Mowag 4×4 Utility Vehicle
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Mowag is a Swiss company founded in 1950, which develops, designs and produces
armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
s for military applications in both land-only and
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
configurations. These vehicles have gross vehicle weights ranging from 9
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s to 30
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s. In 2003, the company was acquired by
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...
, and is now known as GDELS-Mowag, part of
General Dynamics European Land Systems General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDLS) is an automotive and arms manufacturer spread across Europe, with a headquarter in Madrid, Spain. It is a business unit of General Dynamics which consolidated in one structure all European subsidiari ...
(GDELS)."GDELS Sites Heritage"
, "GENERAL DYNAMICS - European Land Systems", accessed September 1, 2011.


History

The Mowag GmbH, originally Mowag Motorwagenfabrik AG (translated: "Motor Car Factory"), was founded in 1950 as a privately owned company by engineer, Walter Ruf. During the past 50 years Mowag has concentrated on the development and production of specialised vehicles. Its initial success was the development and production of more than 1,600 troop carriers, the
Mowag T1 4×4 The Mowag T1 4×4 is a Swiss military vehicle. The supply of 1,600 to the Swiss Army was an early success for the Mowag company. History The 1953 MOWAG T1 4×4 was modular. It was built in multiple configurations: with an open loading ramp, wi ...
for the
Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...
. Contracts for Germany followed, with 750
Mowag MR 8 The MOWAG MR 8 (WOTAN) is a border force and police armoured personnel carrier. It was developed by Mowag in Switzerland and built under licence in West Germany. History The WOTAN was introduced in 1963 in West Germany (Federal Republic of Germ ...
series armoured wheeled vehicles produced for the German
Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (; abbreviation: BGS; ) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focu ...
(Federal Border Guard) also later used by Spain, and built under licence in Germany. Further high-powered wheeled and tracked vehicle series were developed and manufactured for the world markets. Mowag has built many different types of vehicles, such as ambulances, fire trucks, like the Mowag W300, dummy tanks, electric vehicles, scooters or tracked tanks. In the civilian sector, Mowag has been particularly active in the construction of fire-fighting vehicles where several generations of emergency vehicles have been built on
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
pickups. Many models were based on factory designed firefighting trucks. In Germany, Mowag was well known for developing a four-wheel drive armoured car, that was built under licence from Thyssen and Bussing/Henschel. In 1963, vehicles for the Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz = BGS), Mowag's production ran for decades. Mowag had from the beginning to the end of the 1960s, built military vehicles and civilian trucks. Among them were the heavy trucks, Mowag M5-16F with four seats, front steering cabin and 16 tons total weight, tow hitch for a double axle trailer and a 149 kW engine in the underfloor. The engine was mounted under the bed between the front and the rear axles. This allowed a compact design and low centre of gravity in the middle of the vehicle.Armee Museum Full AG Switzerland. In 1950, Mowag produced 214 local official cars for the
Swiss Post Swiss Post Ltd ( ; ; ; ) is the national Mail, postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Politics of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer with about 54,000 employees. The group is ba ...
, the chassis of this small compact vehicle had sliding doors on each side. The truck for Swiss Post (PTT) Mowag Einsatzfourgon of which 556 units were built from 1953 to 1988, had also an underfloor engine. The Furgeon were initially fitted with a V8 petrol engine, which was originally developed for a Mowag tank. Later, diesel engines were installed. The yellow and silver vans had a door in the front of the vehicle on the passenger side, which made it possible to exit from the front if the trucks were parked very close together. On the driver's side was a conventional door. It was possible to get from the cabin into the cargo hold. Taking advantage of this fact, some people rebuilt the decommissioned Furgeons into campers. The Furgeons were equipped with a trailer hitch for 4 wheel trailers. Mowag had developed a replacement vehicle for the Furgeon, but it remained only a pre-series of 22 Trucks, all used by the Swiss Post, as the Swiss Post bought foreign mass-produced series of vehicles. Besides regular trucks, Mowag has built several generations of long iron transport trucks. A 8×4-driven four-axle truck with an M8TK diesel engine with eight cylinders, 10.8 litres and 373 kW and Allison automatic five-speed transmission, these are characterised by a very narrow central cab, with two seats. They were able to carry the load on the entire length of the vehicle using the space on the left and right side of the driver's cabin. The drivers compartment had a front entering door. Between 1965 and 1975, Mowag built 170 electric trollies for the Swiss Post. In the 1980s, the products range had been increased by the development and construction of three-wheel and four-wheel electric vehicles. The hospitals, airports, municipalities, industrial companies and the post office came for a variety of their transportation tasks. Many more prototypes of electric cars were built, but none of these vehicles made it to market. For the Mirage IIIS and RS fighter aircraft of the
Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (; ; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914, three days after the outbreak of World War I, as a part of the Swiss Army, army and in October 1936 as an independent service. In peaceti ...
, Mowag and AEG worked together and built the aircraft tractor Mowag-AEG. In the 1980s, Mowag built vibratory rollers for road construction. Handheld double vibratory rollers were from 900 kg to 1,300 kg, tandem Vibratory rollers from 2,000 kg to 3,000 kg and 4 "wheeled" rollers from 4.5t to 18t. For several decades Mowag was the sole importer to Switzerland of the
Dodge Ram Wagon The Dodge Ram Van (originally the Dodge Bseries) is a range of full-size vans that were produced by Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation from the 1971 to 2003 model years. The Bseries replaced the forward control Dodge A100, transitioning to a front-e ...
, these were converted to four-wheel drive fire brigade vehicles, and occasionally police vehicles and ambulances. They were all given the Mowag Insignia on the front. Private individuals were not allowed to purchase new vehicles, however Mowag did sell spare parts to privately owned Dodge Ram Wagons. Lately, Mowag has been specializing in armoured vehicles for military use, because it is financially more attractive. The main product today is the Piranha. In addition, other armored vehicles are being produced based on the American HMMWV/Mowag Eagle, and the Duro. These vehicles comes from the acquired business of Bucher-Guyer. Also Mowag is responsible for spare parts for the Bucher FS 10 Flugzeugschlepper 78/
aircraft tug An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its en ...
s who are in use by the Swiss Air Force,
Pilatus Aircraft Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. In June 2016, the company employed 1,905 people. The company has mostly produced aircraft for niche markets, in particular STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) ...
and JuAir.


21st century

Since January 2004, Mowag has been a company within the
General Dynamics European Land Systems General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDLS) is an automotive and arms manufacturer spread across Europe, with a headquarter in Madrid, Spain. It is a business unit of General Dynamics which consolidated in one structure all European subsidiari ...
group. In 2012, it employed 900 highly skilled personnel at the facility and announced to cut 270 jobs. After the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Mowag was already in contact with Germany regarding orders in May 2022, and in the summer of 2023 advertising job openings in administration, engineering and production. In print ads it used the motto: "swiss made- Kompetenz für Schutz und Sicherheit". At present it employs around 750 highly skilled personnel at the facility in
Kreuzlingen Kreuzlingen () is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second-largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 22 ...
, Switzerland. Mowag continues to operate as a Swiss company, and is organised and incorporated under Swiss law. General Dynamics European Land Systems is part of General Dynamics Corporation (GD). Since 1 April 2010, the company is known as General Dynamics European Land Systems – Mowag GmbH.


Current products


Mowag Piranha

Piranhas A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although o ...
are available in 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10 wheel versions. There are several variants within these versions, giving different degrees of armour protection and several kinds of turret, for use in a variety of roles. Piranha derivatives have been assigned roles as troop transports, command vehicles, fire support vehicles, tank trainers, and police vehicles. Piranhas are used by the
Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...
. Swiss-built Piranha derivatives have been exported to Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Romania, Spain, and Belgium. The Romanian and Belgian Armies have selected the Piranha IIIC 8×8. Belgium converted to an all-wheeled force, and replaced all their M113s, AIFVs and Leopard 1s with 268 Piranha IIIC in 7 variants


Mowag Eagle

The
Mowag Eagle The Mowag Eagle is a series of wheeled armoured vehicle designed by Mowag, a Swiss company now owned by GDELS (General Dynamics European Land Systems). Models Eagle I The original Eagle used the chassis and running gear of the Humvee. It wa ...
is a lightly-armoured, light tactical vehicle similar, to the American
HMMWV The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...
. It is designed to fulfill roles such as command,
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
, logistics, and military police. It can have seating for up to six soldiers while still retaining an in-depth communications system and equipment to fit mission requirements. A total of 365 Eagle 4x4 reconnaissance vehicles and 120 Eagle 4x4 artillery forward observation vehicles have been built in the past eight years and are in service with the Swiss and Danish Forces. The newly developed Eagle IV, based on the DURO, is suitable for reconnaissance, communications and observation, as well as for UN missions and
border patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diffe ...
. The Mowag development on the basis of the proven DURO chassis is distinguished through a very high payload versus a low gross vehicle weight (GVW), with a high ballistic and mine protection level as well as exceptional mobility both on and off-road. Due to the commonality with the DURO family of vehicles, the maintenance and training costs can be kept low in a fleet mission. A new version of the Eagle was launched by General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH at EUROSATORY 2010 on 14 June 2010.


Mowag DURO

The
Mowag DURO The DURO (''Durable Robust'') is a series of wheeled, multi-purpose military transport vehicles produced by General Dynamics European Land Systems/MOWAG in both four and six wheel drive. It was initially developed for Switzerland by Bucher-Gu ...
is a highly mobile, off-road tactical transport vehicle based on the DURO family of vehicles. DURO stands for DUrable and RObust. Initially developed for Switzerland by Bucher-Guyer AG in
Niederweningen Niederweningen is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Niederweningen is first mentioned between 1096 and 1111 as ''Waningen''. In 1269 it was mentioned as ''Nidirunweningin''. The railwa ...
, Switzerland, who started production of all-wheel-drive trucks in 1976. An initial 3,000 vehicles order for the Swiss Armed Forces came through in 1994. Over 4,000 DURO 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles are now in service worldwide. The main customers are Switzerland, Germany,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, Great Britain, and
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. In addition to these, the vehicle is used in many other countries for special purposes. The latest versions are the DURO II and
DURO III The DURO (''Durable Robust'') is a series of wheeled, multi-purpose military vehicle, military transport vehicles produced by General Dynamics European Land Systems/MOWAG in both four and six wheel drive. It was initially developed for Switzerl ...
. Germany has ordered the DURO IIIP 6x6 ballistic and mine protected version. * Rheinmetall YAK The YAK is an armoured and mine-protected transport vehicle produced by the German company
Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...
Landsysteme AG based on the DURO IIIP chassis. The
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
uses the YAK for its
military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
, EOD teams, and as an armoured
ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...
.


Mowag MERLIN

A new airborne 4×4 light tactical military vehicle designed to compete against companies like Defenture.


Former products

From the beginning Mowag produced both armoured and unarmoured vehicles, to include motorcycles and
fire appliance A firefighting apparatus (North American English) or firefighting appliance (UK English) describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the d ...
s. * Mowag Ortsdienstwagen (Parcel delivery cars for the PTT/The Swiss Federal Postalservice, 214 build) * Mowag 4x4 armoured reconnaissance vehicle (armoured dummy) * Mowag Furgeon trucks, 556 build for the PTT/Swiss Federal Postalservice *
Mowag MR 8 The MOWAG MR 8 (WOTAN) is a border force and police armoured personnel carrier. It was developed by Mowag in Switzerland and built under licence in West Germany. History The WOTAN was introduced in 1963 in West Germany (Federal Republic of Germ ...
– 4×4 wheeled armoured personnel carrier. About 600 built for German ''
Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (; abbreviation: BGS; ) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focu ...
'' from 1959. *Mowag Grenadier – 4×4 wheeled armoured personnel carrier. In production from 1967. * Mowag Roland – 4×4 small wheeled armoured personnel carrier. In production from 1964. * Mowag Puma 6x6 wheeled armoured weapons carrier * Mowag Shark wheeled combat vehicle. 8×8 wheeled armoured weapons carrier designed to carry a number of gun or missile armaments. * Mowag Spy – 4×4 wheeled light reconnaissance vehicle. Ordered into production in 1982. * Mowag Tornado infantry fighting vehicle – Tracked
Infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
. * Mowag Trojan infantry fighting vehicle *Mowag Mistral amphibious infantry fighting vehicle * Mowag Pirat infantry fighting vehicle *
Mowag 3M1 Pirat The armored MOWAG 3M1 Pirat was a prototype for an armored personnel carrier developed by the Swiss company Mowag Mowag is a Swiss company founded in 1950, which develops, designs and produces armoured fighting vehicles for military applic ...
infantry fighting vehicle * Jagdpanzer Mowag Cheetah (Jagdpanzer = Tankhunter) * Mowag 4×4 utility vehicle: At the beginning of the 1990s, a programme to select the successor of 4×4 utility vehicles like the Pinzgauer and
Haflinger The Haflinger, also known as the Avelignese, is a breed of horse developed in Austria and northern Italy (namely Hafling in South Tyrol region) during the late 19th century. Haflinger horses are relatively small, are always chestnut with flaxe ...
for the Swiss Army took place. This programme saw Bucher-Guyer AG offer the DURO, Mercedes offer the Unimog 140L, and Mowag had their own design.


Gallery

File:MOWAG Puma Seite.JPG, Mowag Puma File:MOWAG Shark front.JPG, Mowag Shark File:MOWAG Roland Polizei seite.JPG, Mowag Police Roland File:MOWAG Tornado Heck.JPG, Mowag Tornado File:MOWAG Wotan.JPG, Mowag Wotan File:MOWAG-AEG Flugzeugschlepper.JPG, Mowag-AEG Aircraft tug for Mirage IIIS & Mirage IIIRS File:MOWAG Trojan top.JPG, Mowag Trojan File:MOWAG Gepard Jagdpanzer3.JPG, Mowag Gepard File:MOWAG PIRANHA 10x10 front.JPG, Mowag Piranha 10×10 File:MOWAG Tornado 2 Gun 2.JPG, Mowag Tornado 2 File:MOWAG Taifun 1.JPG, Mowag Taifun File:MOWAG Piranha 4x4.JPG, Mowag Piranha 4×4 File:MOWAG Panzerattrappe.JPG, Mowag Panzerattrappe File:Mowag Eagle IV.jpg, Mowag Eagle IV File:MOWAG EagleIV.JPG, Mowag Eagle V - Australian prototype File:MOWAG Gegenentwurf zu Duro.JPG, Mowag utility 4×4 – competitor of the DURO


References


Bibliography

* * * Military Museum Full * Ruedi Baumann
''„Alles“ was Mowag schon bewegt hat - Auf Umwegen zum Welterfolg.''
SwissMoto. Bildpress Zuerich BPZ


External links


GDELS Official page

archived Official link
{{Authority control 2003 mergers and acquisitions Automotive companies of Switzerland Defence companies of Switzerland General Dynamics Companies based in Thurgau Kreuzlingen Military vehicle manufacturers Swiss companies established in 1950 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1950