Bundeswehr Begins Testing Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak Without Planned Natter Weapon Station

The Bundeswehr has received the first two prototype Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak engineering vehicles and is beginning their testing. However, the vehicles were delivered without the Natter remotely controlled weapon station, which was originally planned for installation on German Kodiaks.

Hartpunkt reports this, citing the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).

The two prototypes were delivered to the Bundeswehr at the end of August 2026. They will now undergo testing at the relevant technical centers of the German Ministry of Defense.

A BAAINBw representative confirmed that the vehicles were indeed delivered without the weapon station. The agency has not disclosed the reasons for the change in configuration, citing ongoing negotiations.

Rheinmetall also declined to comment on the situation due to restrictions related to the procurement procedure.

It is not yet known whether production Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiaks will be equipped with a different weapon station.

Hartpunkt notes that, theoretically, alternatives could include the FLW 200 remotely controlled weapon station from KNDS Deutschland or the Protector RS4 from Kongsberg, both of which are already in service with the Bundeswehr.

Both systems can be equipped with heavy machine guns or automatic grenade launchers and have already been integrated with heavy tracked platforms. However, there is no official decision to install either system on the Kodiak.

BAAINBw has not disclosed whether the decision to remove the Natter will affect delivery timelines, the cost of the program or the testing schedule.

Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak

The Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak is a heavy engineering vehicle based on the Leopard 2 chassis, which Rheinmetall began developing in 2002 at the request of the Swiss Army together with RUAG.

In addition to Switzerland, the Kodiak is already in service with the Netherlands, Sweden and Singapore.

The vehicle is equipped with a centrally mounted excavator arm, two winches with a pulling capacity of nine tons each, and a large dozer blade.

Using pulley blocks, the winches can move loads weighing more than 60 tons.

Various tools can be mounted on the excavator arm, including a bucket, grapple or hydraulic concrete-breaking tool. The tools can be replaced under armored protection.

According to Rheinmetall, the Kodiak’s excavator arm can move about 200 cubic meters of heavy soil per hour. The arm can lift a load of approximately 3.5 tons at a maximum reach of up to nine meters.

Some versions can also be fitted with a mine-clearing system instead of the dozer blade.

44 Vehicles for the Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr began procuring new engineering vehicles in 2019.

The German military allocated 44 Leopard 2A4 chassis for the program.

Rheinmetall with the Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak and FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft with the WiSENT 2 competed for the contract.

In May 2021, BAAINBw awarded Rheinmetall Landsysteme a contract for 44 Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiaks worth approximately €295 million.

The contract also includes training, an initial spare parts package, special tools and other equipment required to operate the vehicles.

The initial schedule called for the delivery of prototypes in 2023–2024 and the first production vehicles in 2026.

Under the plans at the time the contract was signed, the Bundeswehr was to receive five production Kodiaks in 2026, 14 in 2027, 17 in 2028 and the final six vehicles in 2029.

The delivery of the two prototypes in August 2026 indicates that the program is behind its original schedule.