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The Wisent 8x8 armored transport vehicle was developed by Rheinmetall to meet the German Army requirement. The prototype of the Wisent, a German GFF Class 4 vehicle combining high mobility with excellent protection against ballistic, landmine, IED and CBRN threats. Road testing, which began in October 2008, only a few months after the last Eurosatory, has been successfully completed, as has protection qualification. Still to come are the climate trials, which will also take place in 2010, the final stage in the comprehensive testing programme. In October 2010, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RRMV) of Munich has entered a farreaching agreement with Timoney Technology Ltd. of Gibbstown, Ireland, to cooperate in the military logistic and tactical vehicle sector. Under a license agreement, Timoney Technology will develop and produce independent suspension systems and power trains for all new RMMV vehicles equipped with all-wheel drive and independent suspension, including systems with two, three or four axles. Based on the Timoney power train technology in Rheinmetall’s Wisent armoured transport vehicle, the result will be a new, highmobility family of vehicles systematically designed to meet the needs of the military. The new Wisent, an 8x8 all-wheel drive armoured vehicle, is a first example of fruitful cooperation between the two companies. During intensive qualification trials conducted under the Bundeswehr’s GFF 4 procurement programme, the vehicle handled superbly and, thanks to its high-performance chassis, had no problem coping with even the most challenging off-road conditions. Serial production of the Wisent could begin as early 2012 in Kassel, a traditional centre of excellence of the German automotive engineering and armoured vehicle industries. At Eurosatory 2010 Rheinmetall is presenting for the first time a prototype of the Wisent, a German GFF Class 4 vehicle combining high mobility with excellent protection against ballistic, landmine, IED and CBRN threats. The GFF Class 4 requirement is for a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 25 tonnes with a high level of protection against a variety of threats including small arms fire, artillery fragments, anti-tank mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). The Wisent can serve as a carrier platform for a multitude of different GTF missions and systems with containers and pallets (including flatbeds), assuring optimum transport of cargo. Equipped with a crane, the Wisent 10x10 can load and unload transport containers by itself. Owing to its very large load-carrying capacity, the same variant can be used as a platform for heavy equipment such as air defence radar or optional weapon stations for self-defence. The Bundeswehr plans to buy 240 protected multifunctional vehicles by 2011; BWB has already issued a request for tenders to that effect.
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