Sweden receives first Kodiak armoured engineering vehicle

Rheinmetall Defence has handed over the first Kodiak AEV 3 S armoured engineering vehicle to the Swedish armed forces procurement agency (FMV). According to a Rheinmetall company statement, the AEV 3 S programme is on track for on time completion.

The procurement agencies of Sweden and the Netherlands awarded Rheinmetall an order for 16 armoured engineering vehicles in 2008, with six earmarked for the Swedish armed forces, and ten going to the Dutch Army. In total, the order is worth around €100 million.

According to the company, the AEV 3 S is a heavy-duty combat engineering system that falls into the military weight category MLC 70. Its mine-protected MBT (main battle tank) Leopard 2 chassis and 1,100 kW diesel engine assure high mobility and a high level of protection. It is equipped with a powerful hinged-arm excavator with different excavator tools, a dozer system featuring cutting and tilt angle settings and a double-winch system consisting of two 9-ton capstan winches.

For its self-protection, the vehicle is equipped with a remote control weapon station and a smoke grenade launcher system. Six cameras provide the two or three-man crew with a panoramic view of the vehicle’s surroundings, enabling them to switch tools and carry out a full range of combat engineering tasks without leaving the safety of the armoured fighting crew compartment.

If required, the dozer blade can be replaced with a mine-breaching plough. By adapting the mine breaching kit to the AEV 3 S, the vehicle can be used as a mine breaching system. Among other things, this enables the Kodiak to cut through minefields and to erect or dismantle artificial obstacles. Thanks to its extensive array of equipment, it can also be deployed in a civil defence or disaster recovery capacity as well as in joint civil-military operations.

Rheinmetall said that Switzerland and the Netherlands will also use the Kodiak to support their Leopard 2 main battle tanks and to supplement their previously fielded ARV 3 armoured recovery vehicles, also supplied by Rheinmetall.