The Danish Army’s 1st Brigade is set to receive a significant upgrade with the acquisition of Wisent 2 armored recovery and engineering vehicles. The Ministry of Defense’s Material and Procurement Agency (FMI) recently signed a contract with Flensburger Fahrzeugbau GmbH (FFG) for these new vehicles, marking a crucial step in enhancing the operational effectiveness and resilience of the Danish Armed Forces. In a related development, FMI has entered into a loan agreement with the Canadian Defense Forces for armored recovery vehicles to be used by the Engineer Regiment in Skive. These vehicles will be utilized for training purposes until the delivery of the first Wisent 2 vehicles. The acquisition of the Wisent 2 armored recovery and engineering vehicles represents a significant advancement for the Danish Army, strengthening the 1st Brigade’s capabilities and ensuring enhanced operational readiness in the field.
Having made its public debut at the Paris 2010 Eurosatory Defence Exposition, the WiSENT 2 was developed by FFG (Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH) to meet the extremely high and rapidly changing demands of modern battlefields. Through its innovative design, it represents the first truly multifunctional vehicle platform in its class. Already selected and fielded by various international customers as their premier heavy armoured support platform, the WiSENT 2 represents the world’s latest in armoured support vehicle design. Built on the Leopard 2A7 platform, the new Wisent 2 vehicles share the same undercarriage and many spare parts with the Danish Army’s existing Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks. The WISENT 2 has a length of 9.26m, width of 3.54m and a height of 2.78m, whereas the AEV variant measures 10.50m-long, 3.54m-wide and 3.10m-high. This commonality ensures high compatibility, streamlining logistics and maintenance processes essential for maintaining a modern force.
The compartmental and modular design of the WiSENT 2, as well as its use of Controller Area Network (CAN) bus technology, offer unparalleled operational flexibility. It also maximises logistics commonality by combining state-of-the-art Armoured Engineer Vehicle (AEV) and as Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) capabilities, as well as those of other roles, through the fitting of mission kits on one single high-performance vehicle platform. Regardless of its selected mission role configuration, the WiSENT 2 platform always carries a 40 t, single-line, constant-pull internal main winch with 160 m of cable and an internal 2.3 t auxiliary winch with 280 m of cable. Besides an integrated electric generator for cutting and welding as well as for electrical power distribution and a vast array of tools, the common basic platform can also be equipped with either a conventional Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) or a battery-based Auxiliary Power Boost (APB) unit to support extended silent watch operations
with the main engine off.
Based on the mature and combat-proven worldclass LEOPARD 2 MBT, the WiSENT 2 is offering highest mobility performance and reliability while ensuring full MBT support and mission flexibility during operationsThe WISENT 2 is powered by a MTU, MB 873 Ka 501 diesel engine coupled to RENK, HSWL 354, reinforced transmission through an electro-hydraulic gear shift (four forward and two backward gears). The engine develops a maximum power output of 1100kW. The reinforced running gear components offer high manoeuvrability in different terrain conditions. The power-pack provides a maximum forward speed of 68km/h and a rearward speed of 31km/h. The recovering speed of the vehicle is 40km/h. The WISENT 2 attains a speed of 15km/h when towing device in terrain. The vehicle offers ballistic protection up to Level 5 according to NATO STANAG 4569. The low angle armour design along with spall liner covering the interior of the crew compartment minimises behind armour effects. The vehicle offers integrated mine protection up to level 4A and 4B. The bottom of the hull is attached with an additional armour plate to withstand the blasts of enhanced mines and improved explosive devices (IEDs).
