The Geschützte Führungs und Funktionsfahrzeuge (GFF) 4 is a medium weight, highly protected class 4 wheeled armoured vehicle manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) for the German Army. The vehicle is known to have an innovative crew protection system.
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The vehicle bridges the gap between the 33t Boxer (8×8) multirole armoured vehicle (MRAV) and the 12.5t Dingo 2 which are used by the German Army.
GFF 4 was originally named as Grizzly, but later renamed as GFF to avoid confusion with other vehicles of the same class. The vehicle is currently being used by the German Army on trial basis.
GFF 4 armoured vehicle development
Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (BWB), the federal office for Defence Technology and procurement, awarded the GFF 4 contract to KMW in 2007. The vehicle was manufactured under the armoured command-and-control vehicles programme of the German Army.
GFF 4 was designed at the KMW facility in Munich. The prototype was manufactured and tested in early 2008, within a year of the contractual award. It was handed over to the German army in mid-2008 for reliability and mobility trials.
Around 250 GFF 4s are required by the German Army. The orders are, however, subject to funding permit.
Variation models of the GFF armoured vehicle
The GFF family of vehicles comes in four variants including the GFF 4.
The GFF 1 is a 5.3 ton (t) light weight armour vehicle. Also belonging to the light weight category are GFF 2 and 3, which weigh 7.5t and 12.5t respectively. All the four variants are six-wheeled (6×6).
In addition to the 6×6 version, the contract permits KMW to build 4×4 and 8×8 versions with corresponding payloads.
Upon successful completion of trials, ambulance and command post variants of GFF are also expected to be built.
Design of the German Army’s GFF
GFF 4 is designed to protect the crew inside the vehicle from mines, direct fire and improvised explosives devices (IED).
The design complies with the requirements of the German Army as well the worldwide peacekeeping missions of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and United Nations (UN).
The vehicle’s body is 7.6m long, 2.53m wide and 3.08m tall. It weighs 25t and can be transported on the Airbus A400M, a tactical air-lifter.
Features of the GFF 4 wheeled armoured vehicle
GFF 4 can carry ten fully equipped soldiers and a driver, which is 50% more than the request for proposal (RFP) of 3-ton payload required by the German Army.
The vehicle has a payload of four tons with a potential for additional payload. The special stiffening elements of GFF 4 protect the crew from injuries even in a roll-over accident.
The commander / driver seat is situated in the rear of the chassis. To the immediate rear of the driver’s cabin is the specialised equipment storage.
The safety cell forms the main feature of the vehicle. It is a continuous and an integrated cell like a cabin which connects the driver cab with the stowage. The stowage volume is 17m3.
A nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) air-conditioning system is installed on to the left of the stowage.
The vehicle has two large side doors and one rear door.
The commander and driver can enter the vehicle either through the side door or through the rear door via a passage-way between the driver’s cabin and stowage area.
The upper part of the side doors and the large one-piece windscreen in the front are bullet proof.
Weapons and armaments
GFF 4 is equipped with FL-200 remote controlled weapon mounted on to the roof in the rear.
Engine / propulsion
The vehicle runs on a 450hp diesel engine. A supplementary 20KW power unit placed in the rear allows all the on-board independent systems to operate when the main engine is switched off.
The six wheel drive variant of GFF 4 operates on Iveco’s 6×6 Trakker Chassis approved by the German Army.
The vehicle has a cruising range of 800km and top speed of 90km/h.
The Global Armoured Vehicles and Counter-IED Vehicles Market 2011-2021
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