The Singapore Army's Armoured Engineer Vehicle (AEV), known as the Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak in German Army service, joins this year's National Day Parade (NDP) Mobile Column for the first time. This vehicle is due to parade alongside specialised variants of the Leopard 2 tank family fielded by Armour and Combat Engineer units.
The appearance of the Leopard 2SG Main Battle Tanks and derivatives of the Leopard design marks the largest showcase of the German-made Leopard 2 family by the Singapore Army.
While it is several weeks before the AEV makes its "official" public debut, the vehicle was already seen and photographed in Singapore's city centre at the first Combined Rehearsal on Saturday 20 June 2015.
The AEVs are used by the Armoured Engineers for mobility, counter-mobility and survivability missions. These include the construction of earthworks such as berms, removal of battlefield obstacles as well as the breaching of anti-tank minefields.
To demonstrate its counter-mine capability, the AEVs are due to make their parade debut with a full-width mine plough and a 12.7mm remote controlled weapon station. The weapon can be aimed and fired from under armour and is used principally for vehicle self-defence as AEVs deployed for in-stride, assault or deliberate minefield breaching operations are usually screened by close protection teams tasked to deal with enemy units protecting the minefields. When required, the mine plough can be replaced by a dozer blade.
The AEV's stablemates include the Buffel (German for Buffalo) Armoured Recovery Vehicle, Biber (Beaver) Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge, all of which will form part of the 160-plus strong Mobile Column for Singapore's 50th birthday celebrations on 9 August 2015.
In Singapore Armed Forces service, the AEV replaces the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle while the Bibers replace the M60 AVLB. The American-made CEV and AVLB were fielded by the SAF in the 1970s.
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