The BvS10 Beowulf is a dual body, amphibious all-Terrain tracked vehicle designed and manufactured by BAE Systems Hägglunds. BEOWULF is designed and developed in Sweden by BAE Systems Hägglunds. It is based upon battle proven driveline technologies that underpin the BvS10 family of vehicles in service worldwide which means an outstanding pedigree of reliability, durability and high system availability. The BvS10 Beowulf base configuration is a new unprotected platform combining the best of Bv206, Bv206S and BvS10 and is configurable and ready for future growth. The BvS10 Beowulf offers excellent strategic and tactical mobility for worldwide operations. It can also be transported over longer distance by sea and air. Only Russian Vityaz series articulated tracked carriers can carry more, but these vehicles are much larger. The vehicle was unveiled for the first time to the public during the the defense exhibition DSEI in September 2015.
The layout of the BvS10 Beowulf is very similar to the the BvS10 and the BV206S but the front vehicle is fitted with large unarmoured windscreen. The BvS10 Beowulf uses the same chassis and running gear as the BvS10. Each side of the front vehicle is fitted with two doors including large windows in the upper part. The BvS10 Beowulf consists of two tracked units linked by an ingenious steering mechanism. The front and rear units are articulated in relation to each other, horizontally for steering and vertically for following the contours of the terrain. There is four individual seats for the front unit and one single hatch is mounted on the roof of each unit. The rear unit can be used as cargo carrier or to transport individual personnel. This unit is equipped with a single door at the rear side.
The BvS10 Beowulf is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by its rubber band tracks at a maximum speed of 4km/h. The vehicle uses an unrivalled design for the track system allows for movement over unstable and soft terrain through its extremely low ground pressure. On water it is propelled by its tracks. Amphibious speed on water is 4 km/h. The BvS10 Beowulf is motorized with a Cummins 6.7l inline 6 cylinders engine developing 285 hp coupled to an Allison automatic transmission with 6 forward speeds and 1 reverse. The BvS10 Beowulf can run at a maximum speed of 70 km/h with a maximum cruising range from 400 to 1,000 km. It can climb a gradient of 45% and can cross a trench of 2m. The Beowulf can travel over long distances. It has an unrefueled range of up to 1 000 km. Though standard range is around 400 km.
The BvS10 Beowulf can be fitted with ring mount weapon station or a remote weapon station armed with 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun in case of military applications. Normally both front and rear units are fully enclosed but for some applications the rear unit can vary considerably and in some cases may be left fully opened, such as cargo flatbed or mortar carrier, or can accommodate a variety of bodies. It is likely that numerous variants of this articulated all-terrain tracked carrier will be developed. This versatile vehicle can be tailored to meet many roles. It can be uses and an ambulance, a communications or command post vehicle. It can carry various anti-tank guided weapons such as the Bofors BILL or TOW. It can also carry surface-to-air missiles such as Bofors RBS 90, and even various radar systems.
