Rheinmetall and Panhard/Auverland have agreed to work together in the field of wheeled, 5 ton-class armoured vehicles for the German market.

As part of this agreement, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH of Kiel, the Land Systems division of the Rheinmetall Group, has obtained the German rights to Panhard/Auverland's newly developed A4 AVL. Rheinmetall Landsysteme (RLS) will be responsible for adapting the vehicle to the needs of the Bundeswehr, as well as the integration of application-specific assemblies and weapon stations. The new RLS vehicle will be marketed under the name Gavial after the strong and well-fortified Asian crocodile.

During intensive trials the basic vehicle has already been successfully qualified and is being procured in large numbers by the French army for the PVP programme (Petit Vehicule Protege).

Under the rubric of its so called "Geschutzte Fuhrungs- und Funktionsfahrzeuge - Armoured Command and Operations Vehicle" project, the Bundeswehr has also announced its interest in vehicles, which are well protected, helicopter transportable and highly mobile. Specifically designed to the meet the multifaceted requirements levied on vehicles of this type, the Gavial will make a major contribution to protecting troops during dangerous deployments. At the same time, the Gavial completes Rheinmetall's portfolio of wheeled vehicles, thereby further reinforcing the company's global status as a competent system supplier and manufacturer of high-quality wheeled tactical vehicles.

The Gavial is a highly mobile, helicopter transportable, all-terrain four-wheel drive vehicle. It offers in this class a high degree of modular ballistic and mine protection.

Powered by a EURO-III-diesel engine, the vehicle features high on and off-road mobility. The versatile Gavial can carry up to four persons incl. equipment and can be used to perform an extremely wide variety of missions, such as reconnaissance, command and control, transport and patrolling and is capable of accommodating various weapon stations.

Rheinmetall AG
09.10.2005