Armasuisse Orders MASKE 76mm Smoke/Obscurant Cartridges

The Swiss procurement authority Armasuisse has awarded a contract to Rheinmetall to supply a new generation of the MASKE 76 rapid smoke/obscurant cartridges, known in Switzerland as the “7,6cm Nebelpatrone 21 mit elektrischer Zündung”, or “7.6cm Smoke/Obscurant Cartridge with Electric Fuse”, Reinmetall writes in a press release. The order is worth a figure in the mid-two-digit million-euro range.

A pilot lot is due to undergo acceptance testing starting in November 2022 with delivery of the final lot expected to take place in August 2027. The contract was awarded following a competitive bidding process. According to Rheinmetall, the order will keep the MASKE production unit at Rheinmetall’s plant in Neuenburg am Rhein in Baden-Württemberg working at high capacity for years to come.

Issued at the end of 2021, the order heralds the Swiss Army’s replacement of the MASKE-C predecessor generation after a roughly 25-year service life with a new product. An additional contract was concluded for conducting periodic test firing during the entire lifespan of the smoke/obscurant shells.

MASKE 76 is designed to be fired from tactical vehicles as a force protection measure. The MASKE family is based on a bimodular, bispectral ammunition concept. It consists of two rapid reaction decoy modules that generate an intensive blooming effect using proven deception technologies. Moreover, a long-lasting decoy module employs visible and infrared smoke/obscurant to interrupt the enemy line of sight in the visual and infrared spectrum.

JH