vehicle rolls off the factory floor with, to my knowledge. The "B" kit is the up-armouring package that is offered for the vehicle....

Excellent move in my opinion, for whatever it is worth. It would assuredly mean additional variants as well. Note how the tender mentions the four variants are part of an "initial" procurement. Best of all, it would mean some real coherency returning to the army's planning. Not to mention,...