In 2008, the Piranha V was announced as the provisional selection in the FRES program.[7] However, no production order was announced, and the contract was subsequently cancelled in December 2008.[8][9] By the end of 2008, the first prototype was finished.[4] The vehicle was presented by GDELS at the Eurosatory exhibition in 2010, together with a new variant of the ASCOD IFV.[5] In 2016, it was successfully loaded into an Airbus A400M cargo aircraft during an evaluation exercise in Seville.[10]
A live firing test was conducted at Camp Rena in Norway, in 2019, with the presence of the Romanian procurement authority. The Piranha V, fitted with the Israeli UT30 MK 2 passed the series of static and dynamic shooting tests in harsh environmental conditions, exceeding the customer's requirements, as noted by GDELS.[11]
Design
Mobility
The Piranha V is available with a MTU 6V199 TE21 diesel engine producing 586 horsepower (437kW).[12] Both Denmark[13] and Spain,[14] however, have opted for a different powerpack built by the Spanish company SAPA, consisting of a Scania Diesel engine with 480kW coupled with the SW624 automatic transmission, and an auxiliary power unit with 75kW.[15]
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 10kg explosive AT mine explodes under the hull. Add-ons can offer all-round protection to 25mm AP rounds and level 5 STANAG 4569.[1]
Operational history
Denmark
At the end of 2015, Denmark announced the order of 308 vehicles. The first Piranhas were to arrive in 2018, with the last arriving in 2023.[16] The Piranha V was selected as the replacement of the old M113. It was selected over the CV90, the ASCOD, and the VBCI.[17]
The Danish Piranha V contract includes 6 different variants: infantry, command, pioneer, ambulance, repair and mortar. The first pre-production variant vehicles arrived in 2017, with the first production variants being officially handed over to the Armed Forces in March 2019.[18][19] In 2020, the ambulance version was received. The vehicles were assigned to the 1st Brigade where they are to replace the Piranha III.[20]
In 2023, the Danish Ministry of Defence announced that it selected the Skyranger 30 as part of its planned ground air defense system. The Skyranger system is to be mounted on the Piranha V platform. The integration will be performed by the Danish company Terma A/S.[21]
Germany
"Richtfunkpanzer" – Piranha V StratCom
The StratCom (Strategic Communication Systems) was presented by GDELS at Eurosatory 2024. It is equipped with a 15-meter communication mast system with point-to-point radio systems, and a C4I command system.[22]
It was selected by the Germany in January 2025, and ordered in February 2025.[23]
Monaco
Monaco is the first operator of the Piranha V. Two vehicles were received in 2015.[1]
Romania
Romanian Piranha V with the Elbit UT30 MK 2 turret
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.[24] The joint venture between GDELS and Uzina Mecanică București[ro] (UMB) also aims to provide the Piranha V to the export market in the area. Besides production, a military vehicle maintenance section will also operate at UMB.[25]
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.[26][27] A second batch of 32 vehicles assembled at UMB, was received in November 2022. Another 26 Piranhas were received in different configurations, including mortar carriers, equipped with Spear MK2 120 mm mortars, ambulances, CBRN, and recovery vehicles.[28] The rest of the vehicles will be entirely produced in Romania.[25] On 10 February 2023, it was announced that Romania will purchase another 150 Piranha V for an estimated cost of 674 million US dollars.[29]
In May 2023, 25 Piranhas of the 26th Infantry Battalion participated in the Anakonda 23 exercise.[30][31] The Romanian soldiers carried out a 1,000 kilometer march to the Polish training grounds in Nowa Dęba where they trained together with troops from Slovenia, Poland, and the United States.[30][32]
Spain
Under the Vehículo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR) program, the Spanish Ministry of Defence selected a local team in 2015 to develop the future 8×8 armored infantry vehicle which is to replace the old BMR, VEC, and M113 vehicles in the Spanish Army endowment. The team, formed by Indra Sistemas, Sapa Placencia, and the joint venture General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas based the vehicle on the Piranha V design.[33]
In 2018, the first 5 demonstrators were received.[14] The contract for the armored vehicle, known as the Dragón[es] by the Spanish Army, was awarded in 2020 for 1.74 billion euros, 733 million of which was awarded to GDLS-SBS. It included 348 vehicles, maintenance and life cycle support, as well as the support for international commercialization. The contract is expected to grow to 1,000 vehicles.[34] The Dragón began trials in 2022, after passing the critical design review. Of the 348, 219 are to be in IFV configuration, 58 reconnaissance vehicles, 49 sappers combat vehicles, and 14 command post vehicles. The deliveries are scheduled to finish by 2027.[35]
The first batch of vehicles was delivered on 20 December 2022. The 7 vehicles were received during a ceremony attended by the Secretary of State for Defence, and the Army Chief of Staff. The vehicles are being produced by TESS Defence, an association between Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra Sistemas, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, and Sapa Placencia.[36]
The Piranha V was selected over the CV90 Armadillo the PMMC G5 and the VBCI in 2015. The contract for the order of 309 Piranha V in 6 variants was signed in December 2015 for USD $600 million.[37]
The first Piranha V was delivered to DALO in 2018, and it entered service at the end of March 2019.[38]
In 2015, a program to replace the VEC-M1, the BMR-M1 and part of the M113 fleet was launched by the Spanish Army. The competitors were the Boxer, the Freccia, the Patria AMV, the Piranha V, the SEP and the VBCI.[42]
In September 2015, the competition was won by GDELS with the Piranha V.[43] In December 2019, the Spanish Government cancelled the program, and relaunched the competition.[44] In August 2020, the Piranha V of GDELS Santa Barbara Sistemas in collaboration with Indra Sistemas and Sapa Placencia won again the competition for a first batch of 348 vehicles for €1.74 billion.[45]
It is known as the Dragon VCR and the orders are split in 3 phases. There are confirmed orders for the phase 1 only:
Phase 1, 348 confirmed orders, planned to be delivered until 2027[46]
In January 2018, Romania signed a framework agreement with GDELS for the purchase of 227 Piranha V. The value of the agreement reached €868 million. Six variants are planned in the contract, and an important part would be manufactured locally.[49]
Infantry Fighting vehicles, equipped with Elbit UT30 Mk2 unmanned turrets[50]
Command and control vehicles, equipped with Elbit UT30 Mk2 unmanned turrets[50]
Mortar carriers, equipped with Elbit SPEAR 120mm mortar systems[50]
In February 2023, the Defence Ministry of Romania requested the approval to the parliament to initiate the purchase of additional Piranha V for an estimated value of USD $674 million.[55] This order is planned for 2025.[56]
In 2017, Bulgaria invited companies to submit offers for a future IFV and other combat support vehicles (reconnaissance, combat engineering, ambulance) based on a 8×8 armoured vehicles. Over time, several offers were made by various competitors (GTK Boxer, Mowag Piranha V, Nexter VBCI 2, Patria AMVXP, Freccia, Otokar Arma, FNSS PARS). The Boxer was eliminated with the VBCI in December 2017 because they did not fulfil the conditions of the program, while the Piranha V and the Patria AMVXP did.
After years of discussions and cancellations, an offer made by General Dynamics Land Systems for a much smaller and cheaper Stryker won the contract in September 2023, 183 vehicles for USD $1.37 billion.[57]
In April 2022, Slovakia submitted a request for information to General Dynamics regarding the Piranha V produced in Romania.[59] The contract failed as the Patria AMV was chosen instead.[60]
Up to 106 APC with a budget of €700 million are to be selected after the contract for the GTK Boxer was cancelled. The finalists of the competition are the Piranha V, the Freccia, the Rosomak L and the Patria AMVXP. [64] A visit of a Slovenian delegation took place in Romania at the production facility in 2024. On the 11th of July 2024 it was announced that the Patria AMVxp was the winner of the competition.[65]
The UK initially participated in the development of the GTK Boxer with Germany and the Netherlands. The collaboration started in 1999. In 2003, the UK decided to leave the development of that vehicle.[66] In 2004, the FRES programme was launched. In June 2007, 3 vehicles were pre-selected for the FRES UV programme, the GTK Boxer, the Piranha V and the VBCI.[67] The Piranha V was selected as preferred bidder in November 2007 and announced in May 2008.[68][69] It wasn't followed by orders due to budget crunch, and as of December 2008, the absence of contract meant that the Piranha V wasn't the preferred bidder anymore.[70]
In 2014, a new programme, the FUV (Future Utility Programme) was launched, and the VBCI was considered again and tested by the UK. But the evaluation didn't lead to the selection of the vehicle. In 2018, the UK rejoined the Boxer programme through the MIV programme (Mechanised Infantry Vehicle).[71]
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