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Background
— Special Ops Vehicle Candidate — Rheinmetall Wolf |
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Wolf / Serval – G-wagen but Canid or Cat?
Commonality with vehicles already in service with the CF is emphasized in the SOV SOIQ. If engine and chassis
commonality is given top score, a strong contender is the LIV (SO) from Rheinmetall. [2] Based
on the Mercedes 270CDI chassis (like the CF’s G-wagon), the Light Infantry Vehicle (Special Operations) is marketed as both
Wolf LIV (SO) and Serval AGF (Aufklärungs und Gefechtsfahrzeug).[3]
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The LIV (SO) features a cut-down bodywork to reduce weight and allow quick egress. An open, light armour
box makes up the rear body. As with the Jackal, a tubular roll cage also forms a platform for a gun ring (in this case,
Rheinmetall’s electrically-powered Ringlafette RLS 609K). The main armament is either a Browning M2
heavy machinegun or 40mm HK GMG automatic grenade launcher. A swing-arm mount for a GPMG is placed on
the starboard window post – a second swing-arm mount can be installed on the port side of the
rear deck ). The LIV (SO) design has been skewed towards desert operations (hence the Serval
appellation) and a prominent feature are the side-mounted sand channels for unsticking in soft terrain.
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Rheinmetall (MB) Wolf Light Infantry
Vehicle (Special Operations)
| Crew: |
3 – driver, crew commander, gunner (+
four troops) |
Armament |
1 x 12.7mm M2 or 40mm AGL, 1 (or 2)
7.62mm GPMG |
Powerplant: |
156hp 2.7L OM 612 5-cyl turbo-diesel
as per LUVW |
| Dimensions: |
Length 5.64 m, Width 2.50 m, Height 2.30 m
[4] |
| Performance: |
max speed: 120 km/h (paved), radius: 830 km (150L) |
Weights:
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3300kg-to-5200kg (depending upon the mission
kits,
incl. long-range fuel tanks), normal payload: 1200 kg |
| Protection: |
Bottom blast protected, rear body sides
armoured |
| Transportable: |
1 x in CH-147 Chinook, multiple in CC-130
Hercules |
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Besides LIV (SO), two other G-wagen variants should be mentioned. Rheinmetall also created another specialist
Wolf type,[5] the ESK – now rebranded as the LIV (PC) or personnel carrier. The PC forward body is
largely unaltered from the 270CDI, the rear is a simple armoured box. Both PC and SO types are
creations of Binz, a firm specializing in ambulance conversions. So it is no surprise that Binz also made
a 270CDI- based medical vehicle, the L-BAT (Licht-Bewegliches Ärzteteam or Mobile Medical
Team-Light).
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Neither ESK/PC nor L-BAT would directly match the DND requirement for cargo/litter
carriers or ambulance. But perhaps a hybrid of LIV (SO) and these other types could. By combining the open
cab of the LIV (SO) and the armour cargo box of the ESK/PC, a cargo or litter carrier is easy to imagine. Of
course, L-BAT is based on a LUVW-style van body and is not a full ambulance. The question is: how is SOV
‘ambulance’ defined and how firm is DND on ‘militarized off-the-shelf’.
[6]
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Rheinmetall / Binz Wolf LIV
(PC) [7] / L-BAT (Light Mobile Medical Team)
Crew:
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LIV (PC): driver (or driver and gunner) + troops
(6 to 10 carried)
L-BAT: driver,
medical attendant + 3 seated casualties / 1 litter |
Armament |
None ( 1 x 7.62mm GPMG
feasible on the conceptual hybrid ) |
Powerplant: |
156hp 2.7L Mercedes OM 612 5-cyl turbo-diesel
as per LUVW |
| Dimensions: |
L 5.28m x H 2.17m x W 1.84m
/ L 4.56m x 1.95m H x W 1.7m |
| Performance: |
max speed: 120 km/h (paved), radius: 500 km
(96 litres of fuel) |
| Weights: |
2550kg empty, 2250kg payload / 2410kg empty, payload 1100kg |
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[1] In Canadian Forces nomenclature, the Mercedes-Benz 270CDI is a Light Utility Vehicle, Wheeled (or LUVW).
Its CF common name is G-wagon (with an ‘o’) but, elsewhere, the vehicle is a G-wagen
(with an ‘e’). We use G-wagon to refer to LUVWs, G-wagen for the rest.
[2] The type is attributed to Rheinmetall Landsysteme – RLS was the prime contractor. The
Mercedes-Benz 270CDI chassis and running gear is supplied by the Magna-Steyr (Puch) plant in Graz, Austria.
The specialized bodywork is by Binz GmbH & Co. in Ilmenau, Germany.
[3] Aufklärungs und Gefechtsfahrzeug means “Reconnaissance and Combat Vehicle” but
‘AGF’ is used for marketing without translation.
[4] Coachworks Binz GmbH & Co. gives the LIV (SO) measurements as length 5.5m, height 2.29m, width 1.81m, and
empty weight 3500 kg.
[5] ESK was for Einsatzfahrzeug für spezialisierte Kräfte (a vehicle for use by special forces). In
2003, the ESK was trialled by Fallschirm- jäger (German paratroopers) deployed to Kabul. The Germans
preferred the larger Mungo ESK instead (which proved unsuited to Afghan conditions). Presumably this rejection
by the Bundeswehr prompted the rebranding from ESK in German to the English language LIV (PC).
[6] The SOIQ specifies a MOTS (militarized off-the-shelf) purchase. (MOTS equipment is more heavily modified
than COTS or commercial off-the-shelf.) The SOIQ also demands modular doors, windows, etc., as well as being
“enclosure free” which eliminates an as-is LIV (PC).
[7] Note that, although branded as a ‘Personnel Carrier’, the LIV (PC) is available for other specialty
roles. These include a higher-density troop carrier (a 10-seater), a dedicated pallet transporter, litter
carrier (3 crew + 1 litter or 1 crew + 3 seated casualties and 1 stretcher case), as well as a light
mobile recovery vehicle complete with hydraulic crane. But note that no dedicated LIV (PC) ambulance variant
yet exists.
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