Piranha III Armored CBRN Reconnaissance Vehicle.
Notes: Sometimes
simply called the Piranha IIIC CBRN, this vehicle is used to find, fix, mark,
and take samples of possible areas contaminated by Nuclear, Chemical, or
Biological agents or by sheer radiation.
The Piranha III CBRN is equipped with a full navigation suite, including
GPS and navigation as well as a mapping module designed to display maps of the
areas into which the Piranha III CBRN is expected to scout.
Marking is done by three flag dispensers on the rear of the hull (one for
chemical, bio, or radiation/fallout).
It can shoot through an internally-triggered roof-mounted mortar sensors
to extend its reach, and these sensors remain online for 40 hours through the
use of a battery, and transmits its findings continuously to the Piranha III
CBRN over a range of 40 kilometers.
The mortar is fed by sliding the sensors into the breech or the mortar, which
extends into the vehicle and provides an airtight lockout. Chemical
contamination can be detected on the move, as the two front pair of wheels have
sensors for ground contamination.
The Piranha III CBRN also has an optical chemical detector mounted on the front
roof of the hull. The vehicle can
take in air samples and submit them to mass spectronomy and a gas chromatograph;
the air sample is contained in a lockout chamber; when testing is done, the air
sample is evacuated from the chamber.
At the rear of the vehicle is an arm which can be extended two meters and
can take samples of dirt or vegetation to more fully test contamination; again,
the samples are kept in lockout chambers and do not enter the vehicle. The
vehicle also has a wide-field long-range particle counter, and next to the
optical chemical sniffer is a biowarfare sniffer.
Both are connected to internal computers for analysis.
The vehicle has computers to aid in analysis.
Being
essentially a specialized version of the Piranha IIIC, the automotive components
and chassis are essentially the same on the Piranha 3 CBRN.
Personnel-wise, there are seats for the crewmembers so they may use the
sensors and computers. Three such
seats are provided, and two other fold-down seats are also provided. The driver
is in the normal spot on the front left, while the rest of the crew in in the
rear area. The vehicle is armed
with an RWS armed with an M2HB; the crew can access its vision equipment through
small computer screens or through a dedicated weapons station.
It is powered by a Caterpillar C9 developing 400 horsepower and coupled
to an automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes.
It is an 8x8 vehicle. The
armor is surprisingly heavy for a Piranha-series vehicle, with the Piranha III
CBRN able to take medium autocannon hits from the front, light autocannon hits
from the sides, 14.5mm hits from the rear, and added armor on the roof and
floor. The tires are run-flat and
puncture resistant. Due the many ports for sensors and equipment, the Piranha
III CBRN is not able to wear the applique armor able to be put on a normal
Piranha IIIs, nor can it mount ERA. Despite this heavy armor, the Piranha III
CBRN is amphibious with five minutes preparation, although such preparation
requires the crew to leave the vehicle.
Of course, the crew is protected by NBC Overpressure, and has air
conditioning with NBC filters.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$1,511,041 |
D, A |
487 kg |
21 tons |
5 |
24 |
Image Intensification (D, RWS), Backup Camera (D), FLIR (RWS) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor* |
143/100 |
30/28/4 |
500 |
148 |
CiH |
W(6) |
TF10 TS8
TR4 HF15Sp
HS10Sp RF5 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+3 |
Fair |
M2HB (RWS) |
2000x.50 |
*Floor Armor is 7Sp; Roof AV is 5, except for the RWS, which is 4.
Steyr-Daimler-Puch Pandur ARRV
Notes: The
Austrians have been producing the relatively-new Pandur ARRV to recover their
expanding numbers of Pandur-based vehicles, and also other wheeled vehicles.
The Pandur is also used by Belgium, Kuwait, Slovenia, and the US (mostly
to recover Strykers, Marine LAV-series vehicles, and Pandur APCs at the JLTV).
American Pandurs and Kuwaiti Pandurs were manufactured under license in the US
by AV Technology.
The driver is on
the front left with the commander on the right behind the powerpack.
He has conventional controls and has power steering, only on the front
four wheels. The hatch opens to the left and had three wide-angle vision blocks;
the center one can be removed and replaced by a night vision block. The
commander has a hatchway which is raised slightly, though it has no rotating
cupola. The commander, like most
Austrian vehicles, is armed with a heavy machinegun, though the mount will take
a minigun, GPMG, Grenade Launcher, or light machinegun/SAW. He also has a WL
spotlight on a low pole. To the
rear of the driver’s hatch is a large two-piece hatch cover for crewmembers.
This also has a WL spotlight, though not on a pole. The twin doors on the
rear face are retained. The Pandur ARRV has a capstan-type winch which is led
out the front and has a pulling
capacity of 25 tons. The Pandur
ARRV has a winch on the left side with a capacity of 3 tons, enough to lift a
Pandur powerpack or most Pandur turrets.
It has a range of 9 meters and can be pivoted 250 degrees. When the crane
is used, a stabilizer is lowered at each corner; they can also be used when
using the winch. An additional
stabilizer is found at the center of each side of the hull. The front has a
dozer blade, which can also be used for stabilization and is normally used with
the winch. The Pandur ARRV is 6x6 (though it steers only on the front four
wheels), and the tires have central tire pressure regulation.
Performance is
similar to the Pandur APC, as it used the same suspension, chassis, engine, and
transmission. The hull is of welded
steel armor, with bolts in a few places such as the powerpack retention bolts
and wheel nuts. The engine is a
Steyr WD turbocharged diesel developing 260 horsepower. It’s transmission is
American-made and is automatic, with a torque convertor that can transfer the
240 horsepower of the engine power into torque. It has a lockup clutch.
Some countries’ Pandur ARRVs have a collective NBC system, and some have
an NBC Overpressure system. They
have air conditioning and heating, a full set of repair and recovery tools, and
an arc welder; a selection of spare parts (usually for the Pandur, or vehicle to
be recovered and repaired) are carried.
An additional
passive armor package is often found on Pandur-series vehicles.
This includes the Pandur ARRV.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Pandur ARRV |
$307,384 |
D, A |
3 tons |
13.5 tons |
4 |
12 |
Passive IR (D), WL Spotlight (x2) |
Shielded |
Pandur ARRV w/Applique |
$312,292 |
D, A |
2.92 tons |
13.84 tons |
4 |
16 |
Passive IR (D), WL Spotlight (x2) |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor* |
Pandur ARRV |
147/74 |
41/21/4 |
275 |
90 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF6 HS4
HR3 |
Pandur ARRV w/Applique |
143/72 |
40/20/4 |
275 |
91 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
None |
None |
M-2HB (C) |
2100x.50 |
*The
front dozer blade has an AV of 6.
Depending on what the blade is raised to (or not raised), the blade gives the
Pandur ARRV a bonus frontal AV of 6Sp.