Belgian John Cockerill modernizes M113 APC for Ukraine

The Belgian company John Cockerill modernizes M113 armored personnel carriers for Ukraine.

The company received a contract for work from the Belgian government as part of its defense assistance to Ukraine.

John Cockerill designs, manufactures, integrates, and modernizes weapons systems for the entire range of calibers from 25mm to 120mm.

Presumably, new combat modules and systems from this company will also be installed for future М113.

“Thanks to its technological experience, John Cockerill is proud to help Belgium in its support of Ukrainian forces,” the company said.

The company offers its customers the installation of branded Cockerill combat modules.

In particular, the company developed the Cockerill 1030 unmanned turret, which is capable of using a 30mm gun.

The company can put lighter Cockerill CLWS turrets with 25/30mm guns and 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine guns, which, probably, can be set on the Ukrainian М113.

The transfer of these М113 for Ukraine is financed by the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

In addition to vehicles, Ukraine will receive the necessary spare parts. Earlier, it became known that the М113 should receive a remotely controlled weapon system and a machine gun installation. The number of APCs and the timing of their transfer to Ukraine have not been disclosed, but it is indicated that this will happen over the next few months.

Presumably, armored personnel carriers will be transferred from Belgium with the support of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Belgian army withdrew the M113 from service more than a decade ago. As of 2010, about 747 M113 remained in Belgium in various modifications.

In general, hundreds of armored personnel carriers that were supplied to Ukraine by the United States and EU countries are currently in service with the Ukrainian army.