DTN News: Finland To Upgrade Leopard Tanks, XA-180 AFVs

DTN News: Finland To Upgrade Leopard Tanks, XA-180 AFVs

*Sources: DTN News / European Defence Agency; issued June 30, 2009

(NSI News Source Info) HELSINKI, Finland - July 3, 2009: The Finnish Defence Forces Materiel Command HQ has issued the following contract opportunities notices:

-- LEOPARD 2A4 -SYSTEM MID LIFE UPGRADE:

Army Command has established a Program for Upgrading Finnish Leopard 2 A4 Main Battle Tanks and sent an order to Army Materiel Command to establish a project to execute the acquisition.

In order to be able to fulfil the order, Army Materiel Command Headquarters has decided to issue an RFI to gather more information.

The Finnish Army bought 124 2A4s from surplus German stocks. 20 have been converted into bridge-laying and combat engineering tanks. 12 tanks have been disassembled for use as spares and one tank burned and was a total loss, leaving 91 operational tanks.

This information will be used as basis for the project. Leopard 2 AX –project acquires a Mid Life Upgrade (MLU) for Finnish Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks (MBT’s). The MLU shall ensure the usability and performance of the fleet as defined in the Clause 3 at least to the 2030s.

--XA-180 AND XA-185 -SYSTEMS MID LIFE UPGRADE:

Army Command has established a Program for Upgrading the ‘XA-180’ and ‘XA-185’ wheeled vehicles and sent an order to Army Materiel Command to establish a project to execute the acquisition.

In order to be able to fulfil the order, Army Materiel Command Headquarters has decided to issue an RFI to gather more information. This information will be used as basis for the project. The XA-180 and XA-185 wheeled vehicles project acquires a Mid Life Upgrade (MLU) for the XA-180 and XA-185 wheeled vehicles.

Finland ~ Finnish Army, Finnish Navy, Finnish Police. 425 XA-180s and 185s, 148 XA-200s XA-180, most upgraded to 185 specs, and configured with special communications equipment XA-185, the most common version, some equipped with TOW turret, most of the Finnish vehicles are armed with a 12.7 mm NSV machine gun.

The MLU shall ensure the usability and performance of the fleet as defined in the Clause 3 at least to the 2030s.

Finnish Military Is Considering Replacing Its Russian-Made Surface-To-Air Missile System

Finnish Military Is Considering Replacing Its Russian-Made Surface-To-Air Missile System

(NSI News Source Info) - February 4, 2009: The Finnish military is considering replacing its Russian-made surface-to-air missile system, national daily Helsingin Sanomat reported Friday. The paper added the 400-million-euro replacement system would be Nato compliant. The Buk missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union and Russian Federation and designed to engage cruise missiles, smart bombs, fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Buk missile system is the successor to the NIIP/Vympel 2K12 Kub (NATO reporting name SA-6 "Gainful"). The first version of Buk adopted into service carried the GRAU designation 9K37 and was identified in the west with the NATO reporting name SA-11 "Gadfly". Since its initial introduction into service the Buk missile system has been continually upgraded and refined with the latest incarnation carrying the designation 9K37M2 "Buk-M2". The Finnish defence ministry did not confirm the report and Jyri Häkämies (cons), the defence minister, declined to comment. The Finnish Defence Forces took delivery of three batteries of the 9K37M system as repayment of Soviet-era debt in 1996 and 1997.

Finnish weekly Suomen Kuvalehti had reported in March last year that the current system, meant to protect the capital region, was vulnerable to scrambling.

Finnish Defence Forces Order Scania Lorries / Finnish Defence Forces Order 91 Lorries From Scania / Scania To Deliver 91 Trucks To The Finnish Defence

Finnish Defence Forces Order Scania Lorries / Finnish Defence Forces Order 91 Lorries From Scania / Scania To Deliver 91 Trucks To The Finnish Defence Forces

(NSI News Source Info) January 17, 2009: The Finnish Defence Forces said in a statement Thursday it had placed an order with Swedish lorry maker Scania, majority-owned by Volkswagen, for 91 heavy goods vehicles. The military added that the order was worth about 63 million euros when an option of 197 further lorries was included.

According to a recently concluded purchasing agreement, Scania has been commissioned to supply 91 trucks to the Finnish Defence Forces during 2009 and 2010. The deal also includes a five-year repair and maintenance agreement and an option for another 197 vehicles within a 4-year period.

During 2008, Scania won several orders from the Finnish Defence Forces: 21 all-wheel-drive off-road trucks in July and earlier in the year an order from the Finnish Border Guard for 26 engines powering 13 new patrol boats.

Scania has supplied around 200 trucks to the Finnish Defence Forces during the past 10 years and Scania’s Finnish subsidiary, Oy Scan-Auto Ab, recently signed a deal for a six-year repair and maintenance agreement covering vehicles already delivered.

“Scania’s ability to supply special-purpose trucks for demanding transport tasks directly from the factory has been an advantage, and naturally so has the quality and performance of the trucks,” says Markku Lipsonen, Managing Director of Oy Scan-Auto Ab. “Combined with our comprehensive network of professional service workshops and the availability of repair and maintenance agreements, these have been decisive factors for the choice of Scania .”