Providing effective direct fire support in a system that has both exceptional ground mobility and can be readily deployed in expeditionary operations presents specific design challenges. John Cockerill Defence and Arquus have jointly developed the FENRIS wheeled fire support vehicle to meet this requirement.
Debuted at Eurosatory 2026, FENRIS mounts a 105 mm NATO-standard high-pressure rifled gun in the Cockerill 3105 turret on a highly mobile 26-tonne 6 x 6 vehicle light enough to fly aboard an Airbus A400M and other tactical military cargo aircraft. FENRIS, therefore, satisfies the needs of a mobile direct fire support system for deployed forces, as well as providing a platform that enables reconnaissance and security forces to take on a broader range of opposing threats. Equipped with FENRIS, these units gain the ability to fight for information and offer a covering force capability that lighter armed combat vehicles lack.
FENRIS is the first major system resulting from the July 2024 acquisition of French Arquus by Belgium-based John Cockerill Defence. Arquus brings decades of combat vehicle expertise, including its recent work with the French Army on the Scorpion Programme. The Scorpion project envisions a digital battlefield with platforms, such as Arquus’s Jaguar combat vehicle, linked together. FENRIS draws on the Jaguar’s development. Its automotive platform features a 500-horsepower engine, automatic transmission, adjustable suspension, and central tyre inflation. The suspension allows for raising and lowering the vehicle to adapt to terrain, adopt a hull-down firing position, or facilitate aircraft loading.
Firepower originates from the proven Cockerill 3105 turret, a weapon system. The turret houses a fully stabilised 105 mm NATO-standard high-pressure rifled gun with a 12-round automatic loader. The main gun boasts an impressive 42 degrees elevation, enabling it to engage targets high in buildings, on ridgelines, and to perform indirect fire missions. The armament is supported by a state-of-the-art fire control system, including a turret roof Hornet-S panoramic hunter-killer sight. The Hornet-S is an armed commander’s sight, an innovative design that incorporates a MAG 58 7.62mm machine gun armed commander’s sight. Equipped with one or more radar units, it offers a counter-UAS self-defence capability. Therefore, Hornet-S integrates three functions into one system: commander’s observation through the optic, traditional close-in defence as a remote-controlled weapon station, and an anti-drone capability. It is also worth noting that the Cockerill has indicated the 3105 turrets can be configured either as a manned station with two crew members or fully unmanned.
FENRIS is aimed at both militaries whose topography, infrastructure, and logistical resources are ill-suited for heavier combat vehicles, as well as those that require mobile, versatile, high-firepower units that can be rapidly deployed. An additional benefit is that the operational areas typically reflect the same topographic and infrastructural limitations where these expeditionary forces operate.
by Stephen W. Miller
