GDELS’s Eagle 6x6 enters production for Swiss Army

GDELS has brought its latest generation Eagle (6x6) reconnaissance vehicle to Paris for Eurosatory 2024. The vehicle is now in production for the Swiss Army.

The earlier Eagle (4x4) has been sold to a number of countries but the Eagle (6x6) has greater payload and can, therefore, carry out a wider range of battlefield missions.

The Swiss Army is taking delivery of 100 Eagle (6x6) fitted with a retractable mast mounted L3 Harris sensor pack mounted towards the rear and TASYS command and control system provided by Elbit with final deliveries in 2025. It will provide the Swiss Army with a step change in target engagement capability which will give an increased area of reconnaissance and target acquisition capability under almost all-weather conditions when compared to existing systems.

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Eagle (6x6) has a four-door protected crew cabin. Mounted on the forward part of the roof is the Kongsberg 12.7mm remote weapon station (RWS) which is standard on many other Swiss Army vehicles. It is armed with a 12.7mm stabilised M2 machine gun (MG) and mounted either side are banks of 76mm electrically operated grenade launchers.

Front mounted powerpack consists of a Cummins 6-cylinder diesel developing 285hp coupled to a five-speed Allison transmission and a two-speed transfer box. The maximum speed has been quoted as 110km/h and it has a road range of up to 700km.

Payload of the Eagle 6x6 is up to 6,000kg and a protected internal volume of up to 14.5 cubic metres.

Standard equipment on the Eagle (6x6) is a central tyre inflation system which allows the driver to adjust the tyre pressure to suit the ground being crossed, while powered steering is enabled at the front and rear axles.

More specialised versions of the Eagle 6x6 have been developed including ambulance, troop carrier and light recover vehicle, all of which were contenders for the now cancelled UK Medium Protected Medical Evacuation.

The German Army has 80 in ambulance configuration while Luxembourg has four.

GDELS – MOWAG are also in production of the Piranha 3+ (8x8) for the Swiss Army fitted with the RUAG 120mm muzzle loaded mortar system for which GDELS is prime contract and systems integrator.

GDELS have recently revealed that they have developed the Heavy Mission Carrier (HMC) (10x10) but this is not at the show and is being shown in model form as it currently undergoing trials fitted with the KNDS-Germany 155mm/52 cal Artillery Gun Module (AGM).

For this application it is referred as the Advanced Artillery Carrier (AAC) and is competing for a Swiss Army contract to replace its currently deployed M109 155mm/47 cal self-propelled artillery systems for with the other competitor being the Swedish BAE Systems Bofors Archer 155mm/52 cal on a Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles HX series (8x8) platform.

Shephard's Eurosatory 2024 coverage is sponsored by: