Russia offering new missile system to international market – with video

Russia is offering its new man-portable air defense system to international clients.

By Richard Tomkins   |   March 23, 2016 at 4:33 PM

Russia is to promote international sales of its new Verba air-defense missile system. Photo courtesy Rosoboronexport

MOSCOW, March 23 (UPI) — Russia’s newest man-portable, shoulder-fired air defense missile system is to be promoted for the international market.

Rosoboronexport, a subsidiary of the Rostec State Corporation, said the Verba system by the KBM Scientific Production Concern will make its international debut later this month at the DEFEXPO India – 2016 exhibition.

“Traditionally Russia is ranked among world’s leading manufacturers of air defense weapons, including man-portable missile systems,” said Sergei Goreslavsky, deputy director general of JSC Rosoboronexport. “We are confident that the Verba will provoke interest of Indian militaries and our partners in Southeast Asia and other regions.

“It is the best weapon system in its class among offered today in the international arms market, judging by the combination of its tactical and technical characteristics and realization of unique technical solutions.”

Verba, based on the Igla-S MANPAD, is now entering service with the Russian Army. It features a new highly sensitive tri-band optical homer into the 9M336 missile, as well as new instruments and a unique warhead featuring an adaptive contact / proximity fuze and increased-weight explosive.

It also has enhanced anti-jamming capabilities, Rosoboronexport said.

The altitude ceiling of the missile is more than 11.400 feet. Its maximum range is more than 3.7 miles.

DEFEXPO India – 2016 is taking place in South Goa beginning on March 28.

Original post upi.com

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VERBA 9K333 MANPADS: Details

9K333 Verba and 9M336 missiles @todaynews24h.com

North Korea troops fighting in Syrian civil war

North Korea troops fighting in Syrian civil war, delegate says

Asaad Al-Zoubi said “fatally dangerous” North Korean soldiers are fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad.

By Elizabeth Shim   |   March 22, 2016 at 9:58 PM

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 22 (UPI) — Two North Korean military units are fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syria conflict.

Asaad Al-Zoubi, the head of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee delegation, told Russian news agency TASS that North Koreans have committed troops to the civil war.

According to Al-Zoubi, the two units are called Chalma-1 and Chalma-2.

The Syrian delegate provided the information as he attended Syria peace talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva.

Al-Zoubi added there are fighters from Iran and Afghanistan fighting on behalf of Assad.

Russia’s Sputnik International also confirmed the Syrian representative’s statement on North Korean soldiers in the Middle East, and quoted Al-Zoubi as saying the “North Korean troops are fatally dangerous” during an explanation of the presence of foreign troops in the Syrian civil war.

The civil war has continued for five years, and the opposition and the Assad regime are at odds regarding the details of a peace negotiation.

But Pyongyang maintains friendly ties with the dictatorship in Damascus, and Russia has supported Assad’s rule.

North Korea’s presence in the Middle East conflict is unprecedented, but the two countries have cultivated military ties for many years.

North Korea has been a staunch ally of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, opposed by the Islamic State, and Pyongyang helped Syria build a nuclear facility destroyed by an Israeli air raid in 2007.

Last September Syria dedicated a park to former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung.

@upi.com

India has received a tender from French weapons manufacturer Nexter to supply its army with 1,400 155mm towed cannons

Rapid Fire | Thursday, March 24, 2016,

India has received a tender from French state-owned weapons manufacturer Nexter to supply its army with 1,400 155mm towed cannons. Nexter’s participation in the $1.1 billion bid was made when its chairman, Stéphane Mayer, informed the National Assembly defense committee that it would be “the contract of the century for artillery.” The company has teamed with local partner Larsen & Toubro to offer its Trajan 155mm/52 caliber gun and faces competition from Elbit Systems, partnered with Bharat Forge.

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Background:

M777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH)

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is currently spearheading the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun (ATAG) project to develop a 155-millimetre 52-calibre Towed Gun by 2016, India already has dropped plans to acquire M777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) from US due to Higher Purchase cost . @defencetalk.net

TRAJAN® combines two well-known Nexter’s systems, the 155 mm/39 caliber TR Towed Gun System and the 155 mm/52 caliber CAESAR® truck-mounted artillery (deployed in Afghanistan and in Lebanon).

The key missions of TRAJAN® are:

• Performing Frontier Defense

• Providing Fire Support for all types of motorized, mechanized or armored units.

TRAJAN® integrates the fire power of CAESAR® into a modern and very efficient towed artillery gun for all firing missions from direct support firing to in-depth action.

Thanks to embedded electronics as INU (Inertial Navigation Unit), Automatic Laying and Relaying System, TRAJAN® is a formidable, efficient, and very accurate system. The 155 mm/52 caliber artillery (Joint Ballistic MoU) is compatible with all NATO standard ammunition, but also ERFB shells with smart ammunition (BONUS, SPACIDO, etc.). The maximum range is similar to CAESAR®, up to 42 km with an ERFB and even 55 km through the use of rocket-assisted projectile. Day and night sight devices can engage a target in direct firing at up to 2000 m.

The TRAJAN® system can be put into action in less than 1’30”. The gun is served by a six-man crew and is very much facilitated by automation of operations for putting it into or taking it out of action, for aiming and by an automatic loading of shells. These elements also make operations more secure. The TRAJAN® firing rate is six rounds per minute. A shell handling crane is available as an option.

TRAJAN® is equipped with an auxiliary power unit that provides it with all the energy necessary for electrical and fluid equipment, and can travel at 10 km/h under its own power to reach its firing position. When towed, its tractor can travel at up to 80 km/h with no constraints, and can turn on turning diameters of 25 m.

Based on Nexter’s 155mm/52cal. towed gun project, it has been customized to satisfy the specifications in the Indian “Towed Gun System” (TGS) call for bids in partnership with LARSEN & TOUBRO Ltd, a large Indian industrial group. This action illustrates Nexter’s ability to transfer its know-how and control technology transfers. The Indian Ministry of Defense got it right, TRAJAN® is officially invited to assessment tests in India after the Technical Evaluation Committee has approved its compliance with requirements.

@army-guide.com