Austrian Ministry of Defense orders 225 Pandur EVO from General Dynamics European Land Systems – Steyr
Vienna, February 19, 2024 – General Dynamics European Land Systems – Steyr (GDELS) will deliver an additional 225PANDUR 6×6 EVO wheeled armored vehicles to the Austrian Armed Forces. Today, a corresponding contract was signed in the presence of Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner. In addition to the delivery of state-of-the-art personnel carriers and the flexible conversion kits for medical, command & control and antitank missions, the order includes eight new vehicle variants to be introduced to the Austrian Armed Forces. The PANDUR 6×6 EVO vehicle family will thus be complemented by a 120 mm mortar combat system, as well as mobile air defense and electronic warfare variants. The procurement is part of Austria’s “Development Plan 2032”, aiming at the comprehensive modernization of the Armed Forces.
With these additional vehicles, the Austrian Army’s medium infantry forces will experience a significant increase in mobility, protection, and effectiveness. “The procurement of 225 additional Pandur Evolution in different variants is the largest acquisition by the Austrian Army in 20 years. With an investment volume of 1.8 billion euro, we are not only investing in the security of Austria, but moreover in Austria as a business location. With 70% value creation in Austria the domestic Pandur production secures and creates jobs at over 220 companies.”, says Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
100 PANDUR EVO are already under contract, of which the third batch is currently in production and delivery. The production of the fourth batch that has now been commissioned will follow seamlessly and will enable further investments and new highly qualified jobs at the production site in Vienna. “Since the acquisition of the first batch in 2016, we have persistently been creating and fortifying high added-value for Austria by including more than 220 Austrian subcontractors. The new fourth batch of 225 PANDUR EVO further contributes to the protected mobility of the Austrian Armed Forces and allows us and our suppliers to hire additional skilled labor and to further invest in our industrial facilities in Austria,” says the managing director of GDELS-Steyr, Martin Reischer. GDELS President Antonio Bueno adds: “Today’s procurement decision marks an extraordinary milestone in the history of our PANDUR and underlines the globally unique performance and multi-role capability of this wheeled armored vehicle family. Since the very beginning, Austria has been one of GDELS’ home countries. Consequently, we are fully dedicated and proud to continuing our proven, trusted partnership by providing the Austrian Armed Forces with enhanced military mobility, while at the same time contributing to sustainable macroeconomic added-value together with our many industry partners.”
The compact, high-performance PANDUR EVO 6×6 is built at GDELS’ Steyr facility in Vienna Simmering, the national center of excellence for wheeled and tracked protected military mobility. Preceding versions of the PANDUR EVO have been in service with the Austrian Armed Forces since 1996. Around 850 PANDUR in 6×6 and 8×8 configurations are fielded worldwide today. Users include Belgium, the Czech Republic, Kuwait, Portugal, Slovenia, and the USA.
Photo courtesy GDELS
