DGA qualifies new standard of French army SPRAT fast bridge laying system.
In a tweet posted on May 11, the French DGA procurement agency announced that it qualified CNIM’s modernized SPRAT (Système de Pose Rapide de Travures, fast bridge-laying system) which is now equipped with optronic capabilities to improve the bridging phases of the French army’s Land Force.
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The 10 SPRAT fast bridge laying systems manufactured by CNIM delivered to the French army’s 13th Engineer Regiment in 2011 and 2013 are currently undergoing an upgrade (Picture source: Twitter account of the DGA)
The 10 SPRAT fast bridge laying systems delivered to the French army’s 13th Engineer Regiment in 2011 and 2013 are currently undergoing an upgrade, which was announced in 2018 by CNIM Industrial Systems, its manufacturer.
The SPRAT system consists of a 10x10 "bridger" carrying two 14-meter spans and a so-called "PTS" semi-trailer (additional span carrier), comprising a 6×6 tractor and a trailer to transport two additional bridge sections. In Opex360, Laurent Lagneau specifies that this modernized SPRAT is equipped with new cameras, which feed "image fusion algorithms" and allow firefighters to carry out bridging and bridge recovery operations in difficult conditions, at night , in heavy rain or snow.
360° peripheral vision has been improved, thanks to the PeriSight system from French manufacturer Bertin Technologies. Now, a crew can deploy a bridge without getting out of their vehicle and therefore without being exposed to enemy fire. "A new additional camera offers a detailed view of the bridge manipulation hook" while driving aids "based on augmented reality, "facilitate the evolution of the vehicle on a terrain cluttered with obstacles", adds the DGA. The last SPRAT so modernized should be delivered in 2023.
CNIM’s SPRAT allows any wheeled or tracked military vehicle to cross ditches, rivers, etc. measuring up to 25 meters wide (Picture source: Twitter account of the DGA)
Defense News May 2023
