Bundeswehr upgrades Fennek reconnaissance vehicles

The BAAINBw has awarded KNDS Deutschland a contract to upgrade the German Army's Fennek reconnaissance vehicles. (Bundeswehr)

The Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support, announced in a press release on 25 July that it has awarded KNDS Deutschland a contract to upgrade the German Army's Fennek reconnaissance vehicles.

The BAAINBw said 30 Fennek 1A2 reconnaissance vehicles and 50 Joint Fire Support Team (JFST) Fenneks would receive the latest standard Beobachtungs- und Aufklärungsausstattung (BAA) III observation and reconnaissance sets. It added that the upgrade would give the Bundeswehr reconnaissance and identification capabilities adapted for national and alliance defence, with an operational reserve of BAA IIIs that will increase the vehicles' readiness for training, exercises, and operations.

Deliveries of the new BAA IIIs, including the operational reserve, are scheduled for 2027–29.

The BAA is equipped with a thermal imaging device, day camera, and laser rangefinder on a rotatable and tiltable platform mounted on an extendable mast. The upgrade will also include the integration of a laser target designator for laser-guided munitions. The BAAINBw expects the upgrade to standardise a large part of the German Army's Fennek fleet.

In service with the Bundeswehr since 2003, the Fennek has three crew members and provides day-and-night and all-weather observation and reconnaissance.

For more information on Bundeswehr modernisation, please seeFeature: Germany restructures and rearms Bundeswehr .