![]() Production of the Wiesel 1 ended in 1993. The vehicle was named Wiesel (" weasel") because of its small size and agility, which make it very difficult to detect on the battlefield. ![]() The Wiesel was introduced as a new weapon system for the Bundeswehr with deliveries beginning in the late 1980s. The Bundeswehr eventually ordered 343 of the vehicles in 1985. Nevertheless, Porsche continued development, because of interest from other countries. Porsche produced some prototypes of the future fighting vehicle for the Bundeswehr in 1975, but the Bundeswehr stopped the project in 1978 due to lack of funds. It should be able to fight infantry as well as enemy tanks or aircraft. The requirements were that the vehicle should fit in common NATO transport planes and could eventually be air-dropped. The Wiesel was developed for the German Army to meet a requirement for an air-transportable light armored vehicle for use by its airborne troops, as the infantry of the German Bundeswehr, especially airborne infantry, were considered unprepared to successfully fight enemy main battle tanks (MBT) in the 1970s. The Wiesel has been used in several of the Bundeswehr's missions abroad ( UNOSOM II, IFOR, SFOR, KFOR, TFH, ISAF). ![]() It is quite similar to historical scouting tankettes in size, form and function, and is the only true modern tankette in use in Western Europe. The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier, produced by Rheinmetall. ![]()
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