As part of the ongoing multi-national military exercise dubbed Anakonda, no less than 34 M3 amphibious rigs of both British and German origin stacked up across the Vistula River in Chelmo, Poland. The result was a massive temporary span that took just 40 minutes to build.
Once in place, 200 US Army vehicles from the 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, crossed the floating bridge before the M3 crews quickly disconnected and motored off.
Each M3, which is the successor to the M2, weighs 26 tons, has a crew of three, and is capable of speeding around on land at 50 mph or just under 9 mph in the water.
Currently M3s serve with not only the UK and German armed forces, but also those of Taiwan, Singapore and Brazil. Not only can the M3s be combined to make bridges, but they can also be used as ferries, with their pump-jets propelling them across waterways with virtually any vehicle on their decks, including main battle tanks. The capability does not come cheap though, with each unit costing around $3 million.
Anakonda will run through June 17th with 24 nations and 25,000 soldiers participating in the Polish-led exercise.
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