Moldovan army receives first three Piranha III H APC Armored Personnel Carriers.

The army of Moldova received, on January 12, the first three Piranha III H Armored Personnel Carriers among the 19 vehicles offered by Germany, in a ceremony organized in Military Camp 142. The donation is based on the agreement signed with the German side and as a result of the official visit of German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht to Chisinau.
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The first three Piranha III H APCs offered by Germany to Moldova (Picture source: Moldovan MoD)

The event was attended by the Minister of Defense Anatolie Nosatîi, the Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Republic of Moldova, Ullrich Kinne, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu and military attachés accredited in our country.

Minister Nosatîi declared that this action is an eloquent example of effective cooperation between the defense institutions of the Republic of Moldova and the Federal Republic of Germany, in the context of achieving the objective of modernizing and strengthening the defense capabilities of the National Army.

"This batch of equipment comes to replace the old vehicles of the Army with new ones. The APC received are to be assigned to the 22nd "Blue Helmets" peacekeeping battalion for the purpose of training, but also to increase interoperability", said Anatolie Nosatîi.

For his part, Ullrich Kinne mentioned that: "The German-Moldovan cooperation in the field of defense has thus reached a new level of quality. This delivery, as part of the National Army Modernization Initiative with the support of the German Federal Government, improves the defense capacity of the Republic of Moldova and its capabilities to participate in international peacekeeping missions. This participation is highly appreciated internationally".

It should be noted that the donation contains a total of 19 "Piranha III H" armored personnel carriers, the other technical units to be delivered during the current year.

Moldovan-German collaboration in the military field started in March 2003, with the signing of the Interministerial Defense Collaboration Agreement.

Reception ceremony of the first three Piranha III H APCs offered by Germany to Moldova (Picture source: Moldovan MoD)

Piranha III H

The Piranha IIIH has a composite armor suite. At the time of its introduction in 1996, it had the highest level of protection compared with previous Piranhas and LAV series vehicles. The vehicle is operated by a crew of 2 or 3. It can carry 8-9 fully-equipped soldiers. Five engine options were available. These were the German MTU 6V182 TE22 developing 400 hp, the Swedish Scania DSJ9-48A developing 400 hp, the American Caterpillar 3126 developing 350 hp, the American Detroit Diesel 6V53TA developing 350 hp, and the British Cummins 6CTAA8.3-T350 developing 350 hp.

The amphibious capability was optional. These APCs had a trim vane and were propelled on water by two waterjets. Maximum speed in water was about 10 km/h. However, it seems that the amphibious version received no production orders.

Piranha III H APC delivered to the Moldovan army (Picture source: Moldovan MoD)