Rheinmetall & MBDA Collaborate on High-Energy Laser Effector for German Navy

Posted  by GoPhotonics

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Leading security and defense solution providers, Rheinmetall and MBDA Deutschland, have announced a collaboration to develop high-energy laser effector system for the German Navy.

Capable of engaging targets at the speed of light with extreme precision and minimal collateral damage, lasers constitute a whole new dimension in defence technology. Now, for the first time ever, this capability is to be investigated under quasi-operational conditions using a demonstrator installed onboard a German Navy Corvette K130. The details and division of responsibilities between the two companies will be determined as soon as the performance specification is made available by Germany’s military procurement agency, the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-service Support.

Werner Krämer, Managing Director of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, sums up the venture as a close cooperation to put the military potential of laser technology to work for the Bundeswehr, boosting its operational readiness and combat effectiveness. Lasers offer new tactical possibilities on land, at sea and in the air. In partnership with the German Navy, the two companies want to press ahead with this new technology.

MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). It is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5 %), BAE Systems (37.5 %), and Leonardo (25 %). With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, the company is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.

A publicly traded corporation headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, Rheinmetall is a globe-spanning technology group dedicated to the twin future imperatives of security and mobility. One of Europe’s top suppliers of defence and security technology, Rheinmetall Defence unites longstanding experience and cutting-edge innovation in armoured vehicles, weapons and ammunition, air defence and electronics. Its product range covers the full range of modern military capabilities: reconnaissance, command and control, tactical mobility, kinetics and force protection.
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