The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars ...

, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier, produced by

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange. History Rheinmetall was founded in 1889. Banker and investor Lorenz Zuckermandel ...

. It is quite similar to historical scouting

tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.

s in size, form and function, and is the only true modern tankette in use in Western Europe. The Wiesel has been used in several of the Bundeswehr's missions abroad (

UNOSOM II United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried ...

IFOR The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NATO ...

SFOR The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

, KFOR, TFH,

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

History

The Wiesel was developed for the German Army to meet a requirement for an air-transportable light armored vehicle for use by its

airborne troops Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...

, as the infantry of the German

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, especially airborne infantry, were considered unprepared to successfully fight enemy

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s (MBT) in the 1970s. The requirements were that the vehicle should fit in common

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...

transport planes and could eventually be air-dropped. It should be able to fight infantry as well as enemy tanks or aircraft.

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...

produced some prototypes of the future fighting vehicle for the Bundeswehr in 1975, but the Bundeswehr stopped the project in 1978 due to lack of funds. Nevertheless, Porsche continued development, because of interest from other countries. The Bundeswehr eventually ordered 343 of the vehicles in 1985. The ''Wiesel'' was introduced as a new weapon system for the Bundeswehr with deliveries beginning in the late 1980s. The vehicle was named ''Wiesel'' ("

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...

") because of its small size and agility, which make it very difficult to detect on the battlefield. Production of the Wiesel 1 ended in 1993. Of 343 Wiesel 1 vehicles, 210 were armed with Raytheon TOW

wire-guided A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behi ...

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder- ...

system and 133 have the one-man KUKA turret E6-II-A1 armed with the dual-feed

Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 The Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 (short for ''MaschinenKanone 20 mm Rheinmetall'') is a 20 mm caliber autocannon designed and produced by Rheinmetall. It fires the 20×139mm ammunition originally developed for the Hispano-Suiza HS.820. The canno ...

20 mm

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bul ...

. Germany deployed both types to

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

in 1993 as part of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

forces intervention in the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...

( UNISOM II). The Wiesel 2 is an enlarged and extended version of the Wiesel 1 with five road wheels instead of four, and a more powerful engine. The Bundeswehr ordered 178 of the new vehicle in various types, including air defense, radar, and anti-aircraft missile launcher, 120 mm mortar carrier, command and fire control, and ambulance variants. The Wiesel 2 entered service in 2001.Military-Today.com
''Wiesel 2. Airportable armored vehicle.''
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Configuration

Depending on the exact configuration, the Wiesel 1's length is about , height , and width . At only , it weighs less than the armored variant of the U.S.

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the or ...

military light truck. The engine is a 64 kW (86 hp)

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

2.1-litre

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

giving a top speed of 70 km/h (45 mph). The Wiesel can ford deep water and cross a wide trench. It was manufactured by Rheinmetall AG. The

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

is made of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

and can resist common 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

ammunition and shell splinters. Air dropping the vehicle from a plane with parachutes was tested, but was not successful; four test-vehicles were destroyed. Nevertheless, the Wiesel can easily be flown in by transport helicopters, a single

CH-53 Sea Stallion The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States ...

helicopter can fly in two at once, and common transport planes can carry four or more Wiesel vehicles. The larger Wiesel 2 has almost twice as much internal volume as its predecessor, and is about long, high (depending on type), and wide. Its weight is approximately in its heaviest configuration.

Wiesel 1

Variants in service

* Wiesel 1 Aufklärung: reconnaissance * Wiesel 1 ATM TOW: anti-tank vehicle fitted with

TOW missile The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly ...

s ** Wiesel 1TOW: Updated with BMS * Wiesel 1 MK20: fire support version with a Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 20mm

** Wiesel 1 MK20 Variant 1: updated with new sight ** Wiesel 1 MK20 Variant 2: updated with BMS * Remotely controlled Wiesel 1 equipped with ground-scanning radar as part of the ''Route Clearance System''

Prototypes and studies

* Wiesel 1 ATM TOW Resupply: cargo carrier fitted with racks for TOW missiles * Wiesel 1 BTM-208: fitted with a SAMM BTM-208 turret armed with .50-cal (12.7mm) M2HB and 7.62mm

Rheinmetall MG 3 The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 ''Einheitsmaschinengewehr'' (Universal machine gun) that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser ...

machine guns * Wiesel 1 ATM HOT: anti-tank vehicle fitted with HOT missiles * Wiesel 1 ATM HOT Variant 1: fitted with UTM-800 turret * Wiesel 1 Radar: fitted with RATAC-S multi-purpose radar * Wiesel 1 MK25: 25 mm armed version

Wiesel 2

The Wiesel 2 is a stretched version of the Wiesel 1, with a fifth roadwheel. The engine was changed to a 1.9L

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post- ...

in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection and intercooler, giving 109 hp (81 kW) coupled to a ZF automatic transmission. The Wiesel 2 is generally bigger, faster and stronger than the Wiesel 1, with advanced features for the protection of the crew such as enhanced armour, an air conditioning system, and

NBC protection Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consis ...

Variants

* Wiesel 2 Light Air Defence System (''leichtes Flugabwehrsystem'' - LeFlaSys) ** Wiesel 2 Air Defence Command Post ** Wiesel 2 Air Defence Reconnaissance and Fire Control Vehicle (RFCV): fitted with an air defence radar ** Wiesel 2 Air Defence Weapon Carrier (''Ozelot''): fitted with air defence missile launchers (two box launchers containing four ready-to-fire

FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to- ...

s, or, alternatively, a (currently unknown) number of vertical launch cells with

LFK NG LFK NG from ''Lenkflugkörper Neue Generation'' ("New Generation Guided Missile") is under development by MBDA Germany and Diehl Defence as the new short-range surface-to-air missile system for the German Army as a replacement for its Roland a ...

missiles) * Wiesel 2 Ambulance * Wiesel 2 Engineering Scout: combat engineer reconnaissance * Wiesel 2 Command Post: battalion command post * Wiesel 2 Advanced Mortar System ** Wiesel 2 Company C2/ JFSCT: Command and control for combined and joint fire ** Wiesel 2 Lightweight Armoured Mortar: 120 mm automatic laying weapon system ** Wiesel 2 Joint Fire Support Team: Reconnaissance Vehicle

Prototypes and studies

* Wiesel 2 APC: 2 + 4 crew armoured personnel carrier * Wiesel 2 Argus: reconnaissance * Wiesel 2 Carrier: ammunition resupply * Wiesel 2 Primus: reconnaissance and fire control * Wiesel 2 ATM HOT: anti-tank vehicle fitted with HOT missiles * Wiesel 2 SYRANO: Robotic system for the French Army * Wiesel 2 RMK 30: prototypes have been fitted with a

Rheinmetall RMK30 The RMK 30 (''Rückstoßfreie Maschinenkanone 30''; recoilless autocannon) is a recoilless 30 mm caliber autocannon firing caseless 30 × 250 mm ammunition cartridges. The gun was developed by the German company Mauser, ...

recoilless autocannon

Gallery

File:Panzermuseum Munster 2010 1007 (1).JPG, Wiesel 1 prototype File:Wiesel 1 TOW.jpg, Wiesel 1 TOW File:W2 argus.tif, Wiesel 2 ''Argus'' scout vehicle File:W2 santrp.PNG, Wiesel 2 ambulance File:W2 bewbefst.PNG, Wiesel 2 command post variant File:W2 lepzmrs.jpg, Wiesel 2 lightweight armoured mortar of the advanced mortar system File:Wiesel2 radar.jpg, Wiesel 2 Light Air Defence System Reconnaissance and Fire Control Vehicle (RFCV) File:Ozelot2.jpg, Ozelot air defence weapon carrier with camouflage in firing position File:Silhouette w1 vs w2.PNG, The silhouette of the Wiesel 1 (red) overlaid on that of the Wiesel 2 (blue)

Operators

Current operators

* has ordered 343 Wiesel 1s and 179 Wiesel 2s (148 delivered)

Notes

References

* * Zwilling, Ralph. ''Waffentraeger Wiesel 1''. 2009, Tankograd Publishing. * Zwilling, Ralph. ''Waffentraeger Wiesel 2''. 2009, Tankograd Publishing.

External links

Rheinmetall Defence Wiesel 1 Product PageRheinmetall Defence Wiesel 2 Product Page
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Armoured fighting vehicles of Germany Reconnaissance vehicles Airborne fighting vehicles Rheinmetall Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s