Panzerhaubitze 2000 and other former-German equipment sold to Lithuania

The Lithuianian ministry of defence (MoD) announced on 28th of September 2015 that the army has purchased a total of 53 combat vehicles from Germany. The contract was signed one day later on the 29th of September.

The complete purchase includes:

• 21 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns 
• 26 M577 V2 command post vehicles 
• 6 BPz 2 armored recovery vehicles

The total costs of the deal was €58.3 million, which will be alocated until 2019. €16.2 million were paid for the 53 vehicles, while €42.1 million were paid for modernization, upgrading the new vehicles with communication and mangaement systems as used by the Lithuanian army, and for adjusting military infrastructure for the Panzerhaubitze 2000 as well for training personnel.

The Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) is a self-propelled howitzer equipped with a 155 mm L/52 rifled gun. The chassis is made of armor steel and provides a relatively high level of protection (supposedly equal to the Leopard 1 hull). Additional armor can be mounted on top of the Panzerhaubitze 2000 roof in order to provide adequate protection against counter-battery fire and bomblets. The useage of many Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 military off-the-shelf (MOTS) components reduces the unit price of a PzH 2000.
Compared to the previous 105 mm towed artillery used by the Lithuanian army, the PzH 2000 has more than three times the effective firing range - according to the MoD, the PzH 2000 can accurately engage targets up to 40 kilometers, while the 105 mm howitzers have a range of 11 kilometers.

The M577 V2 command post vehicle is originally an American vehicle based on the M113. The German army bought 220 M577A1 vehicles during the Cold War. The designation M577 V2 seems to be local or it might be a mistranslation of the German NDV2 upgrade, that was applied to several M113-based vehicles. The NDV includes a new and more powerful engine (providing 300 hp output, made by MTU) and a new transmission.

The Bergepanzer 2 (BPz 2) is an armored recovery vehicle based on the Leopard 1 chassis.

The delivery of the first vehicles is expected to begin in 2016, the last vehicles should be received as of 2019.

Meanwhile the decision for an 8x8 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle has not been made yet by the Lithuanian armed forces. While - as previously reported - the army prefers the German Boxer, other parts of the Lithuanian military and/or government seem to dislike the high unit costs of a Boxer. The total costs supposedly are about €500 milions and the unit costs are supposedly 35% higher than some other alternatives investigated by the Lithuanian army according to an interview of the Lithuanian newspaper DELFI (use google translator).
On the other hand the Boxer with Puma turret (nicknamed PuBo by German officials) is probably the most capable vehicle offered to Lithuania.

German armor sales process

Recently

The Brazilian armed forces are expecting the final delivery of former German Gerpard self-propelled anti-air guns (SPAAG). Back in Novembre 2011 the Gepard was presented to the Brazilian army, where it managed to score several direct hits against remotely operated model aircraft (with a wingspan just above 1 metre) used by in Brazil to represent airplanes at longer ranges. The previously used 40 mm Bofors gun failed at achieving direct hits and required a larger amount of time and ammunition to destroy the aircrafts.

A total of 32 Gepard 1A2 SPAAG were ordered by the Brazilian army. The last 8th were shipped in the first week of August in Germany and are scheduled to arrive 20 days later in Brazil.
The Gepard is based on the Leopard 1 chassis, which is already operational within the Brazilian army.

Source: Jane's IHS

Meanwhile the Croatian army received the first of 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns (SPG). All vehicles are former German ones, which were bought by Croatia in 2014 for 14€ million. The total budget of the Croatian army to buy, support and modernize the Panzerhabuitze 2000s is 41€ million. It is expected that all 12 PzH 2000 will be operating in 2016.

Source: Jane's IHS

Rheinmetall has started working on a 130€ million contract for Lockheed Martin UK. The contract is about the production of 245 turrets for the Scout Specialist Vehicle (or rather it's structure bar many components chosen by the British). The weapon mount is also assembled by Rheinmetall.
The Scout SV is going to use a modified version of Rheinmetall's Lance Modular Turret System (Lance MTS). The structure of the turret is assembled in Germany. It seems to consists of steel, but contains many mounting points for composite armor panels.

Two turret structures for the Scout SV in a Rheinmetall facility in Germany

Source: Rheinmetall

Last but not least, the Royal Netherlands Army took over the first of 60 Boxer command post vehicles on the 31. of July. The command post vehicle will be the third version of the Boxer to enters service with the Dutch army. The engineering vehicle version and the cargo transport version of the Boxer will enter service in 2016.

Source: ARTEC Boxer