Survivability and force protection
Rapid technological advances mean that the threat of effective and intelligent weapon systems is smarter and deadlier than ever. Rheinmetall has specialized for many years in developing and producing high-quality components and innovative systems for protecting people, vehicles, aircraft, ships and installations and offers a wide range of high-effective active and passive protection solutions coupled with soft-kill systems.
Rheinmetall has been systematically expanding its technological portfolio, partly by acquiring new companies. Ownership of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, Rheinmetall Chempro GmbH, Rheinmetall Ballistic Protection GmbH (former Rheinmetall Verseidag Ballistic Protection GmbH) and ADS Gesellschaft für aktive Schutzsysteme mbH gives the Group ready access to a unique array of sophisticated protection technologies.
Rheinmetall's comprehensive protection concept is based on a multi-level approach. Effectively constituting a vehicle's outermost layer of defence, the "Active Defence System" is an extremely innovative, highly effective solution based on the hard-kill principle that neutralizes ballistic threats before they reach their intended target.
Passive solutions such as add-on armour made of composite or ceramic materials form an indispensable second line of defence. Rheinmetall is pressing ahead with new developments here, too, offering military customers comprehensive protection solutions from a single source, e.g. bullet-resistant driver's cabs for logistics vehicles and trucks. The passive protection comprises ballistic protection, mine protection, IED protection, fighting compartment protection, transparent protection, signature protection, protection from shaped charges, spall-liner, stand-alone armour and add-on armour.
The Group's protection concept also encompasses high-performance soft-kill solutions for ground vehicles as well as fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and ships. For example, Rheinmetall's "Rosy" smoke/obscurant protection system renders ground vehicles invisible in the event of an attack, while its MASS naval decoy countermeasure system now sets the standard worldwide.