Piranha V
GDELS-MOWAG continues to develop the Piranha family and regularly introduces new designs of various kinds. The last of the platforms of the Piranha V family has already gone into series and is being supplied to foreign customers. Perhaps the development of the next sample is already underway. This project began in the mid-2000s, shortly after MOWAG became a division of General Dynamics. It is noteworthy that almost simultaneously with the acquisition of the Swiss company, General Dynamics also took over General Motors Canada. Thus, at present, all work on the development of the Piranha family is de jure carried out by the same large company.
The Piranha-V armored personnel carrier is the latest model in the Piranha family - a multi-purpose wheeled armored vehicle manufactured by MOWAG (now known as General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag). Piranha-5 is the fifth generation of a multi-purpose wheeled armored vehicle in the Piranha family from General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag.
The new Piranha has approximately the same appearance as the fourth armored car of the family, but is noticeably larger in size. Now the maximum length of the armored hull is eight meters, and the width is slightly less than three. The Piranha V weapon system is generally similar to previous developments. The same can be said about the power plant and characteristics. According to the declared data, it can be seen that the main emphasis in the development of the fifth "Piranha" is on the level of protection. The armored hull of the new design meets the requirements of the fourth level of the STANAG 4569 standard: it can withstand 14.5 mm bullets from all angles and protects the crew from undermining 10-kilogram land mines under the wheel or under the bottom.
Compared to serial machines, the new Piranha-5 has a large gross weight of 30 tons and a design margin that greatly exceeds this weight. This reserve allows you to have a significant potential necessary for the implementation of future upgrades and technological innovations. The Piranha-5 armored personnel carrier can accommodate 13 people in a well-protected armored hull that protects against the effects of mines, improvised explosive devices and EFP threats.
The vehicle can be equipped with an active protection system and additional armor, offering various levels of protection with more than 95% all-angle coverage. The Piranha-5 armored personnel carrier can be armed with various modular systems, ranging from remotely controlled light modules with small arms, heavy systems with cannon weapons, such as the 30-mm LANCE turret.
The Piranha-5 combines an MTU diesel engine with efficient driving systems (FEDS) that give it a top speed of 100 km/h and a range of 550 km. The first Piranha-5 is powered by a 400-430kW MTU diesel engine mated to a ZF Economat automatic transmission, but a variety of engine and transmission combinations can be fitted. MOWAG said that a hybrid diesel-electric drive could be installed with appropriate technology development and could demonstrate its operational advantages.
The Piranha family of 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 armored personnel carriers was created by the Swiss company MOWAG (since 2010 owned by General Dynamics) in the late 1960s. the first prototype was made in Switzerland in 1972, the first batch was released four years later. MOWAG Piranha armored vehicles are in service with the armies of more than 20 states and are produced under license by a number of foreign companies.
In April 2016, General Dynamics European Land Systems and Airbus Defence and Space successfully demonstrated the load of a PIRANHA 5 8x8 Armored Personal Carrier (APC) into an Airbus A400M cargo aircraft during an evaluation exercise. As part of the drill, the PIRANHA 5 was driven into the cargo compartment and completely tied-down according the airlift procedures. The crew was able to easily load the vehicle in the cargo compartment of the aircraft, which can accommodate one PIRANHA 5 and 29 fully equipped soldiers. The objective was to validate the boarding of a PIRANHA 5 in the cargo compartment without any special preparation as part of a broader A400M evaluation process, demonstrating the transport capability of combat vehicles. The demonstration was conducted at Airbus Defence and Space site in San Pablo (Seville, Spain), which is the final assembly plant for the A400M.
Denmark selected the General Dynamics European Land Systems - MOWAG Piranha 5 8x8 to be its new armoured personnel carrier (APC), the Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 30 April 2015. The move marked an end to the largest armoured vehicle competition in Europe, and saw an 8x8 triumph in a contest that had pitted two schools of armored vehicle design, wheeled and tracked, against each other. In Royal Danish Army service the Piranha V will replace the M113 series of tracked APCs. Denmark will purchase a minimum of 206 Piranha Vs, with the number potentially rising to 450, although the MoD stated that "the exact number will be determined at a later date."
In 2015, the UK launched the software component of the Mechanized Infantry Vehicle ( MIV ). According to publications, its goal is to continue the previously interrupted part of the Utility-Vehicle program under a new name. Proposals were requested from manufacturing companies in 2016. In part, they have remained the same. Like a few years ago, Boxer, VBCI, Piranha V were proposed for the competition. They were supplemented by military armored vehicles from the Finnish company Patria ( Patria ) AMV-XP, Terrex 3 ( Terrex 3 ) from ST Kinetics (Singapore ) and Stryker ( Stryker SDVH ) produced by GD-UK. The purchase of 307 vehicles is expected from 2022.
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