"The Fennek LGS became a combined German-Dutch venture to produce a viable, multirole 4x4 military vehicle."
Power & Performance Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Fennek Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle.
1 x Deutz diesel-fueled engine developing 240 horsepower to conventional 4x4 all-wheel arrangement. Installed Power
71 mph 115 kph Road Speed
534 miles 860 km Range
Structure The physical qualities of the Fennek Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle.
3 (MANNED) Crew
18.7 ft 5.71 meters O/A Length
8.2 ft 2.5 meters O/A Width
5.9 ft 1.79 meters O/A Height
22,046 lb 10,000 kg | 11.0 tons Weight
Armament & Ammunition Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Fennek LGS (Leichter Gepanzerter Spahwagen) Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle.
GERMANY:
1 x 40mm Hecker & Koch HK GMG Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) OR 1 x 7.62mm MG3 General Purpose Machine Gun.
NETHERLANDS:
1 x 12.7mm Browning M2HB Heavy Machine Gun.
Other specialized forms showcase Anti-Tank, Guided-Missiles (ATGMs) for the tank-hunting / tank-killing role or Stinger surface-to-air missiles for the airspace deterrence role.
AMMUNITION: Variable. Dependent upon armament fit.
Variants Notable series variants as part of the Fennek LGS (Leichter Gepanzerter Spahwagen) family line.
Fennek - Base Series Designation.
Fennek REC - Base Reconnaissance Model.
Fennek MRAT (Medium-Range Anti-Tank) - Anti-Tank Guided Missile carrier.
Fennek GP - General Purpose Vehicle.
Fennek CEV - Combat Engineering Vehicle.
Fennek JFST (Joint Fire Support Team) - Fire support vehicle.
Fennek Stinger - Anti-aircraft variant mounting 18 x Stinger SAMs; by ASELSAN of Turkey.
The Fennek LGS ("Leichter Gepanzerter Spahwagen" = Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (LARV)) is a multirole military vehicle appearing in 2003 and maintaining an active presence in a select-few inventories around the globe. The inherent versatility of the vehicle allowed it to undertake a myriad of battlefield roles utilizing a singular chassis design encompassing a 4x4 all-wheel-drive arrangement. Design work was initially handled under Dutch-based SP Aerospace and Vehicle Systems (SPAVS) brand label as a private venture initiative from 1997 to 2000. German-based Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Dutch Defence Vehicle Systems continued to evolve and manufacture the product following SP Aerospace's bankruptcy in 2004 resulting in a complete production run of 632 vehicles built since 2001.
The vehicle was also known for a time under the classification of "MultiPurpose Carrier" - or MPC for short.
The basic form is a 11.5-ton truck with a running length of 18.7 feet, a beam of 8.2 feet, and a height of 5.9 feet. A crew of three are typically featured inside the hull.
Internally, power is from a Deutz diesel-fueled engine outputting 239 horsepower to the 4x4 wheel arrangement, propelling the truck to speeds of 71 miles-per-hour along prepared roads out to a range of 530 miles on internal fuel. The suspension system allows for cross-country travel and includes selectable four-wheel drive.
In the German approach, primary armament is the 40mm HK GMG Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) which can be substituted for the 7.62mm Rheinmetall MH3 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). The Dutch approach features the American 12.7mm Browning M2HB Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) as an anti-armor measure.
By design, the vehicle is flexible enough to undertake various battlefield roles when appropriately equipped. There exists general reconnaissance / scout versions along with Anti-Tank, Guided-Missile (ATGM) carriers, Anti-Aircraft (AA) missile carriers, Command and Control (C2), fire support, battlefield engineering, and special-mission models. The base design supports GPS navigation, a thermal imager, laser range-finder, and other modern solutions to streamline the battlefield approach.
The German Army has, on hand, some 222 total Fenneks with additional trucks expected - as many as 300 in all. The Netherlands maintains an active stable of 365 of the vehicles. Qatar has committed to the purchase of some 32 total trucks and a quantity has also been donated by the Dutch to the Ukrainian war effort against Russia (this revealed in early-2023).
Turkey maintains a license production right to the Fennek as well, this acquired in 2004.
The Fennek has seen direct combat exposure in Afghanistan with Western forces and is featured in limited numbers (as many as 30 units) by the Ukrainians in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War (2022-Present).
Operators Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Fennek LGS (Leichter Gepanzerter Spahwagen). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.
Total Production: 632 Units Contractor(s): Krauss-Maffei Wegmann - Germany; Dutch Defence Vehicle Systems - Netherlands; FNSS Defense Systems / ASELSAN - Turkey
[ Germany; Netherlands; Ukraine ]
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Image courtesy of the Dutch Government Department of Economy.
Going Further... The Fennek LGS (Leichter Gepanzerter Spahwagen) Light Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle appears in the following collections:
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