Since collaboration with Switzerland and Denmark was broken off, a contract has now been concluded jointly with the Netherlands.
“After many journeys to and fro, it is a great relief to have this collaboration in place. It was the only chance of finding the money for this project,” says Lars Östlund, FMV’s project manager for the procurement of the Armoured Engineer Vehicle, AEV 3 Kodiak, in its Swedish version.
Surplus Leopard 2 main battle tanks are rebuilt in the shape of a multi-function armoured engineer vehicle in a project involving close cooperation between the Netherlands, Sweden, the German manufacturers Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and RUAG Land Systems in Switzerland. The AEV 3 Kodiak is capable of clearing mines, digging protective earthworks, excavating and building or breaching obstacles. The converted vehicle is built on a chassis which is stripped in the workshops in Skövde and there is around 95% similarity in terms of functions and configuration between the Netherlands and the Swedish versions of the vehicle. They differ only in paint finish, markings, smoke grenade discharge arrangements and some tools.
“After the vehicle has been stripped, it is sent to RUAG in Switzerland where the front is cut out to receive crew modules and fixings for the hinged excavator arm and other equipment,” says project manager Lars Östlund.
To enable the driver to work in safety and to change tools under cover, there are six cameras to provide external views. When the driver has to change tools he must keep an eye on two cameras at the same time in order, for example, to judge depth and distance.
“It is possible to dig to a depth of 4 metres so it can be difficult to see,” adds Lars Östlund.
The vehicle has undergone high temperature climatic testing in Zaragossa in Spain and low temperature testing in Boden in Sweden. All technical requirements, maintenance systems, time schedules and contractors’ undertakings have been harmonised with the Netherlands. Everything which is not country-specific will be shared 50/50 between the two countries. One-off costs such as development, technical documentation, maintenance preparations and verification are major items where the procurement of vehicles is concerned. Collaborating in this way will have cut the overall procurement costs by 20 percent.
Since Germany, the original producers of the Leopard 2, has not so far shown an interest in the armoured engineer vehicle version, the new vehicle will not be included in the “Leopard User Club”. Instead the intention is to set up a “Kodiak User Club” together with Switzerland and the Netherlands. Switzerland ordered 12 of the vehicles in December 2006.
AEV 3 Kodiak is certainly no lightweight since its all-up weight will be about 62.5 tons so, together with its mine-plough, it is close to the limit for transportability and for its possible effect on infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Whether any weight reduction is possible is something to be looked at as work on the project continues.
AEV 3 Kodiak vehicles will be ready for delivery in about three years. Sweden has ordered six, the Netherlands ten, and vehicles will be delivered to each country alternately.
TEXT: ISABELLE ÅLANDER
PHOTO: RHEINMETALL LANDSYSTEME GmbH.
Technical facts
| Chassis: | Leopard 2 |
| Engine: | MTU 1500 bhp |
| Mine clearance: | Pearson Full Width Mine Plough (FWMP), Lane Marking System (LMS) and Demeter magnetic signature device. Ploughing is possible to a depth of 30 cm. Changing from dozer blade to mine plough is to be possible in less than two hours using the vehicles own equipment. |
| Excavating | 200 m3/hour, excavation depth 4 m, height reach 9 m. |
| Bulldozing | 350 m3/hour |
| Winching | 2 x 9 ton Rotzler capstan winches (gives 2 x 310 kN with four parts). |
| Armament | 12.7 mm machine gun or 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL) mounted on superimposed weapon station (Protector), together with IR camera, daylight camera and laser rangefinder. |
| Smoke grenade launchers | 2 x 8 in no. 66 mm mounted on the weapon station. |
Other facts
The scoop on the excavator arm can be replaced with a cutting tool, hydraulic hammer or universal gripper. The excavator arm without scoop is capable of lifting 3.3 tons (with scoop 2.6 tons). Image intensifiers for driver and vehicle commander. Air conditioning. Anti-landmine protection and additional protection for the crew modules (bomblet protection).
Project facts
The long journey leading up to a final agreement began in 1999 when FMV was assigned the task of procuring an armoured engineer vehicle. Initially it was the Leopard 1 that was considered for conversion but, following careful analysis, it was evident that the Leopard 2 would be more suitable. Possible contenders for collaboration have been the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Switzerland.
Collaboration with Switzerland reached the stage of producing an offer but, since the Swedish Armed Forces were unable to provide the required additional funding, negotiations were terminated in December 2001.
In 2002 a new start was made and in 2003 a prototype had been developed by Switzerland and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS). Denmark was the country that initiated fresh collaboration. This progressed to the stage of an offer being produced and final negotiations being held. Then Denmark backed out.
The Netherlands then became interested and the green light was given by the Netherlands government in December 2007. On 16 January 2008 a contract was concluded between the two countries and Rheinmetall Landsysteme.