Rheinmetall Defence Electronics

Makers of the German artillery's "eye in the sky"

Of all the companies of the Rheinmetall Defence Group, Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH (RDE) has certainly had the most convoluted corporate history. RDE emerged in 2004 as the successor to STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH, itself the product of the merger of Atlas-Werke AG of Bremen and Hamburg-based STN Systemtechnik Nord, a maker of electronics for merchant marine and naval applications.

Atlas-Werke AG, whose ultimate origins lay in an 1843 iron foundry and heavy engineering plant, was founded in 1911 as a shipyard. After the First World War, it also made echo sounders and other nautical instruments.

In 1964, under the aegis of Krupp, Atlas-Werke AG's electronics division was spun off as an independent company in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück. Over the next few years – especially after it ceased shipbuilding in 1969 – electronics emerged as the Atlas group's most important business.

The new company, Krupp Atlas Elektronik GmbH, broadened into simulation technology. It attracted new customers in many industries – to say nothing of the German Army. Among its first major projects were Europe's most advanced maritime navigation simulator, installed at the Hamburg Polytechnic in 1982. Two years earlier, the company had supplied the Bundeswehr with a training simulator for the Leopard 2 main battle tank.
 

At the heart of the new Fennek ("fennic fox") armoured reconnaissance vehicle (shown here at left with the Luchs armoured reconnaissance vehicle in the background) is RDE's observation and reconnaissance system, or BAA. Its sensor head consists of a day vision camera, a thermal imaging device and a rangefinder. The company's product range also includes the LeFlaSys light antiaircraft system, which can be used to arm the airportable Wiesel 2, an independent development of Rheinmetall Landsysteme. (Photos: IMZBw picture archive/Rheinmetall)

A crucial discontinuity in the company's history came in 1991 when Krupp Atlas Elektronik was integrated into the Vulkan shipbuilding conglomerate in Bremen. This new corporation had already absorbed the marine and defence technology divisions of AEG and MBB in 1990, which the competition authorities had forced Daimler-Benz to sell.

Vulkan merged STN Systemtechnik Nord GmbH with Atlas Elektronik, forming a new subsidiary called STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH. When Vulkan eventually foundered, STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH was salvaged from the wreckage, and in 1997 came under the joint control of Rheinmetall and British Aerospace.

STN Atlas Elektronik played a pioneering role in military and naval electronics and simulation technology. In the naval domain, the company made a name for itself above all with sonar systems and weapon engagement systems for submarines, but also with navigation equipment and Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) systems.

In the field of army technology, STN Atlas Elektronik was destined to become a major developer of unmanned air vehicles (UAV). These included the "Taifun" ("typhoon"), developed under a German government contract beginning in 1997, the "Brevel" reconnaissance and surveillance UAV and the "Mücke" ("gnat") electronic warfare drone, which created quite a stir at the International Aerospace Show in Berlin in 1998.

The company developed the "KZO" target-locating UAV specifically to be teamed with Rheinmetall's PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer. This state-of-the-art artillery system can engage point targets at ranges of up to 40 kilometres with excellent accuracy. But in order fully to exploit its unprecedented range and precision, the PzH 2000 required a reconnaissance system – an "eye in the sky" for the artillery.

Field trials of the KZO began in 1999, the year of its successful maiden flight. During subsequent military exercises, this unique system proved capable of locating and identifying both stationary and mobile targets, and radioing their coordinates back to the artillery for immediate engagement.
 

Today, the world's most advanced armed forces are feverishly upgrading their equipment to meet the heightened requirement for reconnaissance and intelligence collection, the ultimate aim being to protect their own men and materiel. The unmanned air vehicles developed by RDE are tailor-made for this mission, offering an unsurpassed level of battlefield effectiveness. (Photos: IMZBw picture archives)

In an artillery training exercise in September 2004, KZO was used to secure and monitor a hypothetical demilitarized zone. The KZO performed perfectly, reconnoitring enemy troop dispositions quickly and accurately, processing and transmitting target data without delay, and monitoring the engagement of stationary and mobile targets.

The company – by now renamed Rheinmetall Defence Electronics – also succeeded in turning its "Taifun" UAV from largely an autonomously operating attack drone into a high-precision man-in-the-loop weapon system. Now dubbed the "Tares", this reconfigured system has a range of 200 kilometres, enabling it to seek out targets deep in the enemy rear. Moreover, it is virtually invisible to radar.

Since 2004, Rheinmetall's family of UAVs has gained a new member, the "Carolo", a reusable mini-drone developed in cooperation with the Technical University of Bremen. Bearing a strong resemblance to an off-the-shelf model airplane, the Carolo is designed for a reconnaissance and monitoring role, enabling soldiers to see what is happening "on the other side of the hill" – or behind the next block of buildings. In a civil context, the Carolo is also excellent for monitoring traffic.

Another important area of activity of RDE's land systems unit: fire control technology for the Leopard 2 tank. RDE fire control units are also found in modern infantry fighting vehicles: the company's "Faust" and "Seoss" FCUs are designed for engaging air and ground targets during mobile combat operations.

Starting in 1997, RDE was responsible for developing the Bundeswehr's LeFlaSys light antiaircraft system, as well as an export version known as the "Asrad-R". After a six-year development period, the Bundeswehr first fielded the LeFlaSys at the end of 2000; delivery of the complete system concluded in 2003.

RDE's simulation systems unit is active both in the military and civil sphere. The company has supplied the armed forces of Germany and other Nato countries with simulators for training tank crews, as well as flight simulators and driving simulators for wheeled vehicles.
 

A successful maker of civil and military flight simulators: RDE is participating in the development of simulators for training future Eurofighter pilots, the largest and most advanced project of its kind (m.). The company also builds simulators for military helicopters such as the Tiger (l.) and the multipurpose NH 90 (r.). (Photos: IMZBw picture archives)

Since 1998 RDE has participated in the international joint venture Eurofighter Simulation Systems in Munich, whose mission is to develop the world's most advanced combat aircraft training programme using simulators for training future Eurofighter pilots.

In addition, the Bremen-based company is also working on simulators for other military aircraft, including the Tiger attack helicopter and the NH 90 multipurpose helicopter; it also makes simulators for civilian aircraft, providing a highly realistic training environment.

Another major project is GÜZ, the Germany Army's Combat Training Centre at the Altmark Major Training Area near Magdeburg, the first phase of which was commissioned in 1997. Equipped with state-of-the-art electronics, this virtual reality facility enables entire combat units to train under highly realistic conditions, helping them, for instance, to prepare for international peacekeeping missions.