Piranha IIIC (Lance)

ChieftainWarrior · September 21, 2024, 8:54am

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Piranha IIIC (Lance)

TL;DR: Spanish Marines Piranha IIIC with Rheinmetall Lance turret

History
The Piranha is a family of AFVs and APCs developed by the Swiss company MOWAG, produced since 1972. The Piranha III (then known as Piranha IIIH) was developed in the 1990s – the first contract for its production was awarded to MOWAG by Denmark in 1997. The Piranha IIIC is an upgraded version, and was first ordered by Belgium in 2006.

Spain has acquired a total of 39 Piranha IIIs, ordering 18 Piranha IIIHs in 2001 (delivered 2003-2004), and 21 Piranha IIICs in 2007 (delivered 2007-2013). These are used exclusively by the Spanish Navy, as part of the Marine Infantry (Infantería de Marina). They occupy a variety of roles, including as ambulances, command vehicles, and recovery vehicles.

Rheinmetall developed the MTS Lance turret during the late 2000s, first being shown at Eurosatory 2008. Spain took quick note, and placed an order for four turrets that same year.
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Lance prototype on Piranha Evo 8x8 (2008)

The four Lance turrets were mounted on four Piranha IIICs, to serve in a reconnaissance role. They have remained in service with Spain since. In 2020, Rheinmetall was awarded a contract with the Spanish Navy to upgrade the turrets, supposedly ending by December 2022. The upgrade was thought to be comprehensive, given the timescale and cost, but I have yet to find any information regarding the upgrade since the initial contract being awarded. The Piranhas (both batches) are also currently undergoing a mid-life upgrade, but these are limited to repairs and maintenance, and replacing components like drivetrains.

Characteristics
The MTS Lance turret is fitted with a two-plane stabilised 30mm Mauser MK30-2/ABM autocannon, the same cannon as on vehicles like the PUMA and Austro-Spanish Ulan/Pizarro IFV. This cannon fires 30x173mm ammunition at 200 rounds/minute. It can use a variety of APDS, APFSDS and HE rounds – PMC287 APFSDS has 121mm of penetration at 10m at 0°, firing at 1480m/s, and the more recent PMC359 weighs 40% more and is fired at the same velocity, likely increasing its penetration. The ABM cannon allows the firing of Rheinmetall’s PMC308 airburst round, which has 44mm of penetration at 10m at 0°.

Although the Lance turret has options for ATGM launchers, such as the Spike-LR (which Spain operates), Spain did not choose this for their Piranha IIICs. There are two 7.62mm machine guns, one mounted coaxially and one on the turret roof.

The Lance is fitted with an advanced FCS, with fully stabilised third-generation thermal sights for both the commander and gunner. It uses both the SEOSS-P and SEOSS-S independent periscopes. The FCS also provides hunter-killer capabilities and a laser rangefinder. The turret has eight smoke grenade launchers – four on either side of the turret roof.

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Lance turret. Camouflage net over barrel could be included in the vehicle model

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.

Conclusion
The Piranha IIIC with the Lance turret gives a future Iberian tree a solid IFV counterpart to vehicles like the VBCI MTC-30 or PUMA. It has the same cannon as the PUMA, but is manned, and the vehicle has substantially less armour – I therefore think a BR of around 9.7 is best.

Specifications
Armament

MTS Lance
- Mauser MK30-2/ABM
  - 200rpm
  - Ammunition
    - MK238 HEI-T
    - APDS
      - 87mm at 0° at 10m
    - PMC287 APFSDS-T
      - 121mm at 0° at 10m
    - PMC359 APFSDS-T
      - Greater than 121mm at 0° at 10m
    - PMC308 Ahead
      - 44mm at 0° at 10m
- Coaxial and roof 7.62mm
- Laser rangefinder
- 3rd generation thermals (commander + gunner)