Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge for the Finnish Army Enters Field Trials

, The armoured vehicle launched bridge (AVLB) developed for the Finnish Army by RUAG Land Systems, a subsidiary of the RUAG technology group, is undergoing extensive field testing in the region around Thun, Switzerland. 
 
RUAG saw off international competition to win the CHF 10 million contract to develop and build an AVLB about a year ago. The contract was awarded by the Finnish company Patria Weapon Systems. 
 
The prototype, which has already successfully completed industrial testing and is now undergoing exhaustive field tests in the Thun region, is based on a Leopard 2 tank chassis supplied by the Finnish Army. At the end of the year the AVLB will be shipped to Finland for extensive military testing by the Finnish Army. The repurposing work – comprising design and development and incorporation of a “Leguan” bridge built by the German company MMB, a subsidiary of Krauss Maffei Wegmann – was carried out within a short period. 
 
The new AVLB is capable of bridging ditches and expanses of water up to 24 metres wide in a matter of minutes. In operation the bridge can handle loads of up to 70 tonnes. The AVLB is intended for both military and civilian missions because it can also be quickly and reliably deployed in the event of natural disasters. Its dimensions are impressive: at 13 metres in length, four metres in height and width, and weighing in at over 60 tonnes, the vehicle is truly immense. Despite this, it can be operated with a crew of just two.