Wiesel AWC
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The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC; ) is a German light air-transportable
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 ...
, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier, produced by
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 ...
. The Wiesel has been used in several of the
Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
's missions abroad ( UNOSOM II,
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, SFOR, KFOR, TFH,
ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...
).


History

The Wiesel was developed for the West German army to meet a requirement for an air-transportable light armored vehicle for use by its
airborne troops Airborne forces are Ground warfare, ground combat units airlift, carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as par ...
, as the infantry of the West German
Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
, 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 or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...
s (MBT) in the 1970s. The requirements were that the vehicle should fit in common
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
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 luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
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 slend ...
") 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
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 shoulde ...
system and 133 have the one-man KUKA turret E6-II-A1 armed with the dual-feed Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 20 mm
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
. Germany deployed both types to
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in 1993 as part of the
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forces intervention in the
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( 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. The Wiesel 1 MELLS and MK variants were used by German troops of Luftlandebrigade 1 in April 2023 to secure an airfield near Khartoum in support of the German governments evacuation of German citizens from Sudan during the
Sudanese Civil War The term Sudanese Civil War refers to at least three separate conflicts in Sudan in Northeast Africa: *First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) *Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) *Sudanese civil war (2023–present) It could also refer to other ...
.


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 Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...
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. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
2.1-litre
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
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 a manufactured 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 of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
and can resist common 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm
small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
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 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 missiles ** Wiesel 1 TOW: Updated with BMS ** Wiesel 1 MELLS: TOW replaced by Spike * Wiesel 1 MK20: fire support version with a Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 20mm
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
** 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 that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round. The MG 3 was standardized in the late 1950s a ...
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 (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...
in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection and intercooler, giving 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.


Variants

* Wiesel 2 Light Air Defence System ( – 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 (): 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 and drones as th ...
s, or, alternatively, a (currently unknown) number of vertical launch cells with
LFK NG LFK NG from ''Lenkflugkörper Neue Generation'' ("New Generation Guided Missile") was a cancelled short-range surface-to-air missile system under development for the German Army by MBDA Germany and Diehl Defence as a replacement for its Rolan ...
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 crew + 4 passengers 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 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

* : Ordered 343 Wiesel 1s and 179 Wiesel 2s (148 delivered)


See also

* Alvis Stormer


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