The Rheinmetall armaments group received an order for its so-called “stray ammunition” for the first time. According to Press release the nameless client is a special forces unit from a NATO country. Rheinmetall specifies that the order value is in a “single-digit million euro range”. Delivery is scheduled for 2023.
The NATO customer that he is second hypothesis it’s Hungary, he ordered the HERO-30. This is the smallest version of the HERO family of stray ammo, capable of flying over the target for up to 30 minutes. Launched from a tube using compressed air, it then unfolds its rotating wings in flight. Guided missiles are powered by a low-noise electric motor.
“Strategic partnership” with the Israeli producer
The remote-controlled warheads originally came from the Israeli company UVision, with which Rheinmetall entered into a “strategic partnership” in October 2021. The Italian subsidiary Rheinmetall RWM Italia SpA now produces the systems. Rheinmetall also offers to equip its new drone tanks with the weapon.
Rheinmetall And UVision lists six different HERO models on their website. The HERO-30 and HERO-90 versions are lightweight and can be carried by soldiers. Only from the HERO-120 is the weapon considered armor-piercing. Each single system includes one or more heads, a radio system and a control module. All models are equipped with high resolution electro-optical sensors and infrared cameras.
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Kamikazzati drones from both sides in the war in Ukraine
Stray ammunition is currently spreading rapidly around the world. The army has the advantage of being able to scout, track and attack a target at the same time. Also, compared to other flying platforms used for surveillance and combat, stray ammunition is very cheap.
Two years ago, in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the Azerbaijani army used both combat drones and kamikaze drones from Israel. Both sides also use such weapons in the war in Ukraine. Ukraine flies Switchblades from the US and Warmates from Poland. With the Zala Kyb, Russia uses its own brand and the Russian army has now integrated the rather small weapon with the very powerful Shahed-136 from Iran.
Both Rheinmetall and UVision are remarkably proud of a NATO customer order. The scope of the supply also includes a simulator, training and logistics courses and services. The order was placed with nondisclosure clauses, according to Rheinmetall’s press release. However, it is known that “the client carried out a market study before the contract was awarded”. According to this, the US Navy, by the way, is already using HERO ammunition.
“Potential threats to the Bundeswehr”
The German Ministry of Defense sees the global spread of ammunition loitering “a worrying development, regardless of the degree of automation of the systems”. In the Answer a small request the ministry emphasizes in particular the “potential threat to the Bundeswehr” and its allies.
However, the federal government may soon participate in the new arms race. He also currently heads the purchasing department of the Bundeswehr one market survey through. The contractor is the Bavarian arms service provider AMDC GmbH. The company will then design a “research and technology roadmap for stray ammunition.” Probably a contract could then be made for the army.
If the Bundeswehr had also opted for Rheinmetall’s kamikaze drones, the German military would still be in possession of the weapon that had been coveted for long after a decade. As early as the 1920s, Rheinmetall had developed a stray ammunition system at the request of the Bundeswehr.
Original plans canceled
This WABEP (effective means of fighting single and punctual targets from a distance) would have consisted of two different drones: the Rheinmetall KZO was to take over military reconnaissance and mark targets. These would then be destroyed with a HAROP from the Israeli arms company IAI.
On behalf of the Bundeswehr, Rheinmetall has already carried out “practical tests and flight tests”, including escorting convoys, “extinguishing” enemy installations and attacks on moving vehicles. According to the Ministry of Defense The fight against “objectives of particular importance” was also tested. However, given the state of the art at the time, such an attack could not have been stopped.
To the Plan of the Bundeswehr 2009 according to the Ministry of Defense it wanted to procure two WABEP systems, each with 42 drones plus ground stations, operational readiness was expected from 2013. In the end, however, the federal government decided not to do so. The ministry cites the “financial planning framework” as the reason. The eventual procurement of WABEP could only have taken place starting from 2019, but then it would have been “technically obsolete” according to the assessment of the time.
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