Lebanese Army receives first 8 M2A2 ODS Bradley

The Lebanese Army officially received today the first 8 of 32 planned M2A2 ODS Bradley during a ceremony at Beirut Port (Ref). The vehicles were offered as excess defense articles and were under discussion for a while now (Ref).

Along to the M2 Bradley, 10 M992 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle were also delivered. These will be complemented later with 28 more M992A2 (Ref) and up to 74 M109A5 Howitzers (Read more).

This is a big milestone for the Lebanese Army which has been attempting to increase its IFV fleet which consists of only 16 AIFV-B-C25 previously acquired from Belgium (Read more). For years the acquiring M2 Bradley seemed out of question.

It is unclear which units will be operating these vehicles at the moment, and it is unlikely to field them shortly in the expected battle against ISIS on the eastern borders.

Photo Credits: Lebanese Armed Forces (Source)

Update:
On the same day, BAE Systems was awarded a $8.9 million technical support and sustainment contract for the Bradley vehicles.

BAE Systems Land and Armaments L.P., San Jose, California, has been awarded an $8,982,981 modification (P00046) to foreign military sales (Lebanon) contract W56HZV-15-C-0099 for system technical support and sustainment system technical support for the Bradley family of vehicles. Work will be performed in San Jose, California, with an estimated completion date of July 8, 2020. Fiscal 2017 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $8,982,981 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1279412/
 
This article first appeared on LAF Digest (Unofficial)

LAF scales up its communication with a comprehensive in-field tactical networks systems from Harris Corp

Harris Corporation has been awarded a ~5.2 million USD contract to supply Lebanon with advanced networking/communication systems for both personnel and vehicles (Source). The contract would supply the Lebanese Army with:

• 68 Harris Falcon III RF-7850M-HH Multiband Networking Handheld with installation kits
• 34 Harris RF-7800I Tactical Networking Intercom System with vehicle installation
• 4 Laptops
• 1 Harris RF-7800N-SW1xx hManager Software Suite.
• Spares, training, maintenance test bench 

Description of the Systems
The RF-7800N hManager is a command and control software solution for tactical communications. It is a set of tools for planning, configuring, deploying, and monitoring wideband tactical networks.

The Harris RF-7800I is a vehicle intercom system,  it "delivers clear voice and data between crew members within the limited confines of military vehicles traveling in harsh conditions". The below illustrates on a typical installation:

Photo Credits: Harris Corporation (Source)

The Falcon III RF-7850M-HH "connects forces in an ad-hoc, self-forming, self-healing network, allowing users on a net to simultaneously communicate voice and time-critical Situational Awareness (SA)."

That's a solid upgrade & new capability for the Lebanese Army communication capabilities. The small number of items would limit fielding these systems to specific units, most likely SOF.

This article first appeared on LAF Digest (Unofficial)

Lebanese Army to receive additional M121 120mm mortars starting 2018

Watervliet Arsenal has received a contract to supply the Lebanese Army with an unspecified number of M121 120mm mortars barrels and assemblies worth $615,000 (Reference). On average that amount would supply 30 mortar units, but that's a rough estimation.

This article first appeared on LAF Digest (Unofficial)