In 2008, the Piranha V was announced as the provisional selection in the FRES program.[7] However, no production order was announced, and the contract was subsequently cancelled in December 2008.[8][9] By the end of 2008, the first prototype was finished.[4] The vehicle was presented by GDELS at the Eurosatory exhibition in 2010, together with a new variant of theASCOD IFV.[5] In 2016, it was successfully loaded into anAirbus A400M cargo aircraft during an evaluation exercise inSeville.[10]
A live firing test was conducted atCamp Rena inNorway, in 2019, with the presence of the Romanian procurement authority. The Piranha V, fitted with theIsraeli UT30 MK 2 passed the series of static and dynamic shooting tests in harsh environmental conditions, exceeding the customer's requirements, as noted by GDELS.[11]
The Piranha V is available with aMTU 6V199 TE21diesel engine producing 586horsepower (437 kW).[12] Both Denmark[13] and Spain,[14] however, have opted for a different powerpack built by the Spanish company SAPA, consisting of aScania Diesel engine with 480 kW coupled with the SW 624 automatic transmission, and an auxiliary power unit with 75 kW.[15]
Standard armour (STANAG 4569, Level 4/4b) offers all-round14.5mm AP protection and 20mm-23mm AP on front. Can offer full protection for the crew if a 10 kg explosive AT mine explodes under the hull. Add-ons can offer all-round protection to 25mm AP rounds and level 5 STANAG 4569.[1]
At the end of 2015,Denmark announced the order of 308 vehicles. The first Piranhas were to arrive in 2018, with the last arriving in 2023.[16] The Piranha V was selected as the replacement of the oldM113. It was selected over theCV90, the ASCOD, and the VBCI.[17]
The Danish Piranha V contract includes 6 different variants: infantry, command, pioneer, ambulance, repair and mortar. The first pre-production variant vehicles arrived in 2017, with the first production variants being officially handed over to the Armed Forces in March 2019.[18][19] In 2020, the ambulance version was received. The vehicles were assigned to the 1st Brigade where they are to replace thePiranha III.[20]
In 2023, theDanish Ministry of Defence announced that it selected theSkyranger 30 as part of its planned ground air defense system. The Skyranger system is to be mounted on the Piranha V platform. The integration will be performed by the Danish companyTerma A/S.[21]
The StratCom (Strategic Communication Systems) was presented byGDELS at Eurosatory 2024. It is equipped with a 15-meter communication mast system with point-to-point radio systems, and a C4I command system.[22]
It was selected by the Germany in January 2025, and ordered in February 2025.[23]
In 2017,Romania signed a 900 million euro contract withGeneral Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) for the purchase and production of 227 Piranha V armored personnel carriers in Romania.[24] The joint venture between GDELS andUzina Mecanică București [ro] (UMB) also aims to provide the Piranha V to the export market in the area. Besides production, a military vehicle maintenance section will also operate at UMB.[25]
The first batch of 36 vehicles, was produced at GDELS-Mowag's facilities inKreuzlingen, Switzerland, 10 of which were assembled in Bucharest. The first batch included 30 vehicles inInfantry Fighting Vehicle configuration equipped with30 mm cannons, and 6 in mobile command point configuration, and was assigned to the26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", also known as the Red Scorpions, in October 2020.[26][27] A second batch of 32 vehicles assembled at UMB, was received in November 2022. Another 26 Piranhas were received in different configurations, including mortar carriers, equipped withSpear MK2 120 mm mortars, ambulances,CBRN, and recovery vehicles.[28] The rest of the vehicles will be entirely produced in Romania.[25] On 10 February 2023, it was announced that Romania will purchase another 150 Piranha V for an estimated cost of 674 million US dollars.[29]
In May 2023, 25 Piranhas of the 26th Infantry Battalion participated in the Anakonda 23 exercise.[30][31] The Romanian soldiers carried out a 1,000 kilometer march to the Polish training grounds inNowa Dęba where they trained together with troops fromSlovenia,Poland, and theUnited States.[30][32]
Under theVehículo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR) program, the Spanish Ministry of Defence selected a local team in 2015 to develop the future 8×8 armored infantry vehicle which is to replace the oldBMR,VEC, andM113 vehicles in the Spanish Army endowment. The team, formed byIndra Sistemas,Sapa Placencia, and the joint ventureGeneral Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas based the vehicle on the Piranha V design.[33]
In 2018, the first 5 demonstrators were received.[14] The contract for the armored vehicle, known as theDragón [es] by the Spanish Army, was awarded in 2020 for 1.74 billion euros, 733 million of which was awarded to GDLS-SBS. It included 348 vehicles, maintenance and life cycle support, as well as the support for international commercialization. The contract is expected to grow to 1,000 vehicles.[34] The Dragón began trials in 2022, after passing the critical design review. Of the 348, 219 are to be in IFV configuration, 58 reconnaissance vehicles, 49sappers combat vehicles, and 14 command post vehicles. The deliveries are scheduled to finish by 2027.[35]
The first batch of vehicles was delivered on 20 December 2022. The 7 vehicles were received during a ceremony attended by theSecretary of State for Defence, and theArmy Chief of Staff. The vehicles are being produced by TESS Defence, an association between Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra Sistemas, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, and Sapa Placencia.[36]
The Piranha V was selected over theCV90 Armadillo thePMMC G5 and theVBCI in 2015. The contract for the order of 309 Piranha V in 6 variants was signed in December 2015 for USD $600 million.[37]
The first Piranha V was delivered to DALO in 2018, and it entered service at the end of March 2019.[38]
In 2015, a program to replace theVEC-M1, theBMR-M1 and part of theM113 fleet was launched by the Spanish Army. The competitors were theBoxer, theFreccia, thePatria AMV, the Piranha V, theSEP and the VBCI.[42]
In September 2015, the competition was won byGDELS with thePiranha V.[43] In December 2019, the Spanish Government cancelled the program, and relaunched the competition.[44] In August 2020, the Piranha V ofGDELS Santa Barbara Sistemas in collaboration withIndra Sistemas and Sapa Placencia won again the competition for a first batch of 348 vehicles for €1.74 billion.[45]
It is known as theDragon VCR and the orders are split in 3 phases. There are confirmed orders for the phase 1 only:
Phase 1,348 confirmed orders, planned to be delivered until 2027[46]
In January 2018, Romania signed a framework agreement withGDELS for the purchase of 227 Piranha V. The value of the agreement reached €868 million. Six variants are planned in the contract, and an important part would be manufactured locally.[49]
Infantry Fighting vehicles, equipped with Elbit UT30 Mk2 unmanned turrets[50]
Command and control vehicles, equipped with Elbit UT30 Mk2 unmanned turrets[50]
Mortar carriers, equipped with Elbit SPEAR 120mm mortar systems[50]
In February 2023, the Defence Ministry of Romania requested the approval to the parliament to initiate the purchase of additional Piranha V for an estimated value of USD $674 million.[55] This order is planned for 2025.[56]
In 2017, Bulgaria invited companies to submit offers for a futureIFV and other combat support vehicles (reconnaissance, combat engineering, ambulance) based on a 8×8 armoured vehicles. Over time, several offers were made by various competitors (GTK Boxer, Mowag Piranha V,Nexter VBCI 2,Patria AMVXP,Freccia,Otokar Arma,FNSS PARS). TheBoxer was eliminated with theVBCI in December 2017 because they did not fulfil the conditions of the program, while the Piranha V and thePatria AMVXP did.
After years of discussions and cancellations, an offer made byGeneral Dynamics Land Systems for a much smaller and cheaperStryker won the contract in September 2023, 183 vehicles for USD $1.37 billion.[57]
In April 2022, Slovakia submitted arequest for information to General Dynamics regarding the Piranha V produced in Romania.[59] The contract failed as thePatria AMV was chosen instead.[60]
Up to 106APC with a budget of €700 million are to be selected after the contract for theGTK Boxer was cancelled. The finalists of the competition are the Piranha V, theFreccia, theRosomak L and thePatria AMVXP.[64] A visit of a Slovenian delegation took place in Romania at the production facility in 2024. On the 11th of July 2024 it was announced that the Patria AMVxp was the winner of the competition.[65]
The UK initially participated in the development of the GTK Boxer with Germany and the Netherlands. The collaboration started in 1999. In 2003, the UK decided to leave the development of that vehicle.[66] In 2004, theFRES programme was launched. In June 2007, 3 vehicles were pre-selected for the FRES UV programme, theGTK Boxer, the Piranha V and theVBCI.[67] The Piranha V was selected as preferred bidder in November 2007 and announced in May 2008.[68][69] It wasn't followed by orders due to budget crunch, and as of December 2008, the absence of contract meant that the Piranha V wasn't the preferred bidder anymore.[70]
In 2014, a new programme, the FUV(Future Utility Programme) was launched, and the VBCI was considered again and tested by the UK. But the evaluation didn't lead to the selection of the vehicle. In 2018, the UK rejoined the Boxer programme through the MIV programme(Mechanised Infantry Vehicle).[71]
_cropped.jpg)
Denmark (309)
Germany (58 + option for 198)
Monaco (2)
Spain (348 ordered, 650 planned)
Romania (227)
Ireland
Bulgaria
Lithuania
Slovakia
United Arab Emirates (400)
Slovenia (106)
United Kingdom