The Wiesel has been used in several of the Bundeswehr's missions abroad (UNOSOM II, IFOR, SFOR, KFOR, TFH, ISAF).

The Wiesel was developed for the West German army to meet a requirement for an air-transportable light armored vehicle for use by its airborne troops, as the infantry of the West German Bundeswehr, especially airborne infantry, were considered unprepared to successfully fight enemy main battle tanks (MBT) in the 1970s.

The vehicle was named Wiesel ("weasel") because of its small size and agility, which make it very difficult to detect on the battlefield.

Germany deployed both types to Somalia in 1993 as part of the United Nations forces intervention in the Somali Civil War (UNISOM II).

The Bundeswehr ordered 178 of the new vehicle in various types, including air defense, radar, and anti-aircraft missile launcher, 120 mm mortar carrier, command and fire control, and ambulance variants.

The engine was changed to a 1.9L Volkswagen in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection and intercooler, giving 109 hp (81 kW) coupled to a ZF automatic transmission.