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 expected to receive even more M109A5 & M992A2

According to US Congressional notifications from DSCA on May 16, 2017, Lebanese Army is expected to receive a grant of "up to" 50 M109A5 Howitzers along to 28 M992A2 Field Ammunition Support Vehicles under the EDA program. The grant is valued at $5,502,083.

Lebanon is already expecting 24 M109A5 and 10 M992 as EDA; it is not clear whether this new grant is completely separate from the previous authorization or an extension of it. Besides the LAF already operates 12x M109A2 received back in 2015 through transfer from Jordan.


Source of Info: https://cha.house.gov/

This article first appeared on LAF Digest (Unofficial)

Lebanese Army set to receive 24 M109A5 & 10 M992

The Lebanese Army is expected to receive 24x M109A5 self-propelled Howitzers along to 10x M992 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle as part of DSCA Excess Defense Articles (EDA).

DSCA was granted authority in April 2016 for these equipment whose current value is around USD2.2 million.

It is the first time Lebanon operates both vehicles/variants and this comes as Lebanon's fire power capability continues to grow amid growing threats on the borders with Syria.

The LAF received 12x M109A2 back in 2015 through transfer from Jordan.

Source of Info: DSCA website

This article first appeared on LAF Digest (Unofficial)