Mowag Piranha V

The Piranha V Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) is one variant of the fifth generation of the Mowag Piranha family of vehicles. It was designed by General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH.[1]

Piranha V
Danish Mowag Piranha 5
TypeInfantry Fighting Vehicle
Place of originSwitzerland
Service history
Used byDenmark
Monaco
Spain
Romania
Production history
DesignerMowag Motor Car Factory, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
ManufacturerMowag
ROMARM
Specifications
Mass33 t (73,000 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× 12.7 mm MG turret or MOWAG apex mount, or 40mm grenade launcher, or 30 mm autocannon, or TOW anti-tank missile, or 120mm mortar
EngineMTU 6V199 TE21 or Scania DC13
430–480 kW (577–644 hp)
Power/weight15 kW/t
TransmissionZF 7HP902S or SAPA SW624
SuspensionHydropneumatic 8×8 wheeled
Operational
range
1,000 km (620 mi)
Maximum speed 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), water 10 km/h (6 mph)

Design

Mobility

While the Piranha V is available with a MTU 6V199 TE21 diesel engine producing 430 kW, both Denmark[2] and Spain[3] 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[4]

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.

Operational history

Romania

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.[5] 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 will also operate at UMB.[6]

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.[7][8] A second batch of 32 vehicles assembled at UMB, was received in November 2022. Another 26 Piranhas will be received in different configurations, including mortar carriers, equipped with Spear MK2 120 mm mortars, ambulances, CBRN, and recovery vehicles.[9] The rest of the vehicles will be entirely produced in Romania.[6] On 10 February 2023, it was announced that Romania will purchase another 150 Piranha V for an estimated cost of 674 million US dollars.[10]

Operators
Map with Piranha 5 operators in blue
  • Denmark Danish Army - in the process of acquiring 309, first delivered in May 2017, last expected to be delivered by 2023.[11][12]
  • Monaco Monégasque Carabiniers – 2 Piranha V.[13]
  •  Spain
    • Spanish Army – 5 units acquired in 2015 as prototypes for the VBMR program, in order to replace the existing BMR and VEC cavalry vehicles. First batch of 348 vehicles, to start replacing in 2020 a total of 1200 vehicles of several types. The Spanish variant will be locally known as Dragón.
    • Spanish Navy Marines - An undetermined number of Piranha V with 120 mm guns will substitute the M60A3 in service.[14]
  • Romania Romanian Land Forces - 94 delivered by the end of 2022[15]

References
  1. "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.
  2. "Scania skal levere motorer til Forsvarets nye pansrede mandskabsvogne".
  3. "Hoyos (8x8): "La recepción de los cinco demostradores se extenderá hasta noviembre de 2018" (1) - Noticias Infodefensa España". 12 September 2017.
  4. "SAPA Transmission powers Spanish Piranha". Janes. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  5. "Romania signs €900mn contract for Piranha armoured vehicles". www.intellinews.com. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. "Blindatele Piranha 5 vor fi produse complet la Uzina Mecanică București, inclusiv pentru export". HotNews (in Romanian). 15 March 2022.
  7. "Primele 36 de transportoare blindate PIRANHA V au fost receptionate de Armata". HotNews (in Romanian). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. "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.
  9. "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.
  10. "România va cumpăra alte 150 de blindate Piranha pentru armata română". Digi24 (in Romanian). 10 February 2023.
  11. "309 New Armored Vehicles". Forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  12. 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.
  13. Giletta, Jacques (2005). Les Gardes Personnelles des Princes de Monaco (1st ed.). Taurus Editions. ISBN 2 912976-04-9.
  14. "La Infantería de Marina apostará por el VCR 8 × 8 para sustitución del M60 A3 TTS". Ejércitos. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  15. 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).
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