The first footage of a Biber bridge-layer tank in Ukraine has appeared on the web.

A video of the engineering vehicle on the Leopard 1 tank chassis was published on the Ukraine Weapons Tracker page.

It can be seen on the footage that the bridge-layer tank does not have sections of the bridge, so presumably, the structure has already been laid.

In the video, Biber pulls into a tractor.

The Ukrainian military has already received 3 such engineering vehicles. In total, the German government will transfer 16 bridge-layer tanks to Ukraine.

Biber

The Biber is an engineering combat vehicle that carries and deploys a bridge at river crossings, anti-tank ditches and other obstacles.

The vehicle is designed in accordance with the requirements of the Bundeswehr. Its development commenced in 1965, and the first prototypes appeared in 1969. The production of the first serial bridge builders was completed in 1975.

A total of 105 such vehicles were built for the German army. Also, such equipment is operated by Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Italy.

The Biber is based on the chassis of the Leopard 1 tank. Instead of a turret, it is equipped with a bridge erection system. The bridge is laid horizontally, the main advantage of this design is imperceptibility to the enemy.

The bridge has an aluminum structure and consists of two sections of 11 meters. The total length is 22 meters, covering an obstacle of up to 20 meters long.

It can be crossed by track or wheel vehicles of the MLC-50 class (wheeled vehicles – 52.6 tons, tracked – 45.4 tons). Also, with restrictions on such a bridge, a MLC-60 class technique can be used.

The bridge is laid within three minutes, in the mode of transportation the sections are transferred one above the other.

The vehicle crew consists of two people: the driver and the commander.

It has recently become known that Ukraine received from Germany an additional Bergepanzer 2 ARVs. Now the Armed Forces have 13 such vehicles.

The task of the vehicle is to ensure the mobility of armored troops, restore vehicles which were damaged in battle, assist in the installation and dismantling of engines and turrets, as well as to provide support in the repair workshop.

Germany is also transferring trucks of high traffic on the basis of MAN HX 8×8 to the defense forces of Ukraine. 26 such vehicles with a hook loading system will be transferred.

Probably, the announcement refers to the trucks with a special loading system (Wechselladesystem).

Besides, the German government has handed over 12 M1070 Oshkosh tank tractors to the Ukrainian military.