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.
Five 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.
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 turret, 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 andFAMAE (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 swimming capability is restricted 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.
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this was withdrawn seven months later and bidding has started again.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 struggle with budget constraints.
·
Piranha I
·
AVGP
·
LAV-25
·
ASLAV
·
Piranha II
·
Bison
·
Coyote
·
Desert Piranha
·
LAV II
·
Piranha III
·
Piranha IIIC
·
Piranha IIIH
·
LAV III
·
Stryker
·
NZLAV
·
Piranha
IV
·
Piranha
V
| Piranha III Baseline vehicle | |||||||||
| Weights (approx.) | 6x6 | 8x8 | 10x10 | Dimensions (approx.) | 6x6 | 8x8 | 10x10 | ||
| Weight empty | kg | 9.5 | 10.5 | 12.5 | Overall length | m | 6.25 | 6.93 | 7.45 |
| Payload | kg | 3 | 6 | 7.5 | Height over hull | m | 1.985/2.17 | 1.985/2.17 | 1.985/2.17 |
| Total combat weight | kg | 12.5 | 16.5 | 20 | Overall width | m | 2.66 | 2.66 | 2.66 |
| Power-to-weight ratio | hp/t | 28 | 24 | 22.5 | Max. number of seats | 10 | 14 | 16 | |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||