AEV 3 Kodiak

AEV 3 Kodiak
The AEV 3 Kodiak is a Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) based armoured engineering vehicle that can be used for a wide variety of battlefield and support roles
TypeArmoured engineering variant of a main battle tank
Place of originGermany
Switzerland
Service history
In service2009–present
Used bySee Users
WarsWar in Afghanistan
Production history
DesignerRheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and RUAG Defence; Krauss-Maffei Wegmann are technical design parent of the base platform
Designedfrom 2002
ManufacturerRheinmetall
(local assembly/conversion is an option if not new-build)
Unit costLeopard 2A6 base platform: US$5.74 million (2007)
Produced2007–present
No. built42 (plus 44 on order 2021)
Specifications
MassMilitary Load Classification (MLC) 70
Length10.2 metres (400 inches)
Width3.54 m (139 in) (transport width)
Height2.6 m (100 in) (without machine gun)
Crew2 or 3

Armourwelded steel, with a package of spaced multilayer passive composite armour
Main
armament
a RCWS (Remote Controlled Weapon Station) with options ranging from 5.56 mm light machine gun to 40 mm grenade launcher can be fitted at the commander's hatch
EngineMTU 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine
1,500 PS (1,479 hp, 1,103 kW) at 2,600 rpm
Power/weight21.4 PS/t (15.7 kW/t) (approx. based on MLC 70 classification)
TransmissionRenk HSWL 354 automatic with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears
SuspensionTorsion bar suspension
Fuel capacity1,100 litres (242 imperial gallons; 291 US gallons) in interconnected tanks
Operational
range
500 km on roads (estimated)
Maximum speed 68 km/h (42 mph) forward; 31 km/h (19 mph) reverse

The AEV 3 Kodiak is a Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) based armoured engineering vehicle that can be used for a wide variety of battlefield engineering, infrastructure and support roles. These roles can include, but would not be limited to, minefield breaching, route denial, dozing and digging tasks, and the erection or demolition of obstacles. The vehicle was originally developed for a Swiss Army requirement by the consortium of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (Germany) and RUAG Defence (Switzerland).[1][2][3]

English nomenclature for the vehicle is now AEV 3 Kodiak, while German is Pionierpanzer 3 (PiPz 3) Kodiak. Depending on user or reference source the AEV 3 Kodiak may also be referred to as Gepanzerte Pioniermaschine Kodiak, AEBV (Armoured Engineering and Breaching Vehicle), Armoured Engineer Vehicle 3 Kodiak, Ingenjörbandvagn 120, or the L2-AEV.[1][3][2]

  1. ^ a b "Leopard 2 (October 2019 update)". Jane's UK Ltd. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2020-02-17.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b "AEV Kodiak". Online Tank Museum. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  3. ^ a b "AEV 3 Kodiak". Rheinmetall AG. Retrieved 2020-02-17.