Leguan armored rapid bridge

The Leguan armored rapid bridge (German: Panzerschnellbrücke Leguan) is a bridge system offered by KNDS Deutschland for overcoming obstacles. It was developed by MAN Mobile Bridges GmbH (a subsidiary of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann in 2005, merged in 2006 and company dissolved). The bridge-laying system is a further development of the laying principle of the Biber rapid tank bridge (Biber) with a lower silhouette. The Leguan system is in use worldwide, i.e. by Germany, Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Malaysia, and the United States, among others, with various bridge-laying vehicles. The Bundeswehr officially calls it 'Gefechtsfeldbrücke' (battlefield bridge).^[1]

The Bundeswehr tested it from 2009 onwards.^[2]

The US Army planned to purchase 465 M104 Wolverine bridge-laying tanks, an iguana system based on the M1 Abrams hull. Following budget cuts, only 44 vehicles were manufactured between 1997 and 2001; the remainder was cancelled without replacement.

In the transport position, the two symmetrical bridge halves, each 13 metres long in the 26-metre version, lie horizontally on top of each other on the vehicle's main and rear booms. To lay the bridge, the two elements are lifted and the lower half of the bridge is moved forward. After connecting the two halves, the entire fixed bridge is placed over the obstacle using the main boom. The bridge is picked up again in reverse order. During the laying process, the entire load rests on the support shield attached to the bow. According to the manufacturer, laying and removing the 26-metre bridge takes six and eight minutes respectively and can be carried out by one person using electronic controls. The 14-metre bridge can be laid in around five minutes and removed in seven minutes.

• knds.com:
  • LEGUAN
  • Bridges
• bundeswehr.de: Leguan
• YouTube: Leguan 2 - Denmarks new armored bridge layer