MOWAG Piranha

MOWAG Piranha
Irish Army Mowag Piranha.jpg
Irish Army Piranha IIIH (armed with 12.7 mm HMG), on the streets of Dublin for the 2006 Easter Military Parade.
Type Armoured wheeled vehicle
Place of origin  Switzerland
Specifications
Weight From 9,500 kg[1]
Length 6.25 to 7.45 m[1]
Width 2.5 to 2.66 m[1]
Height 1.8 to 1.98 m[1]
Speed 100 km/h [2]
Swiss Rad Spz 93 during the 2006 Steel Parade in Thun
A Romanian MOWAG Piranha IIIC on the Romanian National Day parade on December 1, at the Triumph Arch in Bucharest.
Irish Piranha IIIH 8x8 on public display

The MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG (since April 2010 the name has changed to General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH), corporation.

Four generations of vehicles have been produced, manufactured by MOWAG or under licence by other companies, and variants are in service with military forces throughout the world.

Contents

Variants

Piranhas are available in 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, and 10x10 wheel versions. There are several variants within these versions, giving different degrees of armour protection and several kinds of turrets, for use in a variety of roles. Piranha derivatives have been assigned roles as troop transports, command vehicles, fire support vehicles, tank trainers, and police vehicles.

Piranhas are used by the Swiss Army. Swiss-built Piranha derivatives have been exported to Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Romania, Spain and Belgium. The Romanian Army and the Belgian Army have selected the Piranha IIIC 8x8. It has decided to convert to all wheeled vehicles, simultaneously removing the current main battle armoured transporter TAB and the Leopard 1 battle tanks, from the inventory. The Piranha is modern and armoured, but lacks the protection, firepower and manoeuvrability of a conventional tracked tank. In total 242 vehicles will be delivered, of which 104 optional.

Piranha derivatives have been manufactured under licence by General Dynamics (Canada), BAE Systems Land Systems (UK), Komatsu (Japan), Cardoen and FAMAE (Chile), and in the USA. The 8x8 US Army Stryker vehicle is derived from the Canadian LAV III which in turn is based on the Piranha, as is the LAV-25 family in service with the USMC. The Australian Defence Force also has its own modified version of the Piranha I 8x8 known as the ASLAV (Australian Light Armoured Vehicle). The ASLAV is operated by two cavalry regiments (the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment) and is used in the armoured reconnaissance and armoured personnel carrier roles.

Some variants, like the United States Marine Corps's Light Armored Vehicle-25 (LAV-25) and its derivatives, are equipped with propellers for amphibious use, though their abilities are limited to sheltered waters.

A new Piranha V version, weighing in between 25 to 30 tons, was announced as the provisional winner of the British Army's FRES program on 8 May 2008.[3] However this was withdrawn seven months later and bidding has started again.

General Dynamics European Land Systems launched their new Piranha Class 5 at EUROSATORY 2010 on 15 June and it is reported that the British MoD are showing renewed interest but they have no money. [4]

Family tree

Operators

Gallery

Mobile Gun System; derivative of the Piranha, mounting a 105 mm tank gun

Canadian Forces LAV III

Canadian Piranha-derived, six-wheeled Cougar AVGP, with Scorpion tank turret (76 mm gun)

The LAV-25 has two M240 machine guns and a 25 mm autocannon

References and notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAS.org - Piranha overview - Stats
  2. ↑ Army-Technology.com - Specifications - Piranha III / LAV III Wheeled Armoured Vehicles
  3. ↑ "Drayson: New vehicles will have "vital part to play in the Army of the future"". United Kingdom Ministry of Defense. June 8, 2007. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/DraysonNewVehiclesWillHavevitalPartToPlayInTheArmyOfTheFuture.htm. Retrieved July 4, 2007. 
  4. ↑ http://defensenews.com/blogs/eurosatory/2010/06/15/gd-rolls-out-piranha-5-once-slated-for-britain/
  5. ↑ http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/lsd/land112/land112.cfm
  6. ↑ http://www.army-technology.com/contractors/armoured/mowag/press12.html
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 http://disarmament.un.org/UN_REGISTER.nsf
  8. ↑ http://www.mowag.ch/En/04E_News/2008/20081120E.htm
  9. ↑ http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/english/11_6_3.asp
  10. ↑ Ghana Armed Forces
  11. ↑ http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htproc/articles/20081218.aspx
  12. ↑ http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jaa/jaa_a052.html

Notes

  1. ^ Chilean built 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 in different configurations for the Chilean Army.

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