General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) showcased its latest advancements in mobile ground-based air defense (GBAD) and counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) capabilities at Eurosatory, featuring the PIRANHA 8×8 GBAD variant indoors and the PANDUR 6×6 Evo C-UAS vehicle outdoors. Moving away from purpose-built platforms, GDELS’ design philosophy centers on integrating mature, series-production armored vehicle chassis with market-available sensors and effectors. The approach employs open, NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture (NGVA)-compliant standard interfaces, allowing the company to maintain a hardware-agnostic stance. This modularity enables military customers to seamlessly integrate various remote weapon stations, guided missiles, radar packages, and passive sensor suites according to specific national requirements and threat environments.
The indoors-exhibited PIRANHA 8×8 GBAD configuration, based on the PIRANHA-V platform, is fitted with a specialized air defense derivative of Elbit Systems’ UT30 family turret to create a multi-layered protective dome. For long-range engagements up to five or six kilometers against threats such as Shahed-type loitering munitions, the platform employs 70 mm guided rockets, transitioning to the main cannon firing airburst ammunition for targets at one to two kilometers. Self-defense at closer ranges is handled by a 7.62 mm machine gun, complemented by a novel net-throwing system firing up to ten projectiles—creating a ten-meter-high by 25-meter-long net wall—to neutralize roadside ambush drones at ranges between five and 25 meters. Threat detection relies on a camera network, active radar options, and passive acoustic sensors designed to reduce electromagnetic signatures, all processed via a software-defined architecture capable of receiving field updates.
Positioned for light and medium forces requiring sustained counter-drone coverage, the outdoor-displayed PANDUR 6×6 Evo features a specialized sensor suite combining active radar, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) optics, and acoustic arrays to maintain tracking in dense electromagnetic environments. Engagement options leverage a hybrid soft-kill and hard-kill suite that incorporates active electronic warfare, guided missiles, and a Valhalla Turrets Mangart-25 turret housing a 25 mm autocannon alongside a five-round rocket launcher. For close-in precision defeat of smaller targets, the vehicle integrates a French Cilas HELMA-P 10 kW high-energy laser system. The layered armament strategy ensures high-volume threat saturation can be addressed without relying on a single effector type or depleting high-cost missile reserves against low-cost aerial targets.
Both platforms heavily emphasize manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities enabled by GDELS’ proprietary NEVA electronic architecture, positioning the vehicles as command hubs for forward-deployed unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). The PIRANHA GBAD features dedicated operator workstations to control autonomous weapons alongside the BULLFROG 8×8 UGV, using the armored chassis as a mobile “mothership” to project detached, small-caliber effectors into high-risk forward areas. By distributing sensor and effector loads across networked manned platforms and offboard UGVs, GDELS aims to counter saturated drone swarm tactics while mitigating operational risk to crews on the dynamic modern battlefield.
