Rheinmetall protects the US Army

The U.S. Army will subject the Active Protection System StrikeShield from Rheinmetall and its partner Unified Business Technologies (UBT) to a testing program. This translates to an order value of around 10 million EUR for the companies. The trials will start in October 2020 at the Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama (USA).

The tests of the StrikeShield are being conducted under the guidance of the recently established Vehicle Protective Systems (VPS) project office of the U.S. Army. They are part of a larger initiative to evaluate the performance of the Active Protection System (APS) against a variety of armor-penetrating threats. This significant contract represents the first comprehensive APS test that the U.S. Army will conduct with the StrikeShield system. This could lay the foundation for the system to be used on both currently and future U.S. Army vehicles.

The StrikeShield APS is a decentralized system that operates in real-time and can therefore act in the immediate vicinity of the protected vehicle. Its purpose is to protect the carrier platform from anti-tank guided missiles and rockets. Additionally, Strikeshield addresses the technical requirements for the defense against Kinetic Energy (KE) projectiles. This results in a unique combination of capabilities for protection against various threats with promising market prospects.

The U.S. Army will conduct extensive live-fire tests of the StrikeShield system over a period of several months. The objective of the trials is to gather performance data for the future selection of APS technologies best suited for a specific platform. The U.S. Army expects the trials to provide results on the APS requirements for both its currently used and future combat vehicles such as the Armoured Multi Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF), and Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV).

Rheinmetall and UBT have been working together in the field of active protection systems in the USA since 2015. The companies are optimistic that this new U.S. Army test program will lead to further opportunities for APS integration in U.S. military vehicles, and both companies are extremely pleased that the U.S. Army has selected StrikeShield for this important program.

"We are excited to enter into a new phase of partnership with the U.S. Army to conduct extensive tests of the StrikeShield APS system," says Stefan Haase, Head of Active Protection Product Range at Rheinmetall. "We are confident that the system will deliver very good results in the tests and that opportunities for the use of the technology in military vehicle systems will emerge."

"The StrikeShield system is a first-class, mature active protection system that will provide the U.S. Army with tremendous capabilities," says UBT CEO Michelle D'Souza. "UBT and Rheinmetall are proud to work as partners with the U.S. Army to highlight the high priority of APS technology."

Rheinmetall has also developed a modular hybrid configuration of the StrikeShield APS, which combines the company's active and passive protection technologies into a single integrated design. This new configuration was showcased at the AUSA 2019 trade show. The hybrid approach builds on Rheinmetall's extensive expertise as a provider of both active protection systems and armor technologies, as well as its long-standing experience as a leading vehicle manufacturer and system integrator. The system's hybrid and modular design is suitable for integration into both tracked and wheeled vehicles.

The Hybrid Protection Module enables an integrated approach: Passive protection components serve as both an interface and protection for the active protection system components. Conversely, the StrikeShield APS components possess ballistic functions and properties. The outer protective layer shields these components from fragmentation, small arms fire, and other mechanical stresses. The countermeasures of StrikeShield are housed in the first outer protective plate and also serve as the first protective layer of passive protection. The system's sensors are located in the space between.

The Rheinmetall and UBT team will involve the VPS team of the U.S. Army in assessing the potential of the future hybrid module approach on U.S. vehicles as part of the funded trials.

Rheinmetall on the internet: www.rheinmetall.com

US Army on the internet: www.army.mil