Rheinmetall Wiesel Wingman: A brief look

Rheinmetall Defence is one of the world’s leading providers of combat and tactical vehicles and is a global leader in developing next generation robotic, remote and autonomous combat vehicle capabilities. Recently, Rheinmetall showcased at AUSA '19 its innovative Wiesel Wingman autonomous combat vehicle concept that brings together capabilities of Rheinmetall’s Wiesel Digital and Mission Master UGV vehicle platforms.

The Wiesel Wingman is based on Rheinmetall’s Wiesel Digital, a fully digitalized version of the Wiesel that has been refined over the past years. This includes the full digitalization of the vehicle and the replacement of all mechanical and hydraulic transmission elements with a digitized transmission. In addition, the Wiesel Wingman is equipped with Drive by Wire (DbW) with triple redundancy.

This DbW system has gone through rigorous testing, making the Wiesel Wingman the very first armored tracked vehicle certified for on-road use with DbW. The vehicle retains the high mobility found in existing variants of the Wiesel, with a top speed of 43 mph (69 Km/H) and excellent maneuverability on various terrain due to its low GVW and low ground pressure. The Wiesel Wingman armored hull protects all critical components against fragmentation and small arms fire.

The vehicle can be equipped with a variety of systems: for the RCV-L (Robotic Combat Vehicle-Light) the Wiesel Wingman includes a CROWS-J (CROWS-Javelin); other lethal variants are also possible, based on the payload capability of the Wiesel chassis. The vehicle has outstanding reconnaissance capabilities due to its superior mobility and its integrated tethered drone, which highly increases its surveillance and target identification capabilities. The Wiesel Wingman can be air-transported in a Boeing CH-47/CH-53 Chinook as an internal or external load, or into a Lockheed C-130 Hercules. This vehicle has been tested and proven during various exercises and trials by the US Army and Deutsches Heer.