Pakistan Is Making New Tracked APCs
After its cancellation last year the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad returned with an assortment of never before seen hardware. If much of the resulting spectacle at the Shakarparian Parade Ground relied on infantry squares and giant missiles this caused less attention being paid to the humbler yet more vital equipment. Every branch of the country’s armed forces upgraded their inventories throughout the 2010s and these changes aren’t examined at length. Seen at the March 23 parade after the tank formation involving the Haider and the Al Khalid I rolled by were a separate column of armored personnel carriers (APCs) representing the army’s mechanized units.
Saudi Arabia Makes Advanced Artillery Ammo
A previous article discussed the first appearance of the SAMI 155mm/52 caliber howitzer mounted on an 8×8 truck at the World Defense Show in February. New artillery systems are being developed and tested in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America each year but their finer details–like the ammunition they use, for example–are often less scrutinized. The display of the SAMI 155mm howitzer did feature a quartet of inert 155mm rounds arranged on the truck’s bed and their appearance is quite significant.
Saudi Arabia Is Experimenting With Artillery
In a region full of ostentatious arms shows Saudi Arabia’s latest, being the second outing since 2022, not only gathered the world’s top manufacturers but served as a pageant for homegrown weapons. The pinnacle among them was a self-propelled howitzer utilizing a Tatra 8×8 and developed by SAMI or the state-owned military-industrial holding. The complete system resembled similar efforts found in Asia and Europe where a heavy armament is mounted on an elongated bed supported by a hydraulic stabilizer. The truck’s fully armored cab protects the driver and the operators while rounds and propellant charges are stored in enclosed magazines on the bed.
Anti-Armor Missiles Are Pouring Out Of Iran
Each year new anti-tank missiles appear in Iran but rather than a sign of extraordinary diversification these are variants spun off from previous models. Since last year an intriguing non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missile has entered service with the ground forces in small quantities. Its origins are traceable to April 2023 when a video clip published by local media showed a missile being tested against a tank. This was the Sadid-365 and what distinguished it is being tailored for the Soviet vintage BMP-2’s sole missile launcher.
The Karaok Is The Turkish Javelin
It might not be helpful to constantly draw comparisons with equivalent US-made weapon systems but in form and function the Karaok, from aerospace manufacturer Roketsan, is best described as the Anatolian FGM-148 Javelin. At the very least, mentioning their similarities is a gateway to learning about both. In December last year Roketsan shared grainy video clips to promote its recent advances with its anti-armor missiles the LUMTAS-NG and the Karaok. The latter is a shoulder-fired launcher with a small control unit attached to it. The missile is stored inside its container or tube and is able to strike targets within 2,500 meters.
Pakistan Is Rolling Out The Fatah Family
The military parade on March 23 to commemorate Pakistan Day served as a useful catalog of the latest systems operated by the armed forces. Regardless of the country’s economic downturn all-weather friends such as China finished delivering nearly all the aircraft and vehicles it promised in the mid-2010s. These gifts, provided in supreme generosity and quantity, were an unmissable part of the spectacle. But during the course of the parade the army showed its latest road mobile missile launchers (calling them rockets isn’t accurate) belonging to the “Fatah” series. Since 2021 the army introduced a new 300mm system called Fatah–later renamed Fatah-I–that was armed with eight missiles in rectangular containers.
North Korea Hyped Its Main Battle Tank
Kim Jong Un’s recent visit to a live fire training ground on October 13 was publicized the next day with multiple high resolution photos of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) tanks, which are a mixed fleet. The highlight, of course, were the models described as the “new-type main battle tank” that are dissimilar from the KPA’s earlier efforts at locally built tanks. Also labelled as the “M-2020” for convenience (the number refers to the year it was first shown in public during a parade) these belonged to the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division or the 105th Tank Division for short.
The Bolas Is A Rebranded Anti-Tank Missile
The second installment of Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show, which took place outside Riyadh from February 4 until 8, was as tremendous as advertised. Like its original launch in 2022 Asian countries enjoyed a level of participation that rivaled their Western competitors. There was a strong emphasis on the host country’s own efforts at building up its military-industrial sector. With all due respect to the multitude of exhibitors from Türkiye and the United States the Chinese companies at the show–the sprawling Poly Defence among them–had their own vast acreage to display their wares. The arsenal mounted on tables and stands and even walls was a dazzling one and these included portable anti-tank missiles.
Inside The Biggest Drone War On Earth
As the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion passed Ukraine’s air force updated its official shootdown records against missiles. At this stage of the war the aggregate numbers are as problematic as ever. Across 24 months the Russian Federation’s military rained down more than 7,500 cruise missiles on Ukraine’s cities yet, according to the air force, just 1,905 have been eliminated as of February 24, 2024. This translates to a 25% interception rate; a measly sum considering the diverse and layered air defenses the air force can still operate. Ukraine’s air force insists it also shot down 4,844 “attack UAVs” (implying these are Shahed-131/136 variants) when the actual tally, as of this month, is 3,472 based on their own data.
North Korea Never Stopped Making Grad Launchers
Readers are aware of the Grad rocket’s ubiquity in Asia. But examining its mass-production in North Korea reveals a few unexpected insights. North Korea always maximized the artillery of its ground forces and its state-owned munitions and automotive plants kept improving the popular Soviet rocket caliber and its accompanying vehicles across 50 years. One reason is strong demand from abroad with at least four countries having production lines to reproduce North Korea’s own variant of the multiple rocket launcher and several other countries are operating these artillery systems.
Iraq Has Many Different Grad Launchers
Six years after it defeated ISIS the armed forces of Iraq continue the slow work of refurbishing and upgrading their inventory. But expensive acquisitions remain scarce with the defense budget trimmed down in the late 2010s and never raised although a substantial amount of “legacy” equipment are kept in working order. For the Army Day parade on January 6 the branches involved proved they still had enough functioning weaponry for a limited conventional war. These included a few units of Ukrainian-made Grad launchers known as the Bastion-1 whose previous deliveries to Iraq are obscured.
A Russian Drone Burned Down A Nazi Museum
Russia’s air force tried to overwhelm Ukraine’s airspace on the cusp of the new year. The result was days of unending missile and drone attacks. In circumstances that are either absurdly coincidental or premeditated a wave of Shahed-131/136 reached Lviv, which is more than 800 kilometers away from Crimea and 600 kilometers distant from Russia’s land border, and at least one crashed into a house–the building’s second floor was engulfed in flames (pictured above) and the significance of the address was soon revealed. According to both Ukrainian and international media the structure was a museum for Roman Shukhevych, an anti-Soviet partisan and pro-fascist commander in the 1940s, whose forces committed numerous atrocities against Jews and Poles.
21st Century Asian Arms Race 