AS-90 Braveheart 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer

The AS-90 (acronym for: Artillery System for the 1990s, known officially as: Gun Equipment 155 mm L131) is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by the British Army.

The AS-90 was first deployed by the British Army in 1993.[1] 179 AS-90s were acquired to re-equip six of the eight self-propelled field artillery regiments (each 24 guns) in the 1 (BR) Corps, replacing the 105 mm FV433 Abbot SPG and older M109 155 mm Self Propelled Gun. It remains in UK service and will equip three field regiments supporting armoured infantry brigades for the foreseeable future.

AS-90 was designed and built by the Armaments division of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL), whose parent company became BAE Systems in 1999. VSEL provided 179 vehicles between 1992 and 1995 at a cost of £300 million ($480 million USD).

The AS-90 underwent a capability enhancement program in 2008 and 2009, primarily relating to upgrades of the AS-90's electronic system.

In 1999, Marconi Electronic Systems was contracted to upgrade British Army AS-90s to include a 52 calibre gun in order to increase the range of the artillery.[2] Critical to the program was a bi-modular charge system from Somchem of South Africa (selected after extensive trials of ammunition from many suppliers), which offered greatly reduced barrel wear. However, this ammunition failed to meet the requirement for insensitive munitions and the project was terminated. more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS-90

M109 Howitzer Main Battle Tank

The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It wasupgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions.

 The M109 has a crew of six: the section chief, the driver, the gunner, the assistant gunner and two ammunition handlers. The gunner aims the cannon left or right (deflection), the assistant gunner aims the cannon up and down (quadrant). The M109A6 Paladin needs only a crew of four: the commander, driver, gunner and ammunition loader. The British Army replaced its M109s with the AS-90. Several European armed forces have or are currently replacing older M109s with the German PzH 2000. Upgrades to the 

M109 were introduced by the U.S. (see variants below) and by Switzerland (KAWEST). With the cancellation of the U.S. Crusader, the Paladin remains the principal self-propelled howitzer for the U.S. for the foreseeable future. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M109_howitzer

Russia Missile Systems Deliveries - Rosoboronexport

No agreements exist on the delivery of Russian Antey-2500 surface-to-air missile systems in replacement of the S-300 missile systems, said Anatoly Isaikin, general director of the Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport.

"It is difficult to say anything. I would be able to talk about this if agreements had been or will be signed. There are none for now," Isaikin said when asked whether Antey-2500 systems could be delivered to Iran in replacement of S-300 systems. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi said at the end of July that Antey-2500 systems' deliveries to Iran in replacement of S-300s could be discussed in the context of Tehran's suit against Russia. "We are in talks to weight options in the context of Iran's suit. The issue [of Antey-2500 systems' deliveries in replacement of S-300s] could be raised," the Iranian ambassador told journalists then.

Sajjadi told Interfax in June that Iran would withdraw its suit from the Geneva arbitration court over Russia's failure to deliver S-300 missile systems, if Russia honors the corresponding contract. Moscow and Tehran signed a contract for the delivery of S-300 systems in 2007. Israel and the United States protested against the implementation of this contract.

The UN Security Council adopted a fourth resolution spelling out sanctions against Iran in June 2010. It imposed the first ever curb on conventional weapons deliveries to Tehran, including missiles and missile systems, tanks, assault helicopters, warplanes and warships. Russia said that the sanctions covered the contract with Tehran for the delivery of S-300 missile systems, developed and made by Almaz-Antey Concern.

Dmitry Medvedev, the then president, signed a decree on September 22 2010 on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1929 of June 9 2010 and Russia annulled the S-300 contacts with Tehran on October 7. Iran filed a $4 billion suit with the Geneva international arbitration court against Rosoboronexport protesting the failure of the S-300 contract.

Voice of Russia, Interfax

Chinook Helicopter Drop Ferrari

Over the next few weeks, some 200 handpicked journalists from all over the world will have the opportunity to try out Ferrari’s latest creation, the new FF sports car. Usually, a Ferrari presentation of this kind would take place at a race circuit, but not this time as Maranello chose the Plan De Corones ski resort in Italy to tout its new four-seater model’s all-wheel drive capabilities.

Being that the ski resort can only be reached by ski-lifts, Ferrari commissioned the help of the Italian air force to transport the two press cars at the top of Plan De Corones at 2,350 metres. A CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter from Viterbo’s 1st Regiment Antares and three Agusta 205 helicopters from the 4th Regiment Altair from the Italian air force in Bolzano, assisted Ferrari in moving the cars to the Dolomites. You can watch the air-lift in the video after the break.

more info http://www.carscoops.com/2011/03/video-ferrari-drops-ff-press-cars-at.html