General Dynamics European Land Systems-Bridge Systems (GDELS) has handed over the first M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system to the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (SDMA) at its Kaiserslautern site. The ceremony was attended by Brigadier General Jonas Lotsne, representing SDMA, and Christian Kauth, Managing Director of GDELS-Bridge Systems, among others.
The amphibian that has now been handed over is part of the first procurement lot for the Scandinavian country. With the delivery of all four ordered lots (-> Sweden buys further M3 systems), Sweden will become one of the three major M3 users for NATO alongside Germany and the UK and will have a total of 400 meters of obstacle clearance. Using dome adapters, the M3 can also be used together with the IRB (Improved Ribbon Bridge) and SRB (Standard Ribbon Bridge) pontoon bridge systems. In addition to Sweden, other countries such as the USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil and South Korea are equipped with these systems. The extensive retrofitting of the newest NATO member with fully interoperable bridge equipment thus represents a significant increase in pioneering capabilities for the Alliance. https://militaeraktuell.at/interview-klaudia-tanner-unifil-bundesheer/ The M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system is NATO’s fastest means of translation. It can be used as a floating bridge or in ferry mode to ferry even the heaviest battle tanks and can also overcome wide water obstacles, so-called “wide wet gaps”. The all-terrain M3 can be moved to the water by land and is ready for deployment within minutes – a decisive factor on the modern glass battlefield. The system has proven itself in use in a wide range of climatic and topographical conditions from the tropics to the Arctic.
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