GERMANY. Rheinmetall has added a new system to its family of Mission Master Autonomous - Unmanned Ground Vehicle (A-UGV): the Mission Master – Armed Reconnaissance. The UGV is equipped with intelligence-gathering technology and a Rheinmetall Fieldranger remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS).

SWITZERLAND. As part of its 2019 defence procurement program, the Swiss Army placed an order with Rheinmetall for the VarioRay LLM laser light module. Delivery of 9,640 devices is set to commence in May 2020 and be complete by the end of 2022. The order is worth a figure in the lower two-digit euro million range.

AUSTRALIA. Rheinmetall announced the launch of its first Australian research and technology program, the Autonomous Combat Warrior (ACW) program. Under this program, Rheinmetall’s Australian, German, and Canadian development teams will work alongside research teams to develop advanced sovereign robotics and automated vehicle technologies. This will create a local automated military vehicle capability.

GERMANY. Rheinmetall will be supplying the German Bundeswehr with simulation technology intended to enable realistic training of mechanized infantry units equipped with the Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV).

GERMANY. The laser team at Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH has now attained an optical power of 20 kilowatts (kW) with a laser technology based on spectral coupling. The laser source was constructed and commissioned in cooperation with NKT Photonics Technology GmbH.

GERMANY. Rheinmetall and MBDA Deutschland have agreed to collaborate in the high-energy laser effectors domain. The two companies intend to construct, integrate, and test a laser demonstrator for the German Navy?s corvette K130.

D?SSELDORF, Germany. Canadian Forces officials selected Rheinmetall to upgrade the Canadian navy's Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS), a countermeasure system installed on its Halifax-class frigates. The contract is worth an estimated CAD20 million ($15 million).