Third NATO Nation to Adopt the LEOPARD 2-Based Support Vehicle Solution
In December, Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH (FFG) received a contract to build five WiSENT 2 vehicles in an armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) configuration, as part of Hungarian Army’s modernization plans. This will bring the total number of WiSENT 2 produced since 2015 to 45.
The contract covers manufacture and supply of five WiSENT 2 ARVs, two WiSENT 2 Armored Engineer Vehicle (AEV) kits, each in a 40ft container and one Mine Breaching (MB) kit in a 20ft container, as well as a comprehensive package of spare parts, special tools and test equipment. FFG will also deliver technical documentation and provide training to the future operators and technicians.
The company will leverage its expertise in the tracked armoured support vehicles sector and experience in chassis development to implement the project. Deliveries are scheduled for 2023-2025.
FFG has forged an alliance with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), which also secured a contract in December to provide 44 new LEOPARD 2A7+ tanks, 24 new PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers and five new WiSENT 2 Armoured Support Platforms to the Hungarian armed forces. The $565 million (€515 million) contract also includes 12 used LEOPARD 2 A4 tanks for training purposes.
With the WiSENT 2 already fielded by the Canadian (18 units) and Norwegian (12 units) armies, Hungary will become the third NATO country to select the FFG solution as their future armoured support vehicle based on the LEOPARD 2 chassis. Other user nations of the WiSENT 2 include the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Superior performance, versatility and a high protection level make the WiSENT 2 AEV also an ideal candidate for the German Army, seeking to replace its aging DACHS/BADGER fleet.
