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Leopard 2 AEV undergoing tests af Skive Barracks

 
   
 

Leopard 2 AEV undergoing tests af Skive Barracks

 
 

Pictures courtesy of Ryan Rud Jensen

 

The Leopard 2 AEV 3 Engineering vehicle was prototyped by Rheinmetall-DeTec in Germany in 2003. A vehicle was handed over to the Swiss procurement authorities for evaluation. 12 vehicles was procured in 2004.
Aside from the Swiss armed forces, a number of other armies are interested in acquiring this leading combat engineering system and in some cases have already initiated relevant procurement programmes.

When the AEV 3 goes into full-scale production the vehicle will be equipped with anti-mine protection features currently being developed for the Leopard 2, adapted to meet the special requirements of the AEV 3, as well as an anti-spall liner.

To defend itself the AEV 3 will be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun and smoke grenade dispensers. To perform its primary mission, it is equipped with a hinged excavator mounted in the middle position, as well as a dozer system with innovative cutting and tilt angle settings and a Rotzler double-winch system consisting out of two 9 tons capstan winches. When combined and deployed in multiple traction mode, these are capable of pulling up to 62 tons.
By means of a quick-release coupling, the excavator bucket can be exchanged for a number of other devices, including a hydraulic hammer and a tree-gripper. All of these tools are electro-hydraulically controlled and can be operated by the driver by two joysticks.

The dozer blade can be swapped for a full-width mine plough, meaning that - when equipped with a signature-duplicator and a lane-marking unit - the AEV 3 system is also a fully capable minefield-breaching system. In every configuration of the system - even when equipped with anti-mine protection features - the AEV 3 will remain within the weight limits of military load class 70 (MLC 70).


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