More Dingo-2s and some RWS systems for Germany
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Mine-resistant vehicles are emerging as a basic requirement for international deployments, and many advanced armies are making the shift. One of the quiet hotbeds for that trend has been Germany. They were an early adopter and fielder of mine-resistant vehicles, and appear to be building up KMW’s mine-resistant Dingo-2 as an important vehicle in their future force. Meanwhile, German firms are innovating with new mine-resistant designs for a number of future roles, presaging the widespread hardening of the German Bundeswehr against land mine threats.
In February 2006, Germany ordered another 149 Dingo-2s, bringing its total to 201; other programs like its BUR battlefield surveillance radar will be mounted on Dingo chassis, and the Dingo-2 has also been featured in a number of international competitions, losing some but picking up wins in neighboring Austria (20), Belgium (352), The Czech Republic (4, facing issues), and Luxembourg (48).
The latest news from KMW – aside from its new line of fashion wear – is an order for up to 98 Dingo-2s in multiple variants, and several hundred remote-controlled weapon stations…
(via CASR)
July 4/08: KMW announces a 3-part order from the German BWB procurement agency. The core of this order is 50 Dingo-2s, and 4 DINGO-2 GSI battle damage repair vehicles. These 54 vehicles will be fast-tracked for delivery by the end of 2008, bringing the ordered total to 255 out of an expected 450, plus an additional 82 BUR carriers.
The second part of the order is an option for 44 more DINGO 2 GSI vehicles, which are used in the traditional “recovery vehicle” role with other wheeled platforms. Since mines are a leading cause of vehicle damage on modern battlefields, it makes a lot of sense to use a recovery and/or repair vehicle that is mine-resistant. This would bring total German Dingo-2 orders to 381.
The 3rd component of this order involves Krauss-Maffei Wegman’s FLW remote-controlled weapons stations (RWS). These offer more protection to the crew, improved surveillance, and fire-on-the-move capability, in exchange for reduced field of view. RWS are aimed and fired from within a vehicle, using a stabilized mount and advanced day/night optics linked to an interior screen and controller. The German armed forces ran an international comparative trial in 2007, and decided that these German RWS systems met their needs.
Germany is now ordering 230 FLW 100 light RCWs that can mount weapons up to 7.62mm, including Germany’s excellent MG3 machine gun. The FLW 100 weighs only 80 kg/ 176 pounds, which makes it very suitable for smaller patrol vehicles or specialty vehicles. When more firepower is needed, Germany is ordering 190 FLW 200 heavy weapons stations that can mount 12.7 mm machine guns or 40mm automatic grenade launchers, and weigh about 170 kg/ 375 pounds.
