Rheinmetall press release
The order value is in the low double-digit million euro range.
Work will be shared out on a roughly equal basis. MBDA Deutschland is responsible for tracking, the operator’s console and linking the laser weapon demonstrator to the command-and-control system. Rheinmetall is in charge of the laser weapon station, the beam guiding system, cooling, and integration of the laser weapon system into the project container of the laser source demonstrator.
The laser weapon demonstrator is to be fabricated, tested and integrated by the end of the 2021. Trials onboard the German Navy frigate F-124 Sachsen are to take place in 2022.
As Doris Laarmann, head of laser business development at MBDA Deutschland, notes, “The contract is an important step on the path to an operational high-energy laser system. Our two companies will apply their respective strengths to make this project a success on behalf of the German Navy. Once it’s installed, the demonstrator will also be used to test important aspects such as the interaction and function of the sensor suite, combat management system and effector as well as rules of engagement.”
Alexander Graf, head of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition’s laser weapons programme, and Dr Markus Jung, who leads the company’s laser weapon development effort, both agree, adding that “The contract marks a systematic extension of the functional prototype laser weapon successfully tested in recent years, with the experience gained now dovetailing into one of the most ambitious projects in the field of laser weapon development in Europe.”
A breakthrough development in the history of defence technology, lasers engage targets at the speed of light, operating with great precision and producing very little collateral damage. A demonstrator system featuring these capabilities will soon be put to the test under highly realistic operating conditions onboard a German frigate.
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Naval News comments:
Rheinmetall previously announced a collaboration project with MBDA to construct, integrate and test a laser demonstrator for the German Navy’s K130 corvettes. The German company also said it was making good progress on key laser weapon technologies last year.
Other laser projects in Europe include:
- MBDA UK alongside its partners (including Leonardo) is working on the DRAGONFIRE. Also known as known as the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Capability Demonstrator Programme (CDP), testing of DRAGONFIRE was set to take place in the maritime and land domains in 2019.
- MBDA France opened a new laser testing facility in March this year. It is designed to test the effects of lasers on materials and to specify future laser weapons for military customers.
In the Unites States, the U.S. Navy is working on several laser weapon system programs such as the Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) and the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS). A HELIOS system will be installed aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88).
Meanwhile, Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) successfully disabled an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) MK 2 MOD 0 during a U.S. Navy test conducted in May this year.
