The Federal Office of Armaments armasuisse and the general contractor General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag (GDELS) have signed the contract for the procurement of the second tranche of armored engineer vehicles 21 for the Panzersappeur formations. The second tranche comprises 24 additional systems consisting of the Piranha IV wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, mini-drone, armament, peripheral systems and logistics equipment.
The 2021 Armed Forces Dispatch approved the procurement of 60 Piranha IV wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, including simulators, armament, peripheral systems and logistics resources, with a commitment credit of 360 million Swiss francs (around 378 million euros). The initial signing of the procurement contract between the Federal Armaments Office armasuisse and GDELS-Mowag, the general contractor and manufacturer of the Piranha IV basic vehicle, took place in May 2022. The procurement of a further 24 armored engineer vehicles 21 was optioned at the time and approved by Parliament with a commitment credit of CHF 270 million (EUR 283 million) in the 2023 Armed Forces Dispatch.
Current project status
A pre-series vehicle is currently undergoing technical testing at armasuisse. Once the driving dynamics tests have been successfully completed, further tests on the hydraulic system and the attachments (grapple arm, mine clearance blade and dozer blade) will follow. Extensive load tests are also planned at the Bundeswehr’s vehicle proving ground in Trier (Germany).
The second pre-series vehicle was verified by the Armed Forces Logistics Base (LBA) with regard to logistical requirements. The pre-series vehicle is currently being tested by the troops for its operational capability. In this troop verification, the integration of the mini-drone in particular is also being carried out by means of initial flight tests. Both the technical trials at armasuisse and the troop trials are going very well.
Next steps
Series production of the second stage will take place directly after the first stage so that there is no interruption in delivery. The plan is for the first series vehicles to be handed over to the troops from summer 2026. The other armored engineer vehicles will follow successively until the end of the series handover in spring 2028. With the direct connection of the second stage, the end of the project to renew the vehicles for the armored sapper formations has been postponed from December 2028 to December 2029.
Here for further news from General Dynamics European Land Systems based in Madrid and here for more news about the Swiss Armed Forces.
