VFB ASCOD 35 Cobra – armoured vehicle-launched bridge

Author: GDELS|Caption: VFB ASCOD 35 Cobra

At IDET 2019 held in Brno in May last year, an armoured vehicle-launched bridge using the ASCOD 35 platform carrying the Variable Folding Bridge (VFB) system premiered in the Czech Republic, presented by General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS). It is a scissor type made of aluminum alloys and falls into the MLC 50 class.

VFB is able to bridge water and dry obstacles up to a width of 15 m, the length of the deck can be variable, depending on the length and parameters of the vehicle-carrier. GDELS introduced the VFB bridge system for the first time at Eurosatory 2018, at the time it was mounted on the Piranha 3 wheeled armoured vehicle transporter. During the IDET 2019 fair the COBRA bridge was presented on the ASCOD 35 chassis, demonstrating its versatility and multi-platform installation.

See also: Modernization Projects of the Czech Army

The possibility of fixed installation on the vehicle or temporary mounting on an optional self-propelled platform by means of a mounting and laying kit is also of great interest to the user. A vehicle, typically a wheeled or tracked armoured personnel carrier, with a VFB system can have a crew of two that controls the entire bridge system directly from the vehicle while being protected by its armour. Laying the bridge deck over an obstacle takes 2 to 5 minutes depending on the type of vehicle-carrier. The exceptionality of VFB installation on the vehicle is also that it fully preserves the possibility of carrying the infantry in the rear compartment.

See also: Czech Infantry Fighting Vehicle Tender – ASCOD 2

In the category of bridge vehicles capable of operating with front-line units, the Army of the Czech Republic has six bridge tanks MT-55A built on the T-55 Main Battle Tank with a weight of 36 tons. They are deployed by the Bridge Tank Squad of the Engineer Platoon of the 73^rd Tank Battalion, 7^th Mechanized Brigade. Battalions of mechanized infantry of the 7^th Brigade and the 4^th Rapid Deployment Brigade units, whether on wheeled or tracked platforms, do not have any armoured vehicle-launched bridges. In the ongoing tender for replacement of the BVP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles with new tracked IFV’s, the bridge variant is not among the requirements.