General Dynamics displays PIRANHA wheeled armored vehicle at Eurosatory 2010

General Dynamics European Land Systems will display PIRANHA Class 5, the latest member of the PIRANHA family of vehicles during EUROSATORY in Paris from 14-18 June 2010. The PIRANHA Class 5 will be on display with a Kongsberg 30 mm remote turret featuring a Commanders remote weapon station, Javelin missile system and SAAB LEDS active protection. Global military operations has seen the demand increase for a vehicle that bridges the gap between deployable light forces, with their inherent low survivability, and more survivable heavy forces that are difficult to deploy and have high life cycle costs. PIRANHA 5 has been developed in response to this need and takes advantage of the latest technologies to deliver class leading survivability, capacity and mobility with low through life costs and inherent growth capacity. PIRANHA 5 – Adaptable for Operations Across the Spectrum of Conflict. PIRANHA 5 has been designed from the outset with adaptability, flexibility and growth capacity as the corner stones of the design. Wheeled armoured combat vehicles now form the core of a deployable land forces combat power and for this reason they need to be effective across the complete spectrum of conflict including peace keeping, counter insurgency and ultimately general war. A thorough analysis of the requirements across these scenarios has been completed to drive the design thus ensuring PIRANHA 5 is suitable for the operations of today while providing the growth needed to secure the future. PIRANHA 5 provides the highest levels of survivability against conventional and asymmetric threats while having the capacity to fill all battlefield roles such as APC, Ambulance, Reconnaissance, Command, Mortar and even Direct Fire with turrets up to 120 mm calibre. The vehicle on display at EUROSATORY is an example of what can be achieved with PIRANHA 5, it shows an Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) that delivers the troop and internal capacity of an APC, with seating for eleven, while the 30 mm Kongsberg remote turret enables small team, combined arms operations through it’s comprehensive range of weapon and sensor systems allowing the detection and engagement of a wide range of battlefield threats. The PIRANHA 5 will be delivered in either high or low roof configurations with open architectures, over 15,000 kg payload and 120 kW electrical power. This provides growth potential to secure a long service life for the vehicle as new technologies emerge and need to be integrated into the vehicle. PIRANHA 5 - The New Survivability Benchmark. The PIRANHA 5 sets a new survivability benchmark for the wheeled armoured combat vehicle class and provides the highest levels of mine, improvised explosive device (IED) and ballistic protection. PIRANHA 5 has a next generation, full coverage, modular survivability system that has been integrated in the vehicle design from the concept stage. This system provides unparalleled all round protection, particularly in the wheel well area that has traditionally been vulnerable to IEDs on wheeled armoured combat vehicles.