Wiesel 1

Wiesel 1
Wiesel 1A1 MK with 20 mm autocannon
Type	Armoured weapons carrier/Tankette
Place of origin	West Germany
Specifications
Weight	2.75 t to 4.78 t
Length	Wiesel 1: 3.55 metres (11.6 ft) Wiesel 2: 4.78 metres (15.7 ft)
Width	Wiesel 1: 1.82 metres (6 ft 0 in) Wiesel 2: 1.87 metres (6 ft 2 in)
Height	Wiesel 1: 1.82 metres (6 ft 0 in) Wiesel 2: 2.17 metres (7 ft 1 in)
Crew	2 or 3
Armor	Protection against small arms only
Main armament	Varies
Secondary armament	Varies
Engine	Wiesel 1: 2.1 L Audi 5-cylinder in-line turbo-diesel Wiesel 2: 1.9 L Volkswagen Straight-4 turbo-diesel with direct-injection Wiesel 1: 64 kilowatts (86 hp) Wiesel 2: 81 kilowatts (109 hp)
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	200 kilometres (120 mi)
Speed	70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)

The Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC) is a German light air-transportable armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier. 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 has been used in several of the Bundeswehr's missions abroad (UNOSOM II, IFOR, SFOR, KFOR, TFH, ISAF).

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 requirements were that the vehicle should fit in common NATO transport planes and could eventually be air-dropped. It should be able to fight infantry as well as enemy tanks or aircraft. 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. Nevertheless, Porsche continued development, because of interest from other countries.

The Bundeswehr eventually ordered 343 of the vehicles in 1985. The Wiesel was introduced as new weapon system for the Bundeswehr with deliveries beginning in the late 1980s. The vehicle was named Wiesel ("weasel") because of its small size and agility, which make it very difficult to detect on the battlefield. Production of the Wiesel 1 ended in 1993. Of 343 Wiesel 1 vehicles, 210 were armed with Raytheon Company's TOW anti-tank guided missile system and 133 have the one-man KUKA turret E6-II-A1 armed with the dual-feed Rheinmetall 20 mm . Germany deployed both types to Somalia in 1993 as part of the United Nations forces.