German Bundeswehr Orders Eagle Command Vehicles
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The German Bundeswehr’s GFF program plans to replace the core of its wheeled and light tracked combat vehicle fleet with entries from 4 categories: the lightweight 5.3-tonne GFF 1, the 7.5-tonne GFF 2, the 12.5-tonne GFF 3 and a 25-tonne GFF 4 all-terrain utility vehicle.
General Dynamics’ Swiss MOWAG subsidiary recently announced a EUR 92 million (about $140 million) contract with Germany’s BWB procurement agency for its Eagle IV wheeled vehicles, making them them winners in one of Germany’s GFF Klasse 2 competitions. GFF Klasse 2 reportedly comprises over 5,000 vehicles, to go with an already-awarded contract for the Bv206S tracked all terrain vehicle from BAE and Rheinmetall. This GD MOWAG contract covers…
The first delivery batch will comprise 25 protected “Command and Function Vehicles,” used with accompanying shelter modules to create semi-mobile command posts. For self-protection, the vehicle shall be equipped with KMW’s remotely controlled FLW 100/200 weapon and surveillance stations. The total contract covers 198 Eagle IV vehicles, plus support and spares, with an option for another 474 vehicles. The EAGLE IV vehicles will be jointly manufactured in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, and at General Dynamics European Land Systems in Kaiserslautern, Germany.GD MOWAG release.
Unlike previous Eagle vehicles, this Swiss machine is not based on the USA’s HMMWV. Instead, it uses a Duro truck chassis to improve its load carrying capacity, and allow the addition of extra armor. Mine protection maxes out at NATO’s STANAG 2A standard, however, rather than the higher levels achieved by the Bundeswehr’s larger, blast-resistant Dingo 2. What the Eagle IV does offer is a safer ride than conventional jeeps like nearly unprotected Mercedes G-Wagen. It also offers strong maintenance commonality benefits for armies who already operate GD MOWAG’s Duro trucks, which serve in the Bundeswehr as the RLS “Yak.”
Other rumored GFF-2 competitors reportedly included Iveco & Rheinmetall with a variant of the popular MLV, which has been ordered by Italy, Britain, Belgium, Spain, Norway, and others. If GD MOWAG has indeed won the GFF-2 competition, it may serve to narrow the window for the KMW/Rheinmetall team’s new GFF 1&2 Class AMPV vehicle family. It also adds weight to MOWAG’s entry in the GFF-3 competition, where an up-armored variant of the Duro/Yak is expected to compete with KMW’s Dingo 2. Growing Dingo 2 orders, and its use as a specialty vehicle platform by the Bundeswehr, make it the favorite. With that said, adding more vehicle commonality benefits around Germany’s existing Duro fleet can only improve General Dynamics’ odds.
