Piranha IIIC (Guardian 30)

ChieftainWarrior · September 21, 2024, 8:51am

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Piranha IIIC (Guardian 30)

TL;DR: Piranha IIIC testbed for VCR Dragón IFV (Piranha V) with a prototype of the Spanish Guardian 30 RCWS

History
In 2007, the Spanish government launched a program to replace their antiquated IFVs and APCs, such as the Pegaso BMR and VEC, as well as the M113. Spain sought a vehicle that could take on a number of roles (such as as an APC, command vehicle, and cavalry/reconnaissance vehicle). This project was called the VBR – Vehículo Blindado sobre Ruedas, or Armoured Wheeled Vehicle. The program started slowly, but was accelerated in 2009, with the goal of receiving all the vehicles in the first phase for testing by 2014.

A number of companies submitted their vehicles for proposals:

Santa Bárbara Sistemas (part of GDELS, of which MOWAG is also a part of) – MOWAG Piranha V
Iveco-OTO Melara - Freccia
Kraus-Maffei-Wegmann - Boxer
Nexter - VBCI
Patria – Patria AMV
BAE Hägglunds – SEP
General Purpose Vehicles – GPV Colonel

After this first phase, only the Boxer, VBCI and Freccia remained. The program was subsequently cancelled in 2011 due to budget cuts. In 2013, a new program with the same objective began, called the VCR – Vehículo de Combate a Ruedas, or Combat Wheeled Vehicle . None of the three most succesful vehicles were picked, and instead a consortium of Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra, and Sapa was formed (later called TESS Defense) to produce a vehicle based on the MOWAG Piranha V, named the VCR Dragón.

While the vehicle is based on the Piranha V, it has a high degree of Spanish components and design (64%), and includes a few upgrades over the original, such as a new engine.

A number of companies submitted turret proposals for the Dragón in Madrid, during FEINDEF 2019. The chosen turret for the standard variant was the Spanish Guardian 2.0 RCWS. Five turrets for the IFV variant were displayed: the Spanish Guardian 30; the Toledo 30S, a variant of the Israeli Samson 30; the Tizona, a variant of the Israeli UT30MK2; the Cockerill 3030, a modification of the Cockerill 3000; and the Spanish Cerberus.

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Tizona (left) and Toledo 30S (right)

After a long selection process, three were chosen to be mounted on VCR Dragón prototypes for testing. These were the unmanned Tizona and Toledo 30S, and the manned Italian Hitfist 30, which wasn’t shown at FEINDEF. In 2020, three prototype demonstrators underwent firing tests. D1 was armed with the Tizona (UT30MK2), D2 with the Toledo 30S. D4 was armed with the Hitfist 30.

During this time the Guardian 30 was still undergoing development. It was first mounted on a donated Piranha IIIC from the Spanish Marines, but was eventually mounted on a demonstrator for testing (also D4) in May 2021, with a more refined shape and a few modifications. Two prototypes of the turret were mounted on the Piranha IIIC – one with an integrated Spike launcher, and one without.

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VCR Dragón D1 (right), D2 (left) and D4 (middle) in 2020

In June 2021, the Guardian 30 was chosen for production vehicles. 219 vehicles will be produced with this turret. An additional 56 will be produced with the Hitfist 30 manned turret. Production of the VCR Dragón began in late 2021, with the first batch of 7 received by the Spanish Army in December 2022.

VCR Dragón with production version of Guardian 30

Characteristics
The Guardian 30 turret is fitted with a two-plane stabilised 30mm ATK Bushmaster MK44S autocannon. This cannon fires 30x173mm ammunition at 200 rounds/minute. It can use a variety of APDS, APFSDS and HE rounds – MK258 APFSDS has 116mm of penetration at 10m at 0°, firing at 1430m/s. The MK44S (S for Stretch) can fire the MK310 PABM-T airburst round. The cannon can elevate between -15°/+60°, and has a rotation speed of 60°/second.

As secondary armament, one version of the turret is integrated with a dual Spike ATGM launcher, capable of firing the Spike-LR and Spike-LR2, both of which Spain operate. The Spike-LR has armour penetration of over 700mm RHA, and a maximum range of 4000m. The Spike-LR2 has potentially 30% greater penetration with a new HEAT warhead, as well as a maximum range of 5.5km. It has a velocity of 180m/s, and also has counter-active protection system capabilities. Both variants are 130mm calibre fire-and-forget missiles.

Screenshot 2024-09-18 at 12.25.12

Guardian 30 without Spikes (left); Guardian 30 with Spikes (right)

The Guardian 30 is fitted with an advanced FCS, with fully stabilised third-generation thermal sights for both the commander and gunner, hunter-killer capabilities and a laser rangefinder. The Spike-equipped turret has twelve grenade launchers – six on the right side of the turret face, and six along the left side of the turret. The turret alone weighs just over 1t, including weapons and ammunition.

Diagram of second version, incoporating a Spike launcher

The Piranha IIIs hull has limited armour protection. It protects against only small-arms fire, up to 7.62mm. The Piranha IIIC has a Caterpillar C-9 engine providing 400hp, alongside a ZF fully automatic transmission. This gives the vehicle a maximum speed of 105km/h. It weighs around 22t, and thus has a power-to-weight ratio of 18hp/t.

Spike-equipped variant during testing

Conclusion
The Piranha IIIC testbed – while just that, a testbed – could fit well as a tech-tree or premium vehicle, ideally in an Iberian tree (but if Spain is never to get a tree, Italy seems to be the current place for Spanish vehicles). It would offer worse performance than the production VCR Dragón – with worse armour – and could be added as a vehicle similar to the VBCI MTC-30 at 9.7 if added without its missiles (as all the other VCR Dragón prototypes can be added with ATGM capabilities).

Specifications
Armament

Guardian 30 RCWS
- Bushmaster Mk44S Stretch
  - 200rpm
  - Ammunition
    - MK238 HEI-T
    - APDS
      - 87mm at 0° at 10m
    - MK258 APFSDS-T
      - 116mm at 0° at 10m
    - MK310 PABM-T (Airburst)
- Coaxial 7.62mm
- Spike-LR Launcher – Only on second version of turret
  - Spike-LR
    - Tandem HEAT warhead, 130mm diameter
    - 700mm RHA penetration
    - 200-4000m range
  - Spike-LR2
    - Tandem HEAT warhead, 130mm diameter
    - Over 700mm RHA penetration
    - 200-5500m range
- Laser rangefinder
- 3rd generation thermals (commander + gunner)
- Unmanned