New armored bridge layer Leguan delivered to German pioneers.

At the end of December2018, the Panzerpionier battalion 130 based in Minden became the first in the German army to receive two Leguan armored bridge layers. This closed a gap. Now, the new generation of combat vehicles heavier than 60 tons can also drive over larger watercourses or terrain cuts.

Leguan armored bridge layer on  Leopard 2 chassis displayed at Eurosatory (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Since 1 January 2019, in the framework of the readiness phase for the Leitverband, the pioneers of the Panzerlehrbrigade 9 (armor school brigade 9) is operational in the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, more precisely the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land). Within two to seven days, the Pioneers will be ready to join a NATO mission that would make the Tank Pioneer Battalion 130 the task force's pioneer battalion. "Until now, we only had access to the Biber armored bridge layer, but due to the low Military Load Class (MLC) 60, it is no longer sufficient today. With the Leguan armored bridge-layer and the new battlefield bridges, we reach an MLC of 80 ", the commander of Panzerpionierbataillon 130, Lieutenant Colonel Helge Lammerschmidt, said.

The 62-ton Leguan is based on the chassis of the Leopard 2 battle tank and is able to lay a 26-meter long or alternatively two 14-meter long bridges. A 14-meter bridge can be set up and laid in about five minutes, while a 26-meter bridge can be laid down in about six minutes. Each bridge-laying tank comes with a 26-meter and two 14-meter bridges.The Leguan Leopard 2 uses the same powerpack and suspension as the Leopard 2 MBT. It is motorized with MTU MB 873 Ka-501 4-stroke, 12-cylinder diesel, exhaust turbocharged, liquid-cooled developing 1,496 hp at 2,600 rpm coupled to a transmission Renk HSWL 354 hydrokinetic planetary gear shift, 4 forward and 2 reverse gears. The suspension with torsion bars consists each side of seven dual rubber-tyred roadwheels with the idler at the front, the drive sprocket at the rear and four track-support rollers. The Leguan Leopard 2 can run at a maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 400 km.

The two existing bridge lengths open up different possibilities for the soldiers to use. To overcome larger obstacles, so-called overlapped linings are possible, that is:
• two 26-meter-long bridges can cover an obstacle of maximum 40 to 48 meters in width;
• a 26-meter-long as well as a 14-meter-long bridge can cover an obstacle of a maximum of 32 to 35 meters width;
• two 14-meter-long bridges can cover an obstacle of a maximum of 20 meters.
The Leguan system includes the tracked armored bridge layer and a semi-trailer for the transportation of the bridge elements.