RUAG to upgrade Belgian, Austrian Pandurs
RUAG Defence has been selected by Belgium and Austria to upgrade their Pandur I armoured personnel carrier (APC).
The company announced on 18 March the fleets will be fitted with ballistic protection kits. Austria has the lead in the delivery of upgraded APCs.
Under this deal, RUAG Defence will upgrade all five variants of the Pandur I APCs with mine-, improvised explosive device- (IED) and ballistic protection kits. The project will begin in spring 2015, and it will be completed by the end of 2020.
The APCs will receive the SidePRO-KE/IED full-integrated, modular polyvalent composite protection system, which uses lightweight materials for direct application on armoured vehicles. This IED protection kit meets current threat level protection requirements.
The Pandur I fleet will also be outfitted with the MinePRO mine protection system, which is resistant to blasts and explosively formed projectiles. Also, all other vehicle subsystems such as stowage, seating for crew, driver and commander shall be evaluated, reinforced, improved or replaced.
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