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Denmark to buy Piranha armored personnel carriers

Swiss vehicle manufacturer 's Piranha V 8x8 armored personnel carrier is to replace Denmark's aging fleet of tracked APCs.

By Richard Tomkins
The Piranha V armored personnel carrier. Photo by: General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH.
The Piranha V armored personnel carrier. Photo by: General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 4 (UPI) -- The Piranha 5 wheeled armored personnel carrier from Switzerland has been chosen by Demark to replace its Army's aging M-113 APCs.

The announcement was made on Monday in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, by Defense Minister Nicolai Wammen.

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"I am very pleased that with the Piranha 5 we now have a winner of the tender for new armored vehicles for Defense," Wammen said. "Our current personnel carrier has served the Army well for many years, and will continue to for some time yet, but with Piranha 5 we have found the armored personnel carrier that can best meet (the Ministry of) Defense's needs in the future."

The Piranha 5 is an 8x8 vehicle from Mowag GmbH, which is part of General Dynamics European Land Systems. It can carry eight soldiers in addition to its crew and has a maximum road speed of about 62 miles per hour. It is armed with a 30mm chain gun and a machine gun.

Denmark is planning to buy at least 206 of the vehicles.

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