About General Dynamics European Land Systems
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) is a business unit of General Dynamics Corporation, at home in seven countries across Europe: Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Romania, and the Czech Republic. GDELS develops, manufactures, and maintains wheeled and tracked vehicles, bridge systems, and artillery.
Headquartered in Madrid, GDELS was formed in 2003. Its national business units have many decades of engineering experience, with a heritage dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries and even as far as 1540. Today, the company employs some 2,400 highly skilled and motivated people, the vast majority of them in production and R&D. Fifty countries around the globe rely on GDELS’ military mobility solutions for their police and armed forces, making it one of the European leaders in the land combat systems sector.
Business Area
GDELS is a world market leader for wheeled armored vehicles, with more than 13,000 vehicles of the PIRANHA and PANDUR families sold. The wheeled portfolio is complemented by the proven light tactical vehicles EAGLE, DURO and the new MERLIN, first presented in 2022 and specifically designed for light and airborne troops. GDELS’ wheeled vehicles feature extreme modularity, unique Swiss-made driveline, axle and suspension technology, and high component commonality within their families, significantly reducing their logistical footprint.
The core product in the tracked vehicle segment is the ASCOD family with numerous variants around a common-based platform, ranging from the ULAN and PIZARRO IFVs, engineer and recovery vehicles to medium MBTs and fire support versions in the weight range from 30 to 42 tons. GDELS’ towed howitzer 155/52 is in use in Spain and Latin America. Innovative, medium-weight self-propelled solutions on wheeled and tracked platforms are on offer.
For decades, GDELS’ floating bridges – M3, IRB and their predecessors – have clearly set the standard in NATO and abroad. The portfolio of vehicle-launched bridges reaches from the 22-meter, MLC 80+ ANACONDA – an improved variant of the widely used BEAVER AVLB – to highly modular, lightweight bridges of different lengths and load classifications, which constitute an invaluable mobility asset for medium forces. Furthermore, loading ramps for railway transport of wheeled and tracked vehicles are manufactured, granting logisticians greater independence from fixed infrastructure.
For all products, as well as third-party systems, extensive Integrated Logistics Support is available. GDELS provides a broad portfolio of services in accordance with NATO standards – at home and on-site with deployed troops.
Contact
Headquarters
General Dynamics European Land Systems
P.E. Cristalia Edificio 7/8
C/Vía de los Poblados, 3
28033 Madrid, Spain
Main Number: +34 91 585 04 55
Fax Number: +34 91 585 02 18
Email:
Website: www.gdels.com
Products
PIRANHA
The PIRANHA family of wheeled armored vehicles offers the features and performances required of a modern multirole vehicle, which is well suited to practically any battlefield or peace-keeping/peace-enforcing role anywhere in the world. The vehicles offer a full range of stand-out features, such as a custom-built driveline, modular protection, an unrivaled payload to gross vehicle weight ratio, and almost unlimited range of weapon stations, amphibious capability, and the renowned PIRANHA mobility.
ASCOD
The ASCOD is a versatile and powerful land platform for current and future operation theatres, presently in service in NATO countries. It has been designed for combined operations and is capable of integrating the most advanced command and control systems. It performs superiorly no matter in large or small tactical groups. The modular design architecture of the ASCOD FoV provides for adaptability, scalability and assures remarkable cost-efficient maintenance and ILS.
EAGLE 4x4 and 6x6
The EAGLE family provides a high payload and large internal protected volume as well as a flexible load space in the rear of the vehicle. Depending on the mission role, 4x4 or 6x6 versions are available. The EAGLE survivability standards provide proven mine, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and ballistic protection that was previously achieved only in vehicles twice its weight. These advances in survivability and capability have been achieved without compromising mobility or reliability.
PANDUR
The PANDUR Family of Vehicles, available in 6x6 and 8x8, amphibious or terrestrial configurations, serves as a common platform for various armament and equipment systems. It combines high mobility and survivability and protection thanks to its internal drive train concept. The PANDUR ensures logistics commonality, versatility of armament and equipment, simple operation, excellent sustainability, high availability, in-house electronic architecture, and easy maintenance.
SIAC
The SIAC is a state of the art 155/52 caliber towed howitzer with self-propelled capabilities thanks to its integrated APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). It features rapid deployability, excellent first round hit probability and a swift "shoot and scout" capability for higher survivability. Are integrated in the SIAC: Automatic Gun Laying System (AGLS), Digital Navigation Aiming and Pointing System (DINAPS) and Fully Automatic Ramming Systems (FIRS).
M3
M3 is the world’s most modern and fastest amphibious bridge and ferry equipment in terms of loading capacity, construction time, cross-country and marine maneuverability. M3 optimizes the high availability and the low operating costs of its predecessors by faster mission readiness, higher mobility, and a reduced crew of three soldiers and an increased level of system automation. As a bridge or multibay raft M3 can carry loads up to MLC85T/132W.
IRB
The IRB (Improved Ribbon Bridge) provides wet gap crossing capabilities either as floating bridge or multibay raft for tracked and wheeled combat and tactical vehicles up to loads of MLC96. IRB has successfully been operated by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the German Army and has seen extensive combat operation since 2003.
PYTHON
The REBS (Rapidly Emplaced Bridge System) is an aluminum-made drygap bridge which provides tactical gap crossing capability for light and medium mechanized combat units. REBS allows the crossing of unprepared gaps up to 13 m for wheeled and tracked vehicles with loads up to MLC50. REBS can be transported on and launched from any 1015 tons PLS truck and has seen extensive combat operation since 2009.
MAMBA
The IAB (Infantry Assault Bridge) is a lightweight foot bridge for infantry and airborne troops. The IAB can be used to cross dry or wet gaps. One complete bridge set is qualified to produce a clear span bridge of maximum 30 m. With additional bridge modules and floats even wide wet gaps can be crossed. Launch and retrieval of the IAB are done manually.
VIPER
The increased need for a selfsufficient gapcrossing capability of ground forces has led to the development of the Medium Trackway Bridge (MTB), a modular lightweight bridge of aluminum that provides bridge lengths of 2, 4, 6 or 8 m for maximum loads of MLC40. The single bridge modules can be transported directly by even small tactical vehicles and can easily be launched and retrieved by the crew with a simple adapter.