Piranha V
Danish Mowag Piranha 5
TypeInfantry Fighting Vehicle
Place of originSwitzerland
Service history
In service2015 – present[1]
Used byDenmark
Monaco
Spain
Romania
Production history
DesignerMowag Motor Car Factory, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
ManufacturerMowag
Bucharest Mechanical Factory
VariantsDragón
Specifications
Mass30 t (66,000 lb)
Length8 m (26 ft)
Width2.99 m (9.8 ft)
Height2.34 m (7.7 ft)
Crew3 (+ 8 passengers)
Armor14.5mm AP resistant. Maximum Add-on ( 25mm AP resistant)
Main
armament
1×RCWS (12.7 mm machine gun or 30 mm autocannon), or anti-tank missile launcher, or 120mm mortar
Secondary
armament
1×7.62 mm coaxial machine gun (on turret)
EngineMTU 6V199 TE21 or Scania DC13
437–480 kW (586–644 hp)
Power/weight14.56–16 kW/t (19.53–21.46 hp/t)
Drive8×8
TransmissionZF 7HP902S or SAPA SW624
SuspensionHydropneumatic 8×8 wheeled
Fuel capacity450 L (120 US gal)
Operational
range
550 km (340 mi)[2]
Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph)[2]

The Piranha V Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) is the fifth generation variant of the Mowag Piranha family of vehicles. It was designed by General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH.[3] The first prototype was completed in 2008.[4] It was first introduced during the Eurosatory exhibition in 2010.[5]

Development

The Piranha V was developed by General Dynamics UK and Mowag. It was designed to meet the British Army requirements of the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) program.[4] In 2007, it was announced that three vehicles were participating in the program: the Boxer, the VBCI, and the Piranha V.[6]

In 2008, the Piranha V was announced as the provisional selection in the FRES program.[7] However, no production order was announced, and the contract was subsequently cancelled in December 2008.[8][9] By the end of 2008, the first prototype was finished.[4] The vehicle was presented by GDELS at the Eurosatory exhibition in 2010, together with a new variant of the ASCOD IFV.[5] In 2016, it was successfully loaded into an Airbus A400M cargo aircraft during an evaluation exercise in Seville.[10]

A live firing test was conducted at Camp Rena in Norway, in 2019, with the presence of the Romanian procurement authority. The Piranha V, fitted with the Israeli UT30 MK 2 passed the series of static and dynamic shooting tests in harsh environmental conditions, exceeding the customer's requirements, as noted by GDELS.[11]

Design

Mobility

The Piranha V is available with a MTU 6V199 TE21 diesel engine producing 586 horsepower (437 kW).[12] Both Denmark[13] and Spain,[14] however, have opted for a different powerpack built by the Spanish company SAPA, consisting of a Scania Diesel engine with 480 kW coupled with the SW 624 automatic transmission, and an auxiliary power unit with 75 kW.[15]

Protection

Standard armour (STANAG 4569, Level 4/4b) offers all-round 14.5mm AP protection and 20mm-23mm AP on front. Can offer full protection for the crew if a 10 kg explosive AT mine explodes under the hull. Add-ons can offer all-round protection to 25mm AP rounds and level 5 STANAG 4569.[1]

Operational history

Denmark

At the end of 2015, Denmark announced the order of 308 vehicles. The first Piranhas were to arrive in 2018, with the last arriving in 2023.[16] The Piranha V was selected as the replacement of the old M113. It was selected over the CV90, the ASCOD, and the VBCI.[17]

The Danish Piranha V contract includes 6 different variants: infantry, command, pioneer, ambulance, repair and mortar. The first pre-production variant vehicles arrived in 2017, with the first production variants being officially handed over to the Armed Forces in March 2019.[18][19] In 2020, the ambulance version was received. The vehicles were assigned to the 1st Brigade where they are to replace the Piranha III.[20]

In 2023, the Danish Ministry of Defence announced that it selected the Skyranger 30 as part of its planned ground air defense system. The Skyranger system is to be mounted on the Piranha V platform. The integration will be performed by the Danish Terma A/S company.[21]

Monaco

Monaco is the first operator of the Piranha V. Two vehicles were received in 2015.[1]

Romania

Romanian Piranha V with the Elbit UT30 MK 2 turret

In 2017, Romania signed a 900 million euro contract with General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) for the purchase and production of 227 Piranha V armored personnel carriers in Romania.[22] The joint venture between GDELS and Uzina Mecanică București (UMB) also aims to provide the Piranha V to the export market in the area. Besides production, a military vehicle maintenance section will also operate at UMB.[23]

The first batch of 36 vehicles, was produced at GDELS-Mowag's facilities in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, 10 of which were assembled in Bucharest. The first batch included 30 vehicles in Infantry Fighting Vehicle configuration equipped with 30 mm cannons, and 6 in mobile command point configuration, and was assigned to the 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", also known as the Red Scorpions, in October 2020.[24][25] A second batch of 32 vehicles assembled at UMB, was received in November 2022. Another 26 Piranhas were received in different configurations, including mortar carriers, equipped with Spear MK2 120 mm mortars, ambulances, CBRN, and recovery vehicles.[26] The rest of the vehicles will be entirely produced in Romania.[23] On 10 February 2023, it was announced that Romania will purchase another 150 Piranha V for an estimated cost of 674 million US dollars.[27]

In May 2023, 25 Piranhas of the 26th Infantry Battalion participated in the Anakonda 23 exercise.[28][29] The Romanian soldiers carried out a 1,000 kilometer march to the Polish training grounds in Nowa Dęba where they trained together with troops from Slovenia, Poland, and the United States.[28][30]

Spain

Under the Vehículo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR) program, the Spanish Ministry of Defence selected a local team in 2015 to develop the future 8×8 armored infantry vehicle which is to replace the old BMR, VEC, and M113 vehicles in the Spanish Army endowment. The team, formed by Indra Sistemas, Sapa Placencia, and the joint venture General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas based the vehicle on the Piranha V design.[31]

In 2018, the first 5 demonstrators were received.[14] The contract for the armored vehicle, known as the Dragón by the Spanish Army, was awarded in 2020 for 1.74 billion euros, 733 million of which was awarded to GDLS-SBS. It included 348 vehicles, maintenance and life cycle support, as well as the support for international commercialization. The contract is expected to grow to 1,000 vehicles.[32] The Dragón began trials in 2022, after passing the critical design review. Of the 348, 219 are to be in IFV configuration, 58 reconnaissance vehicles, 49 sappers combat vehicles, and 14 command post vehicles. The deliveries are scheduled to finish by 2027.[33]

The first batch of vehicles was delivered on 20 December 2022. The 7 vehicles were received during a ceremony attended by the Secretary of State for Defence, and the Army Chief of Staff. The vehicles are being produced by TESS Defence, an association between Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra Sistemas, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, and Sapa Placencia.[34]

Operators

Map with Piranha 5 operators in blue

Current operators

Potential operators

Failed bids

  •  Bulgaria – In 2022, it was announced that Bulgaria showed interest in the Piranha V. The country intends to acquire 150 infantry armored vehicles under a contract worth 1.46 billion BGN. The vehicles might be produced in cooperation with Romania.[38][39] An offer made by General Dynamics Land Systems for a cheaper Stryker won the competition and was approved by the parliament in September 2023, 183 vehicles for USD $1.37 billion.[40]
  •  Slovakia – In April 2022, Slovakia submitted a request for information to General Dynamics regarding the Piranha V produced in Romania.[39] The contract failed as the Patria AMV was chosen instead.[41]
  •  United Kingdom – Provisional selection in the FRES program. Contract was cancelled in December 2008.[9]

See also

Comparable vehicles

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "MOWAG Piranha V". military-today.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Wheeled 8x8 armored combat vehicle - Switzerland". armyrecognition.com. 20 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Product Range - Wheeled Vehicles - Medium Wheeled Vehicles - Piranha 5" Archived 3 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, "GENERAL DYNAMICS - European Land Systems", Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "PIRANHA V Armoured Wheeled Vehicle". army-technology.com. 14 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 "GDLS Europe Introduces New Infantry Fighting Vehicles". defense-update.com. 13 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Drayson: New vehicles will have "vital part to play in the Army of the future" Archived 11 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Design selected for future armoured vehicle for British Army (FRES) Archived 3 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Tim Ripley (9 May 2008). "General Dynamics' Piranha V makes FRES provisional selection". janes.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009.
  9. 1 2 "House of Commons Hansard Ministerial Statements for 11 Dec 2008 (pt 0001)". parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Wheeled Armored Vehicle PIRANHA 5 Loaded in Airbus A400M". gdels.com. 25 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "GDELS conducts shooting trials with PIRANHA 5 for Romanian Army". army-technology.com. 10 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "Joint venture agreement between Uzina Mecanică București - General Dynamics, the first step to relaunch the defence industry". ROMARM. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Scania skal levere motorer til Forsvarets nye pansrede mandskabsvogne". mynewsdesk.com (in Danish). 18 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Hoyos (8x8): "La recepción de los cinco demostradores se extenderá hasta noviembre de 2018" (1) - Noticias Infodefensa España". 12 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "SAPA Transmission powers Spanish Piranha". Janes. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017.
  16. 1 2 "309 New Armored Vehicles". Forsvaret.dk (in Danish). 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Tamir Eshel (2 May 2015). "Denmark to buy hundreds of Swiss Piranha 5 APCs to replace aeging M-113s". defense-update.com.
  18. ↑ "Piranha 5 and Eagle 5 handed over to the armed forces in Denmark". esut.de. 4 April 2019.
  19. 1 2 Tomkins, Richard (19 May 2017). "First Piranhas delivered to Danish military". United Press International. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  20. ↑ Flavia Camargos Pereira (15 July 2020). "Ambulance version of Piranha V enters service with Danish Army". shephardmedia.com.
  21. ↑ Stephen W. Miller (23 May 2023). "Danish Army Selects Skyranger 30 for Planned Mobile Air Defense". Armada International.
  22. ↑ "Romania signs €900mn contract for Piranha armoured vehicles". www.intellinews.com. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Blindatele Piranha 5 vor fi produse complet la Uzina Mecanică București, inclusiv pentru export". HotNews (in Romanian). 15 March 2022.
  24. ↑ "Primele 36 de transportoare blindate PIRANHA V au fost receptionate de Armata". HotNews (in Romanian). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  25. ↑ "Armata a testat primele blindate Piranha 5 în poligonul de la Cincu și a executat trageri cu tunul de 30 mm". HotNews (in Romanian). 6 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Noile variante de Piranha V pentru România (Video). Piranha inclusiv cu mortier Cardom Spear de 120 mm urmează să intre în dotarea Armatei". DefenseRomania. 5 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "România va cumpăra alte 150 de blindate Piranha pentru armata română". Digi24 (in Romanian). 10 February 2023.
  28. 1 2 Darius Mureșan (6 May 2023). "TAB-77 și Zimbrii care se stricau în misiune sunt istorie. Demonstrație de forță Piranha 5 românești: Marș de 1.000 km a blindatelor de luptă". DefenseRomania (in Romanian).
  29. ↑ "Peste 400 de militari români vor participa la Anakonda 23, exercițiu multinațional în Polonia". umbrela-strategica.ro (in Romanian). 24 April 2023.
  30. ↑ Pfc. Jason Klaer (23 May 2023). "'Thunderbolts' roll out the thunder at Anakonda 23". army.mil.
  31. ↑ Dylan Malyasov (28 September 2015). "Spain selects Piranha 5 as new 8×8 armoured infantry vehicle". defence-blog.com.
  32. ↑ "General Dynamics European Land Systems awarded €733 million (USD $870 million) of a €1.74 billion contract for 348 Spanish 8x8 combat vehicles". prnewswire.com. 25 August 2020.
  33. ↑ Ronald Watkins (12 August 2022). "Spain's Dragon 8×8 Combat Vehicles to Begin Trials". The Defense Post.
  34. 1 2 "First Dragón 8×8 Delivered to Spanish Army". European Security & Defence. 2 January 2023.
  35. ↑ Giletta, Jacques (2005). Les Gardes Personnelles des Princes de Monaco (1st ed.). Taurus Editions. ISBN 2 912976-04-9.
  36. ↑ Victor Cozmei (3 March 2023). "Blindatele Piranha 5: General Dynamics a atribuit un contract de 120 mil. euro către Elbit pentru turele și mortiere construite în România". HotNews (in Romanian).
  37. ↑ "The Slovenia Times". sloveniatimes.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  38. ↑ "Оръжеен мениджър от Румъния: Ще правим съвместно с България бронетранспортьори Piranha V". offnews.bg (in Bulgarian). 19 May 2022.
  39. 1 2 "Bulgaria - interesată de blindate Piranha V produse în România. După ce a ratat contractul Slovaciei, România mai are o șansă la sud de Dunăre". DefenseRomania (in Romanian). 22 July 2022.
  40. ↑ Adamowski, Jaroslaw (25 September 2023). "Bulgarian government approves $1.37 billion Stryker order". Defense News. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  41. ↑ "Defensenews.com: Slovakia, Finland ink production deal for 76 Patria combat vehicles, 31.8.2022". 31 August 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
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