It could be all sorts of things, but some degree of development has still gone on for external modules. The Challenger's composite external panels moved through approx 2-4 variants over time. Not quite the same as full body research on an MBT as Rhm has done, but engineering knowhow can always be a...

Comments from a Challenger 2 Gunnery Instructor based on things he has overheard (note: not what he is outright claiming for certain): This is a hint for the MOD... For a little while now BAE have been sharing data with Rheinmetall with regard to the development of an enhanced armour which began wi...

People keep saying this "we need to ask ourselves about what we hope to achieve." It's an easy answer. Without heavy armour, you can't achieve anything on a modern battleline. You might as well ask "Do we reeeeally need artillery?" or "Do we really need infantry?" They...

Surely you could argue the same of USA or Canada too? Neither is likely to be invaded on their land mass, but the tank is part of their power projection (and NATO participation). Given that we've just procured two aircraft carriers at huge expense, it would be a weird time to redefine our position ...

If the UK didn't need tanks, it wouldn't have been such a core component of its strategy since its inception. This argument of "The UK doesn't ened tanks" completely ignores the possibility of fighting anywhere except the UK itself. If the UK is already fighting on its own shores, then it...

The UK would be the only. The ONLY country in the world suddenly deciding that tanks are obsolete and too heavy and shouldn't be used. Look atthe US, Russia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Autralia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Canada, India,...

The Telegraph's coverage of this story paints a different picture to the one set out by Lord Jim I feel: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/1 ... ask-money/

Can't decide whether this new review fills me with optimism or dread...

My greatest fear is cuts by stealth with investment into "security" happening at the expense of "defence". You can already see the scope this provides the spin doctors at No 10.

^ Love the look of that light tank proposal. Kinda reminds me of the M18 Hellcat for some reason.

I read somewhere that the Australian army thought the the turret offered on the ajax was a piece of shit. That's an exact quote. The latest DTR magazine offers a little bit more on this claiming that in addition to a disappointing turret, there wasn't enough growth margin for the Australian require...

On the T31 guns: As addition of two new types of guns (57 mm and 40 mm) looks like a bit in-efficient, I have some proposal. How about carrying two 57 mm, in double end . one at the bow, another on top of the hangar. Arrowhead 140 has an additional "top-space" at the back end of the Merli...

[quote]Another £2.2bn for defence

The chancellor has also unveiled another £2.2bn for the Ministry of Defence, an increase of 2.6%.
[/quote][/b]From the BBC. Better than expected, might not mean much given the wider political turmoil though...

I am not trying to be confrontational and send this thread into the fantasy arguments that seem to dog other parts of the forum BUT: The days of man packing mortar tubes and rounds are over. In the 'fight fast, fight dispersed' mentality especially against numerically superior forces then you have ...

Lord Jim wrote:

ArmChairCivvy wrote:Toutas

?

The Toutatis remotely controlled turret: https://defense-update.com/20060601_toutatis.html

There's me getting caught out with the headline and a lack of subscription!

MoD 'to scrap cut-price frigates plan' after fears ships would not be able to protect themselves https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... -250m-per/ According the the Telegraph, the T-31 looks likely to be getting the bin... Can't see the rest behind the subscription wall sadly. Anyone who can f...

MoD 'to scrap cut-price frigates plan' after fears ships would not be able to protect themselves https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/05/07/hopes-cut-price-frigates-navy-dashed-mod-gives-way-250m-per/ According the the Telegraph, the T-31 looks likely to be getting the bin... Can't see the res...

That article also seems to suggest there is "speculation" around possibly cancelling the T31 in favour of my Type 26s.

First I've ever heard of that suggestion. Is this something others have come across?

Given the accuracy of the article however I'm not reading that much into it.

Well, I have good news for you, some information has been found on the L55A1s limits. http://rusjev.net/2019/01/25/eksperimentalnyiy-britanskiy-tank-na-strelbah-probil-rossiyskiy-navyilet/ Not fully official, but it mentions this: Rh120L55A1 has a permissible pressure in the barrel bore up to 700 M...

I've never heard of DM55. You mean DM53A1? Yep, a typo. On DM63: "A further development, called the DM63, improved upon the round by introducing a new temperature-independent propellant, which allows the propellant to have a constant pattern of expansion between ambient temperatures inside the...

Worth recalling that the DM53 and DM63 are very similar, the DM63 being essentially a reworked DM53 to perform more consistently, rather than as an explicitly new round. They are often mistaken and used as overlapping terms in some outlets and by some people (as inaccurate as that is). Surely that ...

Drummond and others have talked about testing with, and potential operational use of the, DM53 round. Janes however seems to suggest that the intended round for the LEP standard Challenger would be the newer, more capable DM63 instead: https://www.janes.com/article/85918/iav-2019-rheinmetall-unveils...

As much as we would like them to be, they are not a coastal navy any more. For the last decade they have been developing blue water skills, and since they're not breaking new ground they're learning very quickly. We have yet to see a combat example of this, but we do have a botched evacuation in Li...

BriteCloud to be integrated onto Typhoon in RAF service: https://www.janes.com/article/85668/bri ... ntegration

From that to saying that LPDs are not needed, for me there is a whole ocean in the middle. Thankfully nobody is sold on the idea that runs here and in some other circles of pretending that a few blokes on helicopters are "amphibious capability". The USMC briefly messed up with the first t...