First Wiesel airborne tank with TOW system arrives in Ukraine (video)
A photo of a German Wiesel airborne tank with a TOW anti-tank system has been released to the public. Apparently, it was handed over to the 3rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.
The wedge was bought abroad in a demilitarized form. Civilian circulation of such cars is not prohibited in Europe. They can be purchased in specialized marketplaces.
The weight of the Wiesel is 2.9 tons. The crew consists of three fighters. The machine is 3.55 meters long. The tank was mass-produced in Germany in 1989-1992. A total of 350 vehicles were produced in two versions – for a 20-mm automatic gun and for the TOW ATGM.
According to The Military Balance, the Bundeswehr has 175 Wiesel vehicles, including 102 TOW tankers. Four years ago, the German army began replacing the TOW ATGM with the MELLS system (a licensed version of the Spike-LR), which has a range of 5.5 km. Tests of the modernized Wiesel began at the end of 2022. In April of this year, the Bundeswehr refused to install a copy of the Spike-LR ATGM on the tanks. Instead, it placed an order for 100 Boxer armored vehicles.
