Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) signed a contract in December last year for the delivery of the Protector RS4 remote weapon system (RWS) for the German Joint Fire Support Team, schwer (JFSTsw) program.
This is the first contract Kongsberg has signed with KMW and the second Protector RS4 contract for the German Army.
The new contract will include the development and delivery of prototype and reference systems for trials and tests on board the new variant of the German Boxer vehicle.
The variant will be known as JFSTsw and will be built using the Boxer A2 drive module (in service with Bundeswehr) coupled with a new JFSTsw mission module.
The JFSTsw will integrate new sub systems, such as the panoramic above armor gimbal – joint fire support (PAAG JFS) observation and surveillance system made by Thales, and the NATO generic vehicle architecture (NGVA) network to allow a deeper integration level of the new sub systems. NGVA is a NATO standardization agreement based on open standards to design and integrate multiple electronic sub-systems onto military vehicles – intended to create standards for land systems vehicle architecture to become more sustainable and given a longer lifespan.
Overall, the new JFSTsw design is expected to provide a balance of mobility, lethality and protection, and the capability to conduct surveillance missions at a lower risk to the user.
JFSTsw will be joining over 400 Boxer vehicles already in German Army service either as armored personnel carriers, medical treatment vehicles, command vehicles, or driver training vehicles.
The initial prototype contract for Kongsberg will be followed by a serial production contract, the company said.
“We are proud to be part of a team that provides mobility, lethality, protection and better surveillance capability for the operator,” says Arne Gjennestad, Konsberg’s vice president marketing and sales.
The Protector RS4 is designed for small and medium caliber weapons including mounting of coaxial weapons and anti tank guided missiles. The fully stabilized 2 + 2 Axis (Detached Line of Sight) system enables the gunner to keep his sights on target, independent of ballistic solution for the weapon and ammunition in use. The system is platform-independent and can be operated both by land and sea platforms.
