Replacing the Landrover / HMMWV

opswarfare believes that there is a very big market for army utility vehicles at the moment. A few choices remain in the mix, with Iveco's LMV, AM General's HMMWV, Landrover's Defender, and MOWAG's Eagle IV. opswarfare envisages a future vehicle, with a hybrid powerplant, a remote controlled weapons mount, run-flat tyres, and a 2 row, 3-abrest seating arrangement. More details to follow.

Below are the current products on the market

BAE Systems Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactShee...epantherClv.htm
Based on the Iveco LMV

BAE Systems RG-32M
http://www.baesystemsomc.co.za/default.aspx?tabid=647
South African design

MOWAG Eagle IV
http://www.mowag.ch/En/02_ProdukteEn/EAGLE...24_Frameset.htm
This is based on the AM General Humvee chassis

something a bit bigger...

ADI Bushmaster
http://www.adi-limited.com/2-01-010-040-030.html
Timoney has some input in this vehicle also. Timoney is the same company that developed the AV81 Terrex together with ST Kinetics

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Dingo 2
http://193.158.125.14/gb/frame.php?page=30
Underneath the body is a Mercedes Unimog chassis

Canada Army uniform

Clothe the Soldier
While doing research on a review of past posts, opswarfare found this page on Canada's army uniform project. Previously, opswarfare reported on the new US Army uniform. The original intention was to find out how the new US Army uniform was performing in combat situations. It seems many armies are considering converting to a "digital" disruptive pattern uniform.

Armor - Magazine of Mounted Warfare

Operation Iraqi Freedom Article Index
Quite informative articles, but again, these are experiences of the US forces. Still on the lookout for non-US military journals.

French Navy Commissions New Spy Ship

eDefense - Detect. Decide. Shoot. Survive. (dead link)
This looks like a good idea. Put SIGINT equipment on a ship. 1 persistent surveillance platform. Have to read up more on its capabilities...

(UPDATE: 27th May 2007) Since the demise of eDefense, opswarfare has found a comprehensive (but in french) page on this vessel. Fire up your translation software...

(UPDATE: 14th March 2008) Using the wonders of technology (more exactly the Internet Archive), the text of the original eDefense article is reproduced below.

Named after famed French naval engineer Stanislas Charles Henri Dupuy de Lôme (1816-1895), the Dupuy de Lôme or "MINREM" (Moyen Interarmées Naval de Recherche ElectroMagnétique) was handed over to the French Navy at Toulon on Dec. 15, 2005. At the ceremony, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie described the new signals-intelligence (SIGINT) vessel as "a unique strategic weapon against terrorism and a system that will allow France to hunt for enemy radio communications worldwide, close to any flashpoint."

The Dupuy de Lôme is France's newest spy-ship. She was handed over to the French Navy on Dec. 15 2005. Built in the Netherlands and outfitted in France with her complete array of secret radio-interception and communications instruments, the new vessel is regarded as a potent tool in the global war against terrorism.

French Navy

The development of the Dupuy de Lôme is the first project of its kind for the French Navy, as it was designed from the outset, under a $147.4-million contract, as a SIGINT vessel to replace the modified vintage BTS (Bâtiment de Transport et de Soutien) Bougainville, a converted cargo ship that has been in service with the Direction du Renseignemt Militaire (DRM, French military intelligence) since 2000 (see "France Orders New SIGINT Vessel"). The performance of the ship is directly linked to her intelligence systems, the key capabilities of which are interception, eavesdropping, direction-finding, and technical analysis of radio and radar signals at sea, including the latest waveforms and the most advanced types of communications.