Germany’s 1st Airborne Brigade completed the first-ever airdrop of a Wiesel armored vehicle from an Airbus A400M, the German Army confirmed April 15.
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The trials, run jointly with Germany’s Technical and Airworthiness Center for Aircraft (WTD 61) and the 1st Airborne Brigade (Luftlandebrigade 1), used the ATAX aerial delivery system, a modular parachute rig produced by UK-based IrvinGQ.
The Wiesel was loaded into a specialized cage, pushed off the A400M’s rear ramp, and descended under three parachutes. Reusable airbags absorbed the touchdown. Troops drove the vehicle off the pallet without any additional setup.
“Attach parachute. Load cage into the A400M. Take off. Push out. Done,” the German Army wrote alongside the footage. The service said the system targets delivery within 200 meters of the designated landing zone.
German airborne units had no vehicle airdrop capability until these tests. Paratroopers had to seize or secure an airstrip before any armored vehicle could arrive by transport aircraft or helicopter, leaving them without direct fire support during the critical opening phase of an operation.
The Wiesel weighs under five tons, runs on a Volkswagen Volkswagen Group diesel engine, and reaches speeds above 40 miles per hour with a 120-mile range. In-service variants include a 20mm MK 20 autocannon reconnaissance model, a Spike anti-tank missile platform, and the Ozelot short-range air defense vehicle carrying four FIM-92 Stinger missiles.
The April 15 test is the third distinct airdrop capability Germany has validated from the A400M in six months, a pattern that points to a deliberate push to fully integrate the airlifter into contested-zone operations.
German Air Force Lufttransportgeschwader 62 completed “Mixed Airdrop” trials in October 2024, combining simultaneous personnel and cargo drops from a single aircraft.
In February 2026, Hensoldt completed drop trials of the High Altitude Drop Infiltrating System (HADIS), an autonomous unmanned carrier, from the same platform.
German-language defense outlet Hartpunkt reported the ATAX system could extend to the Caracal airmobile platform and the Wiesel’s successor under the Luftbeweglicher Waffenträger, or Airmobile Weapon Carrier, program.
