Vehicle-maker AM General has received contracts for production of additional High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles for eight countries.

The contracts, worth a combined total of about $42.1 million, include modifications for vehicles and vehicle parts under earlier contracts. Covered under the awards are new production vehicles, international ambulance chassis vehicles, automotive kits, spare parts and training for the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Israel, Turkey, Kenya and Lebanon.

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is popularly known as the Humvee

"AM General continues to grow our backlog of new production HMMWVs while developing comprehensive modernization and maintenance programs for domestic and international customers," said Chris Vanslager, Executive Vice President, Defense Programs.

"The HMMWV continues to be the vehicle of choice around the globe for more than 60 partner nations, evolving over the years with significantly increased mobility, protection, reliability and durability in order to meet changing military missions and threats ...all at an affordable price."

AM General said there are about 230,000 Humvees in service around the world. About 160,000 of those are operated by the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Reserves and National Guard.

Rheinmetall introduces new sighting system
Dusseldorf, Germany (UPI) Oct 13, 2015 - A new aiming solution for 40mm grenade launchers and shoulder-fired rockets has been introduced by Rheinmetall Defense of Germany.

The Vingmate MR 500, which improves first-shot capability at all ranges and minimizes engagement time, is ambidextrous in design and features an easy-to-use interface. It is a manually adjusted clip-on sighting system and employs an infrared target marker and illuminator and weighs only 11 ounces.

Rheinmetall said it is powered by a CR123 battery and can also communicate with external devices such as Rheinmetall's newly developed TAC-Ray clip-on, a rfile-mounted laser rangefinder that is capable of measuring targets out to more than 2,000 yards.

"Once again, the MR 500 underscores Rheinmetall's status as a one-stop shop for 40mm weapons technology, joining other fire control units from the Vingmate family like the Vingmate 4500 for automatic grenade launchers under contract with US Special Opeerations Command, the Vingmate MR 800 for grenade launchers, and the Vingmate SL for shoulder-launched weapons," the company said.