With the Armoured Recovery Vehicle WISENT, FFG has developed a support vehicle, which meets the demanding standards and requirements of the Army’s mission profile across the full spectrum of operations and is optimised to support the Leopard 1 and 2 main battle tanks. The original Leopard 1 Standard Armoured Recovery Vehicle was exported to many countries. The WISENT, however, has been significantly modified and upgraded to support the demands of the future battlefield.
Numerous improvements were made to the chassis The hydraulic power system, including the pump drive, has been completely redesigned. The innovative crane has been designed to lift loads of up to 30 tons and even more. The main winch has been considerably improved and simultaneously, the vehicle was equipped with an auxiliary winch. Importantly, crew protection was also enhanced to increase protection against ballistic attack and mine strikes Cross country performance has been improved by the introduction of a new hydrogas suspension system, which can be adjusted from inside the tank and enables WISENT to keep up with the Leopard 2 main battle tank across rough terrain. The WISENT Armoured Recovery Vehicle with a spare Leopard 2 power pack stowed on top has a total weight of approximately 54 tons. With its 1000 hp, the vehicle can achieve speeds of over 65 km/h.
Its dual-circuit brake system enables fast and reliable braking. WISENT provides five, highly specialised recovery features: the centrally installed main winch, the front mounted auxiliary winch, a hoisting winch, the greatly improved recovery crane and the dozer blade The hydraulic components are powered by three separate pumps. The main winch generates a force of 35 tons across the drum and through all layers and has a total length of 90 m.
The hoisting winch is mounted at the right side of the vehicle The crane arm has been newly designed and is pivot-mounted to 300 degrees It has been upgraded to handle weights of up to 30 tons and even more The large front mounted blade is extremely versatile: it can be used as a support when hoisting heavy weights, as an earth anchor when working with the main winch and as a dozer blade for clearing, levelling and digging. The new auxiliary winch is very useful for pulling the main winch cable into position or when recovering smaller vehicles. Four independent cameras allow the crew to recover vehicles safely from under armour. The WISENT Armoured Recovery Vehicle has a sophisticated and upgradeable protection system. Utilising add-on armour modules, the basic model has ballistic protection against NATO STANAG 4569, threat level 5. Integrated mine protection goes up to threat level 3. Additional equipment enhancements include protection against top attack, air conditioning, top storage case and miscellaneous transport and stowage assemblies.
In summary, the WISENT Armoured Recovery Vehicle is a new capability to support the Leopard tanks on battlefield across the full spectrum of operations. The WISENT has been redesigned and developed to match the demanding requirements of Armies across the globe ... a cost effective and economical solution The WISENT Armoured Recovery Vehicle is a typical example of practical and effective innovation to enhance an armoured vehicle fleet and incorporates state of the art technology from Flensburg.