Paves the way through minefields and obstacle courses: the Ministry of Defense told about the technical advantages of the Wisent 1 MC armored demining vehicle

The Ministry of Defense described the advantages of the German armored demining vehicle Wisent 1 MC, which Germany has pledged to supply to Ukraine in 2023, UNN reports.

Details

Wisent 1 MC (Mine Clearing) is an armored demining vehicle manufactured by the German company FFG in cooperation with the British Pearson Engineering. The vehicle paves the way for personnel and combat vehicles through mine and barrier fields, as well as clears roads of explosive devices. Germany has pledged to supply Ukraine with 30 such vehicles in 2023, 12 of which have already been transferred to the Defense Forces.

Equipment and protection

The vehicle is built on the Leopard 1 tank chassis and is equipped with passive mine action tools from Pearson Engineering. Depending on mission requirements, the vehicle can be equipped with a full-size mine plow or bulldozer blade. Similar tools are installed on American M1150 ABV vehicles, which have also been transferred to Ukraine.

The ballistic protection of the vehicle meets the STANAG 4569 Level 5 standard, which means it can withstand a 25 mm armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile from a distance of 500 meters. The vehicle is also able to withstand the explosion of an anti-tank mine under the bottom equivalent to 8 kg of TNT.

How it works

The mine plow, which is mounted in the front projection of the machine, defuses both pressure mines and mines with tension fuzes. The plow lifts and removes mines from the soil (25-30 cm deep) and safely pushes them aside to form a safety strip. The strip is marked with special darts fired by an electropneumatic system at regular intervals.

The machine is also equipped with an electromagnetic duplicator that defuses mines with a magnetic fuze at a safe distance from the machine. The magnetic field generated by the duplicator induces a signal in the fuses of passive magnetic mines, causing them to detonate. Wisent 1 has a crane with a lifting capacity of 30 tons.

Mobility

Wisent 1 is powered by an FFG engine with a fully automatic transmission. The 44.5-ton vehicle can reach speeds of up to 62 km/h. With a range of 375 km, it is able to overcome difficult terrain, including 60% inclines.

Recall

Germany will provide Ukraine with a new package of military assistance, which includes Marder APCs, a demining tank, carriers, shells, cryptophones and vehicles totaling 1.3 billion euros.