Bron: MilitaryLeak
German defense company Rheinmetall announced on Friday it had developed a new robotic ground vehicle based on the Wiesel platform. Mature platform meets high tech autonomy advancement: Rheinmetall’s Autonomous Combat Warrior (ACW) Wiesel is driven by a state of the art autonomous kit which is applicable to a variety of both tracked and wheeled vehicle systems such as Boxer, Lynx or HX tactical trucks. The Autonomous Combat Warrior Wiesel can be operated manually, remote-controlled or in full autonomous mode by programming waypoints on a tablet. It can avoid obstacles autonomously and it can also follow a lead vehicle in convoy mode. Next-generation features include detecting soldier behavior and off-road terrain. The ultimate goal is improving soldier safety by keeping operators out of harm’s way.
The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier. It is quite similar to historical scouting tankettes in size, form and function, and is the only true modern tankette in use in Western Europe. The Wiesel 2 is a stretched version of the Wiesel 1, with a fifth roadwheel. The engine was changed to a 1.9L Volkswagen in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection and intercooler, giving 109 hp (81 kW) coupled to a ZF automatic transmission. The Wiesel 2 is generally bigger, faster and stronger than the Wiesel 1, with advanced features for the protection of the crew such as enhanced armour, an air conditioning system, and NBC protection. The Wiesel has been used in several of the Bundeswehr’s missions abroad (UNOSOM II, IFOR, SFOR, KFOR, TFH, ISAF).