As experiences in various conflicts have shown not only regular but also irregular troops as well as gangs and single terrorists represent a high level of as well as a highly probable threat. And even recent attacks by terrorist organization have shown, that terror is well organized internationally and efficiently active in civilized countries.

One type of threat has changed considerably in recent years in it's nature and scope: The threat by land mines also AT mines. As most of fielded armored vehicles have basically not being designed to withstand such threats armored vehicles of today are vulnerable against mines. This means there is a lack of mine protection in fielded vehicles and therefore a growing need for improvements. However, not only mine threat has increased significantly but also the threat level of small arms is up to Sniper or Dragunov precision rifle level. But the Gulf War in 1991 and recent operations in Afghanistan against Taliban have shown also that there is also a real threat by chemical or biological weapons, which can be easily produced by aggressors.

The development of the innovative concept idea of the "All-Protected-Vehicle" DINGO has been originally started in 1995 by Krauss-Maffei Wehrtechnik GmbH under contract from the BWB/MoD as part of R & D dedicated to highly (mine)protected light, airtransportable vehicles.

DINGO concept idea

The main criteria of the concept were

• outstanding level and overall-protection against:
- Anti-tank and AP mines,
- Direct firing all-around,
- Artillery fragments,
- NBC-agents, excellent tactical mobility by,
- high speed on roads,
- heavy-terrain mobility,
- long range, strategic mobility due to air-transportability in C 130 HERCULES and even in C 160 TRANSALL, significantly reduced LCC due to
- low procurement cost by use of COTS basic chassis,
- low operation cost,
- world-wide logistic service

DINGO 2 vehicle concept

Basic chassis

To meet all requirements regarding high mobility, reliability and maintainability the APV DINGO 2 is based on a COTS UNIMOG chassis of DaimlerChrysler, which is used nearly unchanged. Due to the special portal axies the chassis provides excellent heavyterrain mobility as well as high ground clearance which also enhances the mine protection.

The chassis is equipped with an diesel engine fulfilling the requirements of EURO lll providing appr. 230 hp output power as well as an semiautomatic EAS gear system.

A "Central-Tire-lnflation-System" (CTIS) provides outstanding heavy terrain capability by significantly reducing the ground pressure. The CTIS can be operated from inside the vehicle when standing or on the move.

Safety Compartment

Instead of the original driver s cab the DINGO 2 is equipped with a "safety compartment", which was especially designed and is produced in a special technology, cal led "Thin-plate-bending", eliminating most of weldings.

The compartment is equipped with a large, armored front window providing an outstanding field of viewfor the driver. All of the 4 doors are also equipped with armored glass.

Most of the armor protection is modular being adapted to the basic structure of the safety compartment.

This allows easy assembly or disassembly of the modules to,

• replace damaged modules,
• upgrade armor protection level by change of modules,
• operate the vehicle without armor protection, e.g. in peace time operations.

Deflector System

The mine deflector system was also specially developed to significantly increase mine protection of light, wheeled vehicles. The deflector consists of a structure of materials as well as a special shock mounting to the chassis. It serves to absorb a significant amount of the blast energy by mechanical deformation.

Stowage Compartment

In the upper rear of the vehicle there is a large stowage compartment which can be armored as well. The stowage compartment serves to accommodate personnel belongings, ammunition, mission specific equipment, electronics or other.

The lower part of the stowage compartment is protected and accommodates critical automotive components such as fuel tanks, pneumatic system for the brakes and batteries.

Overall Vehicle Protection

The outstanding feature of the DINGO 2 is the well-balanced-overall protection for the crew and selected, critical components.

Mine Protection System

One of the unique feature designed into the vehicle is the outstanding protection against heavy anti-tankmines. The complete mine protection subsystem consists of the following elements:

• Deflector system,
• Crew safety compartment with false floors,
• Shock mounting for deflector and crew compartment,
• Damping elements for the seats,
• 4 -point safety belts,
• The efficiency of the mine protection was successfully tested on two vehicles by the test and evaluation center WTD 91 of the BWB.

Recent missions in South-East Europe and Asia have shown that the threat level of hand held weapons has significantly increased to DRAGUNOV or SNIPER precision rifles and ammunition. The DINGO 2 provides adequate protection all-around the vehicle against all hand- held rifles including API rounds. The armor protection has a modular design and is adapted to the basic structure of the safety com partment. Except for the roof area all armor protection is mounted outside the vehicle. Of course, all windows have the same protection level also.

Besides low noise emission and measures to reduce signature against IR and RADAR-detection the wheels of the DINGO 2 are equipped with a run flat-tire-system, ensuring mobility of grade of the protection when new vehicle even after hitting the tires. technologies are available.

NBC protection

Another key protection element is the high-performance collective overpressure NBC-protection system, which is identical to systems used in MBTs and other combat vehicles

Armament

For self-defense under protection the DINGO 2 can be equipped with various gun mounts, defined by the user. As an option, a multipurpose gun mount is available to accommodate MG 7,62, 12,7 oder GMW 40mm. Also largercalibergunscan be integrated in DINGO 2. Due to its flexible design the DINGO can also easily be used as carrier for other armaments: Air-Defense missiles, Anti-Tank missiles, multipurpose turrets etc.

Life Cycle Costs (LCC)

Low "Life Cycle Costs" of a weapon system are crucial due to shrinking defense budgets. LCC are determined by

• Procurement costs of the systems,
• Costs of operation, i.e. fuel, tires, etc., Maintenance and repair costs,
• Logistic and peripheral equipments, i.e. documentation, test equipment, logistic network, etc.
 

One of the important aspects for the design of the DINGO was to significantly reduce LCC. Therefore, a COTS - chassis from the UNIMOG family of Mercedes-Benz was selected as the basic carrier. Due to this concept all of the criteria of the LCC can be kept low for the automotive subsystems and components. Using the worldwide logigic system of Mercedes-Benz the basic chassis can be supported and maintained all over the world without the need to establish an own logistic supply or stock for such parts. The modular armor protection allows simple and easy exchange of modules. This ensures costseffective repair after damages caused by accidents or firing incidents as well as easy and simple up Missions

The DINGO can be used for a large variety of missions.

In the basic version the DINGO has four doors and accommodates 5-6 soldiers (short wheelbase) and 8 soldiers (long wheelbase). The equipment and personal belongings can be accommodated within the safety and stowage compartments.
Due to it's excellent the DINGO can also be used as an Ambulance-/First
Aid vehicle providing space for wounded soldiers on stretchers and doctors as well as paramedics.

The transport variant is based on a shortened safety compartment with two doors only for a 2-3 men-crew and a platform in the rear of the vehicle to transport (standard) containers or pallets. Due to the shortened safety compartment and by use of high-capacity axles the transportation payload of this version can be appr. 3500 kg for the short wheelbase.

The configuration for a C3 vehicle provides space for 3-4 soldiers as well as comprehensive electronic equipment for command and control tasks.

Due to the payload it is also possible to protect the computers, radio and other equipment if accommodated in the storage compartment. The DINGO 2 serves also as an versatile platform for modular armament systems and mission modules which can easily be mounted on the lower stowage compartment section. Mission modules on the rear platform can also be surveillance sensors, e.g. RADAR or other elevated sensors and/or effectors. By use of the basic or transport version of the DINGO it is also possible to incorporate various missile systems for air defense or anti-tank applications.

The integration depends on the type of missile. Depending on the mission the combat weight of DINGO 2 can vary be tween 8,5 and 11,8 tons.

Summary

The light 4x4 DINGO family, with high mine and ballistic protection provides a very mobile and airtransportable, cost-efficient vehicle platform providing outstanding reliability, extraordinarily low logistic footprint and unique versatility and modularity.