IDET 2019: Food for the wildcats

At the Rheinmetall booth at IDET 2019, visitors could also see the current ammunition for the 30mm and 35mm machine cannons used in the Puma and Lynx armored vehicles. The sight above is spectacular enough, but probably not entirely true. Of course, the goal is not just to penetrate straight through, but also at angles. However, with the APFSDS-T arrow ammunition, armor can be penetrated up to the length of the penetrator itself.

This is the ammunition for the new electrically powered Wotan 35 machine cannon. It fires Rheinmetall's 35mm x 228 medium caliber ammunition family currently in use.

Front: The APFSDS-T ammunition, belonging to the new generation of armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition, is used by armored vehicles for self-defense against ground targets and attacks from the air up to 2,500 meters. The penetrator of the ammunition can penetrate homogeneous armor steel and high-strength armor even at very small angles of impact and long engagement distances. Since the heavy metal arrow leaves the barrel with full spin, the driving cage flies off upon leaving the muzzle and the accuracy increases. This makes the insensitive APFSDS-T ammunition an indispensable weapon for armored vehicles.

At the back is the AHEAD or KETF ammunition (kinetic energy time fuze).

With the 35mm AHEAD system, consisting of measuring and programming bases, control electronics, and AHEAD ammunition, automated guns can successfully engage small and fast aerial targets. Each programmable shot of AHEAD/KETF ammunition contains 152 tungsten sub-projectiles, which are ejected just before the incoming target.

At the top, a cross-section of the grenade and a special muzzle brake: The velocity of each shot is determined by the measuring base. The control electronics then calculate the time until ejection and transfer it to the time fuse in the shot via the programming base. This way, small targets can be effectively engaged with a high probability of hit. The sub-projectiles can be used to blind enemy tanks, destroy optics and electronic devices, and can also be used against infantry targets - even if they are in cover. KETF ammunition can be effective up to 3,000 meters.

And because it looks so spectacular, here is the counter shot of the arrow in the plate. You can see the inscription on the arrow nicely.

View of the turret of the Lynx with the 35mm Wotan 2 cannon, which was exhibited at IDET. The armament turns the armored vehicle into something like a light tank with grenadiers on board. Unfortunately, visitors were not allowed to photograph the interior of the Lynx, but overall an impressive concept by Rheinmetall, offered to the Czechs for procurement. HERE is a great trailer for the Lynx - with interior impressions as well.

HERE all information about the new Lynx.

RHEINMETALL DEFENCE on the internet: www.rheinmetall-defence.com

IDET 2019 on the internet: www.bvv.cz/de/idet