General Dynamics Proposes PIRANHA 5 for the Close Combat Vehicle Program

LONDON, Ontario, Aug. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada announced today that it will offer the PIRANHA 5 vehicle fitted with Rheinmetall's LANCE 30mm Modular Turret System for the Government of Canada's Close Combat Vehicle (CCV) Program.  The goal of the CCV program is to deliver a well-protected armoured vehicle with very high tactical mobility, able to deliver an infantry section in close combat, while operating in intimate support of main battle tanks.  In response, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is leading an all-Canadian team that leverages the best of the Canadian defence industry to deliver and support a vehicle that will meet those stringent requirements.

The PIRANHA 5 CCV is the latest evolution of the proven PIRANHA family of wheeled combat vehicles, incorporating the newest lethality, mobility, protection and communications technologies.  It provides the best of both worlds, combining track-like performance with the strategic mobility of a wheeled platform.  Advanced suspension technology allows the PIRANHA 5 CCV to go anywhere a medium-weight tracked vehicle can go with significantly lower fuel, maintenance and lifecycle costs.

Danny Deep, vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, stated, "With the PIRANHA 5 CCV, Canadian soldiers will control the battlefield and fight, manoeuvre and communicate with agility and precise lethality.  And they will do it in a vehicle that achieves the deployability and lifecycle cost benefits enjoyed by the rest of Canada's wheeled combat vehicle fleet."

Deep further stated, "With 35 years of experience in delivering and supporting vehicles that meet or exceed the requirements of the Canadian Army, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is committed to delivering to the Canadian soldier the best tools for the job and the best protection that we can give them.  We know that our vehicles carry the soldiers we depend on to fight for the freedoms we cherish."

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada has assembled a powerful Canadian team for this program.  General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada will be the prime contractor for the CCV program and will manufacture and assemble the PIRANHA 5 chassis at its facility in London, Ontario.  Rheinmetall's LANCE 30mm turret technology will be transferred to its Rheinmetall Canada facility in Saint-Jean-sur Richelieu, Quebec, for full turret production.  Armatec Survivability Canada of Dorchester, Ontario, will augment the PIRANHA 5's inherent protection with a survivability suite of advanced composite materials and the latest technology in energy-absorbing troop and crew seating, all designed and tested to meet rigorous blast, IED and kinetic-energy threats.   The remainder of the team will be drawn from a supplier base of over 400 Canadian companies.  This combined production effort offers a world-class vehicle built in Canada, by Canadians, to protect Canadians.

General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company's parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).  For information about General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada, please visit www.gdlscanada.com.

More information about General Dynamics is available at www.generaldynamics.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada