Speaking to Krasnaya Zvezda, the military's newspaper, Navy commander-in-chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov said, "The small missile ship Odintsovo is the first corvette armed with the Pantsir system. On June 30, its state trials began at the Baltic Fleet’s naval ranges." Odintsovo, of Project 22800, should be commissioned later this year into the Baltic Fleet.

Odintsovo is the first corvette to utilize the Pantsir-M, a naval version of the mobile ground-based air-defense system. The Baltic Fleet will receive another three missile boats from the class armed with the Pantsir-M, in addition to Sovetsk and Mytishchi, which have already been commissioned into service but do not have the air-defense system.

Project 22800 corvettes also feature the Kalibr-NK cruise missile and AK-176MA 76.2mm artillery weapons.

Separately, Admiral Yevmenov noted that the next frigate in Project 22350, named Admiral Kasatonov, should be commissioned into service later this month. He stated that the class would service as the basis for the Navy's ocean-going vessels in years to come, and confirmed that the warship design "will be further developed relative to some shipborne systems and armament."

Admiral Kasatonov is the second frigate of the class, behind Admiral Gorshkov. Several more are under construction.

The Pacific Fleet should soon receive its first Project 636.3 submarine, Admiral Yevmenov told Krasnaya Zvezda. The Pacific Fleet has six on order and the first, Volkhov, is nearly finished with testing. Its trials should conclude later this month.

Source:  TASS Russian News Agency
Associated URL: Click here to visit

The Philippines Air Force plans to procure the Israeli-made Spyder self-propelled surface-to-air (SAM) missile system produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to meet its GBAD requirement.

The purchase by the Philippines is being made under the 15-year Revised AFP Modernization Program as part of its "Horizon Two" five-year (2018-2022) phase. The project had originally been expected to be undertaken during "Horizon One' (2013-2017) but was instead bumped back into the second acquisition phase.

The Rafael Spyder (Surface-to-air Python and Derby) air-defense system was selected by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to meet its Ground Based Air Defense System (GBADS) requirement back in December 2018. The mobile system integrates both the short-range Python 5 and the medium-range Derby missiles into a four-tube slant launcher fitted on an ADS-MR 6x6 vehicle and supported by the Elta EL/M 2016 ATAR 3D surveillance radar affixed to the mobile command-and-control unit.

Source:  Janes
Associated URL: Click here to visit

The Senate Armed Services Committee's report accompanying the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill includes a provision seeking a briefing from the service on the fleet's minimum sustaining rates and its plan to support those rates, due by Sept. 30 of this year.

"The committee notes with concern that the fiscal year 2021 budget request includes a steep reduction in funding across the tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) fleet," the report states. "Funding decreases were most pronounced for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) and the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) programs, which rely on minimum sustaining rates (MSRs). Ensuring that heavy and medium tactical vehicles are authorized at or above the MSRs of production is important to maintaining a base of responsive vendors and suppliers in order to keep production lines active."

The committee notes the Army's brigade combat teams rely on the FMTV and HEMTT, "and overall readiness rates may be impacted if parts and spares become unavailable due to production breaks."

Meanwhile, the committee also wants the Army to provide a briefing on a tactical wheeled vehicle strategy that is expected to be completed this fiscal year, following a study that Army Futures Command is currently conducting on the capabilities required "to support future multi-domain operations."

The lawmakers note the service has not completed such a study since 2014, before the Pentagon shifted its focus to near-peer competitors with the National Defense Strategy.

"The committee notes that the current tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) fleet consists of nearly 250,000 vehicles and their associated trailers, generally categorized as light, medium, and heavy," the report states. "Ensuring the suitability and resiliency of the tactical wheeled vehicle fleet is critically important to our national defense. Furthermore, the United States automotive and commercial truck industry has invested in vehicle technologies, to include emissions controls, autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicles, which could be leveraged to upgrade the tactical fleet, some of which is built on designs originated in the 1980s or earlier."

The Army is directed to brief the committee on the tactical wheeled vehicle fleet before the end of this year.

The report also directs the Government Accountability Office "to assess the Army's tactical wheeled vehicle strategy and implementation efforts," including "potential competitive opportunities and whether obstacles exist that prohibit such competition."

The committee requests the comptroller submit an interim briefing on the preliminary findings by March 1, 2021.

Source:  Inside Defense Ground Vehicle Report
Author: Ashley Tressel