The Swiss arms procurement agency armasuisse has contracted Rheinmetall for the delivery of the VarioRay laser light modules for the Swiss Army.
The contract for the delivery of the equipment was signed in late December 2019, in line with the country’s 2019 defense procurement program.
Rheinmetall is set to deliver a total of 9,640 devices, with deliveries set to start in May 2020 and be completed by the end of 2022.
The company said the order was worth a figure in the lower two-digit euro million range, without revealing the exact price. The contract also includes accessories, spare parts and training support.
Used for detecting, identifying and marking targets, the laser light modules – known as the LLM 19 in Swiss military parlance – will be mounted on soldiers’ assault rifles. Weighing approximately 240 grams, the VarioRay LLM can be mounted on a MIL-STD 1913 rail on any assault rifle, and operated via a trigger cable. Together with the night vision and thermal imaging devices also acquired under the 2019 defense procurement program, it will enable Swiss troops to perform their missions around the clock and in all weather conditions.
Among other things, the VarioRay LLM forms part of Germany’s Future Soldier System-Extended System, or IdZ-ES, used by the Bundeswehr. The British Army, which calls it the Laser Light Module MK3, also employs the system.
The aiming and illumination module is compatible with all standard night vision devices and can be coupled with the separate modular Lumenator weapon lamp, also made by Rheinmetall. Another Rheinmetall product is Tac-Ray Ballistic, a rangefinder/ballistic computer for snipers.
