Wednesday, July 09, 2008

DTN News: Japan's GSDF Requests Development Funds For Mobile Combat Vehicle ~ New Kido-Sentou-Sya

DTN News: Japan's GSDF Requests Development Funds For Mobile Combat Vehicle ~ New Kido-Sentou-Sya (NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - July 9, 2008: Japan's Ground Self Defence Force (GSDF) has requested funding for the development of a Mobile Combat Vehicle (MCV, or Kido-Sentou-Sya) in a budgetary request for the 2008 financial year. The funding request for the new 8 x 8 armoured vehicle was approved by the Japanese Cabinet on 24 December 2007 as part of the 2008 budget. This, however, still needs to be approved by the Diet - which rejected funding for the MCV a year earlier. A vote on the budget is set for March 2008, two months later than usual due to the appointment of a new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, in September 2007. Most armies would describe the MCV - a purely Japanese designation - as a mobile gun system (MGS). It will be armed with a 105 mm low-recoil gun and will fire the same ammunition as the current Type 74 main battle tank (MBT). The total development cost for the MCV is estimated at JPY17.3 billion (USD169 million), with the project planned to end in 2015. The GSDF has asked for an initial JPY2.6 billion for the project in 2008, intended to cover costs of the chassis and turret/weapon system. The MCV will be developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI), with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) acting as the prime industrial contractor. The MCV will have a maximum combat weight of under 26 tonnes, which will enable it to be transported in the CX transport aircraft that TRDI is currently developing for the Japanese Air Self Defence Force. The MCV will have a high level of strategic mobility by air and land when compared to the currently deployed Type 74 MBT and Type 89 mechanised infantry combat vehicle (MICV), which lacks strategic mobility.

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