- Poland Poland got approved to buy 360 Advanced Anti-Radiation GuidedMissile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER)
- Ukraine Ukrainian mechanics have mastered the repair of US M777 howitzers.
- TECHINT Germany arrests 3 suspected China spies
- Mil Intelligence Military court convicts US sailor of attempted espionage
- UK Is there any British officer or British military personnel here that I can discuss with?
Tests of 155 mm automatic self-propelled guns Sigma Israel. The German company Rheinmetall and the Israeli Elbit Systems conducted live firing from a 155-mm Sigma wheeled self-propelled howitzer. The demonstration of the new self-propelled guns took place in March at a training ground in southern Israel. There are no details on the new howitzer yet. It is known that the new self-propelled guns are equipped with a fully robotic loading system. The Sigma ACS is controlled from the cockpit by a crew of two or three people. The cabin of the L52 self-propelled guns has anti-fragmentation protection, a system of protection against weapons of mass destruction and air conditioning. The self-propelled guns are equipped with a 155-mm L52 Rheinmetall cannon and are located in the Elbit robotic artillery turret.
Israeli self-propelled gun M109A5, crew training. In preparation for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army began conducting exercises with artillery units. During the exercises, 155 mm American-made M109A5 self-propelled guns are used. Now this is the main self-propelled gun of the Israeli army; similar self-propelled guns of the M109 series are also in the Ukrainian army. The M109A5 self-propelled gun was developed in the eighties, so in 2019 Israel abandoned plans to repair and modernize the M109 self-propelled gun. The Israeli government plans to replace the M109 self-propelled guns with its new SIGMA wheeled self-propelled guns, we previously talked about it. The A5 modification differs from previous versions of the M109 self-propelled gun in the new M284 gun with an increased barrel length. This provides a firing range of up to 30 kilometers using an active-missile projectile, and a conventional projectile can hit a target at a distance of up to 22 kilometers. The M109A5 ammunition load includes 36 rounds. The self-propelled gun is protected by aluminum armor up to 32 millimeters thick and equipped with a machine gun. Self-propelled gun crew 6 people.
The Israeli army has installed protective canopies against drones on Merkava tanks. Despite Israel's high-tech military industry, it has failed to find solutions to protect tanks and armored vehicles from drones. And all armored vehicles and Merkava tanks began to be equipped with protective canopies against drones. The same protective canopies against drones are installed on Russian and Ukrainian tanks. This decision confirms that now a protective canopy against drones is the only cheap and effective way to protect armored vehicles. Armored vehicles with such protection were seen near the Gaza Strip, it is worth noting that the armored vehicles are collected in large groups in small parking lots, which makes them vulnerable.
Israeli air strikes with BLU-109 concrete-piercing bombs. Israeli aircraft began using BLU-109/B bombs to attack Hamas underground bunkers and tunnels. The American bunker-busting bomb BLU-109/B weighs 907 kilograms and has a warhead weighing 240 kilograms, consisting of tritonal. The bomb is capable of breaking through reinforced concrete floors up to 1.8 meters thick. Accurate targeting can be provided by JDAM or Paveway systems; with the help of these guidance systems, the aerial bomb becomes controllable.
The Israeli army began clearing the rubble and preparing passages for tanks using Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers. The American bulldozer Caterpillar D9 was developed in 1954. The bulldozer became very popular among construction companies and attracted the attention of the Israeli army. The bulldozer had its armored cab modified and its engine protected by Israel Military Industries. After modernization, the weight of the bulldozer increased by 15 tons and its weight reached 71 tons. Now the Caterpillar D9 is in service with the IDF in the D9R modifications, as well as in the older versions of the D9L, there are also remote-controlled D9N bulldozers. The bulldozer is completely protected from small arms fire; the only threat to it is ATGMs. Israeli armored bulldozers turned out to be very effective, and the US Marine Corps also purchased them. The facts of the use of bulldozers in combat conditions indicate good survivability of the machine. For additional protection, bulldozers can be equipped with machine guns and smoke grenade launchers. The bulldozers are equipped with a 474 hp engine. The bulldozer is controlled by a commander and an operator.
The Israeli army showed rare footage of the operation of the Ritsuf remote mine clearance complex, the commercial name of the Carpet complex. The Ritsuf demining complex was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in 1985 and was modernized in 2017; this complex, called SDPMAC, is also used by France. The complex is installed on the rear of engineering vehicles and armored personnel carriers. The "Ritsuf" mine clearance complex is capable of making a passage about 100 meters long and up to 8 meters wide in a minefield with twenty volumetric explosion rockets, 265mm caliber, in 1 minute. The missiles are launched from a distance of 65 to 165 meters from the front edge of the minefield and are carried out according to a program embedded in the computer. A passage created in a minefield is marked by missile stabilizers protruding from the ground. The complex can also be used to strike objects. The demining installation is operated by 2 people.
The history of the creation of Hamas underground tunnels and the Israeli army's fight against them. The Israeli army has published footage of Hamas underground tunnels discovered and destroyed. Now underground tunnels are the main problem of the Israeli army, the fact is that Hamas does not enter into open confrontation with the Israeli army. Hamas' tactics are to go through a tunnel to a point and attack military equipment from it. Underground tunnels began to be created 30 years ago, the total length of tunnels under the Gaza Strip is now about 500 kilometers. Usually the height of the tunnel is 2 meters and the width is 1 meter, but there are also tunnels in which a passenger car can also pass. The tunnels are laid at a depth of up to 70 meters and they usually lead from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Israel. Tunnel exits are difficult to detect and are located in homes, hospitals and even schools, as reported by the UN in 2022. The main purpose of the tunnels is to smuggle goods and weapons from Egypt, attack Israeli settlements, soldiers and take hostages. The tunnels are also used as bases for the manufacture and storage of weapons, hospitals, warehouses and for holding hostages there. The Israeli army destroys the tunnels, filling them with concrete and water, striking the places where the tunnels are discovered, but this fight does not bring much success, since the creation of new tunnels is ongoing. This process especially accelerated in 2006 when the Hamas group won the elections in 2006 in the Palestinian Authority. The tunnels are being built by residents of the Gaza Strip hired by the Hamas group. The salary of builders is from 150 to 300 dollars, the working day is up to 12 hours, the speed of creating tunnels is up to 5 meters per day.
