Piranha III Armored CBRN Reconnaissance Vehicle.

     Notes: Sometimes simply called the Piranha IIIC CBRN, this vehicle is used to find, fix, mark, and take samples of possible areas contaminated by Nuclear, Chemical, or Biological agents or by sheer radiation.  The Piranha III CBRN is equipped with a full navigation suite, including GPS and navigation as well as a mapping module designed to display maps of the areas into which the Piranha III CBRN is expected to scout.  Marking is done by three flag dispensers on the rear of the hull (one for chemical, bio, or radiation/fallout).  It can shoot through an internally-triggered roof-mounted mortar sensors to extend its reach, and these sensors remain online for 40 hours through the use of a battery, and transmits its findings continuously to the Piranha III CBRN over a range of 40 kilometers.  The mortar is fed by sliding the sensors into the breech or the mortar, which extends into the vehicle and provides an airtight lockout. Chemical contamination can be detected on the move, as the two front pair of wheels have sensors for ground contamination.  The Piranha III CBRN also has an optical chemical detector mounted on the front roof of the hull.  The vehicle can take in air samples and submit them to mass spectronomy and a gas chromatograph; the air sample is contained in a lockout chamber; when testing is done, the air sample is evacuated from the chamber.  At the rear of the vehicle is an arm which can be extended two meters and can take samples of dirt or vegetation to more fully test contamination; again, the samples are kept in lockout chambers and do not enter the vehicle. The vehicle also has a wide-field long-range particle counter, and next to the optical chemical sniffer is a biowarfare sniffer.  Both are connected to internal computers for analysis.  The vehicle has computers to aid in analysis.

     Being essentially a specialized version of the Piranha IIIC, the automotive components and chassis are essentially the same on the Piranha 3 CBRN.  Personnel-wise, there are seats for the crewmembers so they may use the sensors and computers.  Three such seats are provided, and two other fold-down seats are also provided. The driver is in the normal spot on the front left, while the rest of the crew in in the rear area.  The vehicle is armed with an RWS armed with an M2HB; the crew can access its vision equipment through small computer screens or through a dedicated weapons station.  It is powered by a Caterpillar C9 developing 400 horsepower and coupled to an automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes.  It is an 8x8 vehicle.  The armor is surprisingly heavy for a Piranha-series vehicle, with the Piranha III CBRN able to take medium autocannon hits from the front, light autocannon hits from the sides, 14.5mm hits from the rear, and added armor on the roof and floor.  The tires are run-flat and puncture resistant. Due the many ports for sensors and equipment, the Piranha III CBRN is not able to wear the applique armor able to be put on a normal Piranha IIIs, nor can it mount ERA. Despite this heavy armor, the Piranha III CBRN is amphibious with five minutes preparation, although such preparation requires the crew to leave the vehicle.  Of course, the crew is protected by NBC Overpressure, and has air conditioning with NBC filters.

*Floor Armor is 7Sp; Roof AV is 5, except for the RWS, which is 4.

Steyr-Daimler-Puch Pandur ARRV

     Notes: The Austrians have been producing the relatively-new Pandur ARRV to recover their expanding numbers of Pandur-based vehicles, and also other wheeled vehicles.  The Pandur is also used by Belgium, Kuwait, Slovenia, and the US (mostly to recover Strykers, Marine LAV-series vehicles, and Pandur APCs at the JLTV). American Pandurs and Kuwaiti Pandurs were manufactured under license in the US by AV Technology.

     The driver is on the front left with the commander on the right behind the powerpack.  He has conventional controls and has power steering, only on the front four wheels. The hatch opens to the left and had three wide-angle vision blocks; the center one can be removed and replaced by a night vision block. The commander has a hatchway which is raised slightly, though it has no rotating cupola.  The commander, like most Austrian vehicles, is armed with a heavy machinegun, though the mount will take a minigun, GPMG, Grenade Launcher, or light machinegun/SAW. He also has a WL spotlight on a low pole.  To the rear of the driver’s hatch is a large two-piece hatch cover for crewmembers.  This also has a WL spotlight, though not on a pole. The twin doors on the rear face are retained. The Pandur ARRV has a capstan-type winch which is led out the front  and has a pulling capacity of 25 tons.  The Pandur ARRV has a winch on the left side with a capacity of 3 tons, enough to lift a Pandur powerpack or most Pandur turrets.  It has a range of 9 meters and can be pivoted 250 degrees. When the crane is used, a stabilizer is lowered at each corner; they can also be used when using the winch.  An additional stabilizer is found at the center of each side of the hull. The front has a dozer blade, which can also be used for stabilization and is normally used with the winch. The Pandur ARRV is 6x6 (though it steers only on the front four wheels), and the tires have central tire pressure regulation.

     Performance is similar to the Pandur APC, as it used the same suspension, chassis, engine, and transmission.  The hull is of welded steel armor, with bolts in a few places such as the powerpack retention bolts and wheel nuts.  The engine is a Steyr WD turbocharged diesel developing 260 horsepower. It’s transmission is American-made and is automatic, with a torque convertor that can transfer the 240 horsepower of the engine power into torque. It has a lockup clutch.  Some countries’ Pandur ARRVs have a collective NBC system, and some have an NBC Overpressure system.  They have air conditioning and heating, a full set of repair and recovery tools, and an arc welder; a selection of spare parts (usually for the Pandur, or vehicle to be recovered and repaired) are carried.

     An additional passive armor package is often found on Pandur-series vehicles.  This includes the Pandur ARRV.

*The front dozer blade has an AV of 6.  Depending on what the blade is raised to (or not raised), the blade gives the Pandur ARRV a bonus frontal AV of 6Sp.