Germany’s Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has awarded a consortium consisting of MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH a contract to fabricate, integrate and support the testing of a laser weapon demonstrator in the maritime environment. 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 demonstrator is to be fabricated, tested and integrated by the end of the 2021. Trials onboard the German Navy frigate F124 SACHSEN are to take place in 2022.
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.
Jack Richardson
