SMArt 155 Successfully Demonstrated to UAE Armed Forces
21 February 2007 17:17
Rheinmetall Defence's SMArt 155 artillery projectile featured prominently in talks held in December 2006 between the army general staffs of the United Arab Emirates and Germany.
During the staff meeting, held at the German Army's major training area, Munster, the SMArt 155 round was one of a number of weapons presented by the German Army, underscoring its important role in German artillery doctrine.
The SMArt 155 enables artillery forces to engage targets at very long ranges with pinpoint accuracy.
Designed to minimise collateral damage, the SMArt 155 leaves no unexploded ordnance on the battlefield and is endowed with a long shelf-life, with no need for testing or maintenance. Its excellent sensor capabilities, tremendous lethality and unrivalled functional reliability combine to ensure maximum battlefield effectiveness and optimum cost-effectiveness for the customer.
The SMArt 155 proved highly effective during a live-fire operation conducted at Al Qua'a in the United Arab Emirates in 2004, which compellingly demonstrated that SMArt 155 rounds also function perfectly when fired from a UAE G6 self-propelled howitzer manned by a UAE artillery crew using the UAE's standard charge system, and that the SMArt 155 can defeat armoured targets at very long ranges in a hot desert environment.
The round also functioned perfectly in 26 live firings conducted during SMArt procurement by Germany, Switzerland and Greece, confirming its extraordinary reliability score.
Its multi-mode sensor system incorporates three physically independent sensors – radar, radiometer and infrared – which together result in an excellent target detection capability and a high probability of rejecting false targets, delivering a continued aim point calculation even when temperature contrast is lacking. The system can cope with fog, dust, smoke, rain, camouflage, IR countermeasures and future IR signature reductions.
To date, approximately 12,000 SMArt 155 projectiles containing 24,000 submunitions have been delivered to customers in Germany, Switzerland and Greece.
No fewer than 26 successful live firings (more than 200 projectiles in all) in Germany, USA and the Middle East have demonstrated the unique technical performance, reliability and quality of the SMArt 155 projectile and submunitions under extremely harsh conditions.
Routine test firing of German lots #1 through #4 commenced five years after delivery, with great success, once again confirming the round's 100% reliability.
SMArt 155 submunitions are continuously upgraded to reflect the latest advances in electronics and meet changing environmental requirements.
The German government has placed a contract to incorporate SMArt submunitions into the warhead of the US-made Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). The order underscores the continued significance of SMArt 155 intelligent sensor-fused submunitions for artillery forces, as well as laying the groundwork for integrating them into other weapon systems.
For more information on this company:
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH - Large Calibre Weapon Systems and Ammunition
Copyright 2007SPG Media Limited a subsidiary of SPG Media Group PLC
