RUAG Defense will provide ballistic protection kits to upgrade the Pandur I armored personnel carrier fleets of Belgium and Austria under a joint procurement effort.
Pandur is a General Dynamics [GD] European Land Systems-Steyer product. RUAG Group is headquartered in Switzerland.
Photo: Austrian Ministry of Defense and Sport
Austria has the lead in the program, which begins this spring and will be completed by the end of 2020. The program includes all five Pandur I variants that will be upgraded with mine, IED and ballistic protection.
SidePRO-KE/IED is a highly engineered, fully integrated, modular polyvalent composite protection system that uses a variety of advanced lightweight materials for direct application on armored vehicles. It meets current threat level protection requirements.
MinePRO is a lightweight, blast and EFP resistant, easy to mount armor plate based on state-of-the art technology to ensure crew safety.
Additionally, all other vehicle subsystems such as stowage, and seating for the crew, driver and commander will be evaluated, improved, reinforced or replaced, the company said.