Belgian army halts Piranha IIIC fleet over safety concerns
The article has been revised for clarity, flow, and British English correctness. Metric conversions have been adjusted appropriately.
The Belgian army has temporarily withdrawn all its Piranha IIIC armoured vehicles from service. This is due to the discovery of significant technical issues that require thorough investigation and resolution. The Piranha IIIC vehicles are utilised by the Belgian army as a substitute for tanks, which the country phased out in 2014.
"Safety is our utmost priority, and we wish to avoid unnecessary risks until the situation is fully understood," declared the Belgian Directorate General of Material Resources (DGMR).
issues with Belgian Piranha IIIC
According to the Opex360 portal, it is unusual for an entire fleet of military vehicles to be grounded due to technical issues, as such measures are generally applied to aircraft or helicopters. This indicates that the problem with the Belgian Piranha IIIC armoured vehicles is substantial.
The DGMR decided to ground all Piranha IIIC vehicles after maintenance checks revealed cracks in the chassis of several units. The Belgian army currently operates 127 Piranha IIIC vehicles in various configurations (including infantry fighting vehicles, fire support vehicles, command vehicles, and medical service transports). The most common configuration is equipped with a 12.7 mm machine gun and can carry up to ten soldiers in its transport compartment. The fire support vehicles, meanwhile, are fitted with a 90 mm cannon. These vehicles feature an 8x8 drive system.
A NATO country without tanks and with problematic transporters
The media highlight that this isn't the first issue related to the Belgian army's equipment reliability. They note that the DGMR has suspended the operation of the Piranha IIIC for the third time in five years.
These wheeled armoured vehicles are part of Belgium's strategy to survive without tanks. Belgium retired its last Leopard 1 tanks in 2014. At that time, phasing out such equipment was common among NATO countries. The Netherlands took similar steps but has since reversed its decision, opting to procure the latest Leopard 2A8 tanks.
The Belgian Ministry of Defence has announced its collaboration with the Swiss company MOWAG to return as many Piranha IIIC armoured vehicles to service as possible. These vehicles were initially expected to remain in use within the Belgian army for several more years until the introduction of multi-purpose armoured personnel carriers, VBMR Griffon.
