Com-Central.net

Some controversy has erupted over Belgium's pick of the domestically made Cockerill Mk 8 90mm gun for the direct fire version of its new Piranha IIIs:

Controversies Ensue

On a related note, it appears that Equatorial Guinea has jacked a fourth of Belgium's Pandur fleet, which was on its way to a Beninese battalion that is part of the UN force in the Congo.

Dude, Where's My Pandur?"

Neil

Sounds like it's time for the UN to pull out it's ultimate weapon, a sternly worded letter threatening condemnation for imprudent actions. That oughta' straighten things out PDQ....
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"VRT News reports that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has already contacted the president of Equatorial Guinea, but reports noted that "these talks did not yield much result." Imagine. The report adds that: "A United Nations team is to set out to the area to inspect the convoy. It is feared however that the expensive material is stolen."

Good idea to send a UN team to confirm that one.

The Belgian army, meanwhile, says that the responsibility for the incident lies entirely with the UN and the freight carrier:

"Army spokesman Nick Van Haver confirms that the ship is still kept under embargo and that the UN is looking for a diplomatic solution. He added that Belgium is only lending the material to the UN and that it is the UN that has to deal with the matter now."

An odd quote from the link about 90mm on LAV III:
"The gun (90mm cockrill) apparently cost twice as much as a 105mm gun"

I wonder if they're comparing apples and oranges. If they're referring to a Leopard I's L7 105mm gun, the pricetag they're comparing may be 1970's dollars on a mass-produced item, and for a gun that they couldn't possibly fit onto the vehicle... unless they purchased the entire 105mm gun MGS turret. I can't imagine a Cockrill gun in-turret would really cost substantially more than a 105mm gun MGS turret + mandatory autoloader.

In the article there's a bit of hand-wringing about 90mm LAV-III replacing old Leopard Is. I guess it all depends on what sort of conflict the Belgians are planning on fighting - T80s in Germany or rebel insurgents in the Congo.