MBDA and Rheinmetall System Engages Drone Targets

At the end of August, the German Navy fired a shipborne laser weapon for the very first time, test-firing a high-energy laser (HEL) demonstrator against short- and very short-range drone targets.

In November 2021, an integration team from the ARGE consortium (MBDA Deutschland and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition) conducted a successful factory acceptance test of the demonstrator, which was then installed on the Sachsen frigate in Kiel. An initial test campaign began in July, during which the capabilities of various sensors, including the EO suite and radar, were verified and the interplay between components and procedures throughout the operational sequence, from target acquisition to engagement, was put to the test.

Daniel Gruber, naval demonstrator project manager at MBDA Deutschland, and Dr. Markus Jung, in charge of laser weapon development at Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, were on hand to observe the test campaign with the frigate. Looking back on the integration and test phase, they drew a positive conclusion.

The team succeeded in proving the demonstrator’s capabilities in full. “Solid teamwork between the two ARGE partners played a key role in helping us integrate a fully functional, high-performance demonstrator onboard the frigate”, stated Daniel Gruber, Naval Demonstrator Project Manager for MBDA Deutschland. “Close cooperation with the command team of the Sachsen enabled direct communication with the future user. This way, ideas from the Navy could be directly incorporated or implemented during subsequent development.”

Dr. Thomas Baumgärtel, occupying a similar role at Rheinmetall, was also satisfied with the outcome: “The principal components of the demonstrator are truly high-tech. This is the result of long years of research at both the participating companies. Many of the demonstrator’s system components were developed specially for the project and combined in this form for the first time. Moreover, given the extremely short integration phase for a system of this complexity, we’re very proud of the results achieved thus far and of how well the trials went. The impressive performance of the HEL effectors in protecting surface combatants from short- and very-short range threats can be credited to the joint efforts of everyone involved in the project – defence industry experts, government officials, and of course the men and women of the frigate Sachsen.”

These trials have set the basic stage for introducing laser weapon systems and capabilities into the Bundeswehr – capabilities whose relevance is by no means restricted to the Navy. The defence industry is pressing ahead with laser systems that will help to protect troops deployed in harm’s way in multiple applications.

Effector-related tasks in the ARGE consortium are basically evenly divided. MBDA Deutschland is taking care of target detection and target tracking, the operator console and linking the laser weapon demonstrator to the command-and-control system. Rheinmetall is responsible for the slewing system, the beam guidance, the demonstrator container as well as mechanical and electrical integration of the demonstrator onto the deck of the Sachsen, and finally for the high-energy laser source, including peripherals.

Future high-energy laser (HEL) weapon systems for the Navy will be especially useful in defending against drones and drone swarms, as well as for engaging attacking speed boats at close and very close range. But the system can also be designed for greater output, enabling it to destroy guided missiles and mortar rounds. Testing of the weapon will continue until mid-2023. In subsequent test campaigns, new scenarios will challenge the demonstrator’s capabilities. Not least, the results will determine what still needs to be done en route to a fully functional, operational laser weapon.

Original at Monch Publishing Group.