Danish Armed Forces to Enhance Piranha Fleet with Cutting-Edge Leonardo Camera Technology

Employing advanced camera technologies instead of traditional apertures allows vehicle teams to function both day and night while fully protected within armor, optimizing safety while preserving situational awareness.

Leonardo’s vehicle imaging technology is currently utilized on Danish Army platforms, including the JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE) and WiSENT.

London 11/09/2023 – At DSEI 2023 today, Leonardo revealed a contract exceeding £10M with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) to outfit more than 300 Royal Danish Army vehicles, including Piranha V 8×8 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Caesar 8×8 ART (Artillery) systems, with integrated vehicle imaging technologies. This innovation will enhance crew visibility and local situational insight, enabling them to operate more efficiently in challenging environments.

The acquisition was initiated in December 2022 under the established agreement signed in 2016 between Leonardo and DALO to deliver modular vehicle mission technologies across the Royal Danish Army’s fleet of terrestrial vehicles, with each configuration customized for the specific vehicle type and function. This recent contract encompasses 309 Piranha V units including infantry, engineering, repair, mortar, command post, and ambulance models, alongside the Caesar 8×8 ART (Artillery) system and additional fleet spare parts. Shipments have already begun.

The Leonardo vehicle imaging technology features a cross-platform modular framework that consists of high-definition infrared (IR) driver’s night vision (thermal/low light) cameras, daylight imaging devices, user interfaces, IR illuminators, and other platform video feeds. The system adheres to the UK-led Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA) standard, which utilizes common infrastructure and system control frameworks, allowing the integration of external inputs, such as video feeds from various sensors around the vehicle(s).

Since 2016, Leonardo has delivered over 700 integrated camera systems for Royal Danish Army vehicles. These include the JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE), first deployed by the Army in January 2022, as well as the WiSENT armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) and armoured engineer vehicle (AEV). The technology has also been employed to aid NATO allies in operations globally.

The integrated vehicle imaging systems on the Piranha and HMEE both incorporate the latest iteration of Leonardo’s DNVS (Driver’s Night Vision System). This ensures that, alongside performing operations while fully shielded from external hazards, vehicle crews can function at night and under low-visibility conditions.

Leonardo’s cutting-edge camera technologies build on the company’s extensive experience in supplying situational awareness systems to the UK Armed Forces, outfitting vehicles such as Mastiff, Warrior, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), Warthog, Viking, Ridgback, Wolfhound, and Challenger.