Piranha Armored Vehicle Maintenance Center Opens in Germany

The European defense contractor General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has opened a new repair center for the Piranha in the German city of Neubrandenburg, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The center was built to provide a full cycle of maintenance, technical inspections, and repairs for Germany’s armored vehicles, according to hartpunkt.

In particular, the facility will be responsible for maintaining TaWAN communications armored vehicles and Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicles.

The opening of the facility was preceded by nine months of construction. The creation of this center was a response to large-scale procurement contracts for the Bundeswehr to purchase Piranha 5-platform wheeled armored vehicles.

As a reminder, Germany has ordered the development and delivery of 274 new Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicles.

In addition to providing technical maintenance and logistical support for the vehicle fleet, the center will serve as a training facility. Both military crews and system operators, as well as civilian technical personnel of the Bundeswehr, will undergo training and qualification courses there.

To reduce repair times and further develop the Piranha family, plans call for establishing an industrial cluster at the site based on the “one-stop-shop” principle. This involves bringing additional partners and component manufacturers to Neubrandenburg.

As noted by Thomas Kaufmann, Vice President of GDELS and Head of the company’s German division, the facility is being considered as a potential hub for the maintenance of Piranha armored vehicles for Germany and other partner countries.

The Piranha V is a modern 8×8 wheeled armored vehicle weighing up to 33 metric tons, developed by MOWAG (a division of GDELS), which is equipped with a 600 k.s. diesel engine, reaches speeds of up to 100 km/h, and provides STANAG 4569 Level 4 and 5 protection (against 14.5-mm machine-gun fire, 25-mm armor-piercing rounds, and a 10-kg TNT blast under a wheel or the vehicle’s underside).

The Luchs 2 is based on the Piranha V platform as a specialized 6-wheel reconnaissance variant and is intended to replace the Fennek. The reconnaissance vehicle is equipped with an unmanned turret featuring a 25-mm Rheinmetall CT-025 automatic cannon and reconnaissance sensors; it can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h and has amphibious capabilities to traverse water obstacles.

Another system based on this platform—TaWAN (Taktisches Wide Area Network)—is a specialized armored command-and-control and communications vehicle. The vehicle’s primary purpose is to provide secure, high-speed digital communications, data exchange, and operational command and control of ground forces in the combat zone.

The vehicles share common components, which is why their maintenance and repair have been consolidated at a new center in Neubrandenburg.