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2021-11-03

Rheinmetall Showcases its Strength at AUSA 2021

At the recently concluded AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC, Rheinmetall showcased some of its most recent activities, achievements and innovative solutions aimed at providing the U.S. Army with critical, next-generation technologies.

Products and personnel from Rheinmetall’s U.S. and global business, including U.S. parent American Rheinmetall Defense, were present to engage customers and partners. Some of the products highlighted included:

HX3 Tactical Truck

The next-generation HX3 tactical truck stands out due to its improved crew protection, increased mobility, enhanced driving comfort and digital interface architecture. This results in greater operational flexibility, safety, survivability, and operator enhancements, as well as providing substantial capacity for future performance upgrades.

The HX3 builds upon the core strengths and family concept of the Rheinmetall HX2 truck series predecessor. For example, the HX3 delivers an even more advanced mobile platform for carrying complex weapon and radar systems and has the capacity to integrate future developments such as leader-follower, optionally manned and autonomous driving configuration.

Technologies such as Rheinmetall’s Automated Load Handling System are standard in the HX3 series of trucks. HX3 variants planned include 8x8 cargo, load handling system, tanker, tractor, wrecker, and system carrier. In a 10x10 configuration, the HX3 can deliver even greater carrying capacities to include a platform to support a mobile howitzer. Like the HX2, the HX3 series of vehicles carries a high degree of commonality from 4x4 to 10x10 and commerciality to reduce development, lifecycle, and obsolescence costs.

The HX3 displayed on the Rheinmetall booth showcased the 10x10 mobile-howitzer system, equipped with a protected cab and a fully automatic, remote-controlled artillery turret, featuring an L60 cannon currently under development by Rheinmetall.

The U.S. Army is currently exploring a critical truck modernisation programme, the Common Tactical Truck (CTT), for which the HX3 series could be a natural fit.

Lynx OMFV Digital Design Concept

In July, Rheinmetall’s U.S. subsidiary, American Rheinmetall Vehicles and its “Team Lynx” partners – Raytheon Technologies, L3 Harris Technologies, Textron Systems and Allison Transmission – received a contract award based on their concept solution for the digital design phase of the U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) Program.

At this year’s AUSA annual meeting, visitors were witness to a first-hand view of some of the new design concepts shown on a large-scale model. Visitors were also able to dive into elements of the design through an interactive digital experience.

The Lynx OMFV concept uses as its departure point the next-generation Lynx KF41, in production with a NATO partner and undergoing extensive field testing in Australia as part of the Australian Land 400 Phase 3 programme. Team Lynx is offering to the U.S. Army a fully U.S.-specific and next-generation lethal, survivable, and advanced platform from this highly mature baseline. The solution also provides exceptional capacity for growth, recognising the rapid development and proliferation of new advanced technologies.

StrikeShield Active Protection System

During AUSA, Rheinmetall demonstrated its expertise in vehicle survivability with an exhibit of StrikeShield, a next-generation Hardkill Active Protection System (APS) that integrates APS components within a modular armour package. StrikeShield’s hybrid design provides optimal performance while minimising system weight and power consumption. In addition, StrikeShield offers superior protection when engaged by multiple or simultaneous threats, even from very close range. The system emits a very low electronic signature that reduces the risk of detection by adversaries, and its defeat of threats in close proximity to the platform make StrikeShield much safer for dismounts.

Visitors to Rheinmetall’s booth also learnt about the company’s Rapid Obscuring System (ROSY), a 40mm non-lethal grenade launcher currently fielded on both vehicle and naval platforms. ROSY produces an instantaneous smokescreen for effective obscuration across the visual and IR spectrum, and the system’s lightweight modular design is suitable for virtually all ground vehicles.

Airburst Lethality

On display at AUSA, visitors saw the improved MK93 heavy weapons mount – designed and produced by American Rheinmetall Systems – that not only reduces recoil and improves accuracy but also enables the integration of Rheinmetall’s airburst munition and lethality capabilities.

For example, Rheinmetall is making critical contributions to the Army’s 40mm XM1176 and XM1166 airburst munitions to produce lethal effects against personnel in open and defilade positions and defeat unarmoured/lightly armoured vehicles. As part of the 40mm airburst munition programmes, Rheinmetall is leveraging its extensive systems expertise, providing high-performance programmers that increase first-round hit probability.

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