VBL Ingwe tank destroyer revealed
Christopher F Foss
One of the new weapon systems being shown for the first time at the International Golden Group (Stand OD430) is the French Panhard General Defense VBL (Véhicule Blinde Leger) (4x4) reconnaissance vehicle fitted with a new South African Denel Aerospace Systems Armed Long Range Reconnaissance Turret (ALRRT).
The remote controlled turret has four Denel Ingwe long range antitank guided missiles (ATGW) in the ready to launch position with the stabilised day/night sensor package being installed between the two banks of Ingwe missiles.
The recently developed Ingwe ATGW is of the laser beam riding type with a maximum range of over 5,000m, weighs 28.5kg at launch and is claimed to be difficult to jam. Two types of warhead are currently being marketed for the Ingwe ATGW, tandem HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) and Blast Enhanced.
The tandem HEAT warhead features stand-off and confirmation fuzes and is claimed to be capable of penetrating 1,000mm of conventional steel armour protected by explosive reactive armour (ERA).
The enhanced blast warhead is optimised to defeat a variety of battlefield targets such as bunkers. Ingwe is currently in production for an air-launched application with the first customer being Algeria, but it has been successfully launched from a wide range of other platforms. As the ALRRT turret is fully stabilised stationary and moving targets can be engaged while the VBL is moving with the gunner using a day/night sighting system. An automatic target tracker is fitted to the turret as standard. The system has a crew of two consisting of driver and commander/missile operator.
Panhard General Defense has now sold over 2,300 VBL vehicles to 16 countries with the largest user being the French Army. It is also used by a number of countries in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. This is the latest in a long line of additional roles for the VBL. Several years ago the vehicle was shown fitted with a Russian turret armed with four Kornet ATGW in the ready-to-fire position.