The Bundeswehr is procuring Rheinmetall's Rapid Obscurant System Land (ROSY_L) for protecting ground vehicles, the first customer to do so. Germany’s Federal Agency for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has contracted with the Düsseldorf-based Group to supply the German military with smoke launchers and installation kits for 500 vehicles and weapon stations. Worth around ˆ8.5 million, the initial order also encompasses 50,000 rounds of associated 40mm multispectral smoke ammunition.

ROSY_L can make a significant contribution to improving force protection in high-risk areas of operation such as Afghanistan. The Bundeswehr plans to use the system primarily for equipping lightweight wheeled and logistical vehicles, thus bridging a special capabilities gap in deployed operations. ROSY_L has been fully qualified by the BAAINBw.

The ROSY_L smoke protection system helps to protect the crew and passengers of military and civilian vehicles from surprise attacks and ambushes e.g. during reconnaissance patrols or while travelling in convoy. Unlike conventional smoke and obscurant systems, ROSY_L produces within one second an instantaneous, large-area, multispectral interruption of the line of sight that shields even moving vehicles with a dynamic, long-lasting smoke screen.

Its multi-mission capability assures 360° protection from multiple attackers (stream and wave attacks). Moreover, thanks to effective screening in the visual and infrared spectrums, including integrated IR jamming and decoying effects, ROSY_L effectively thwarts attacks with all types of TV-, EO-, IR-, IIR-, laser- und SACLOS-guided weapons.

ROSY_L encompasses a basic system with a manual control unit and from one to four ROSY launchers per vehicle. A “one-click” adapter makes mounting the system on vehicles quick and easy, with no need for tools, particularly suitable for “fitted-for” installations.

Furthermore, the system features extreme modularity and can be directly linked to the sensor suite of the carrier vehicle’s computer systems. The ammunition variants can be individually selected and triggered, enabling optimum positioning of smoke screens.

Along with the Bundeswehr, customers from Scandinavia, the Benelux states, Russia and Eastern Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East have all expressed a strong interest in ROSY_L.

Besides ROSY_L, Rheinmetall supplies a number of other variants of its basic smoke/obscurant system.

The 40mm ROSY_N decoy system, for example, was specially developed to provide effective protection for small naval and coast guard units. ROSY_N lends itself in particular to fast attack craft, patrol vessels and rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) as well as landing craft, providing excellent protection from missiles and asymmetric attacks in littoral zones or inland waters. The system couples instantaneous protection with a dynamic operational capability.

In addition, the modular ROSY_Mod for small weapon stations and light vehicles of the kind used by special operations forces, for example, is available. ROSY_Mod can be integrated directly into the vehicle without a launcher, making it undetectable.

Rheinmetall
22.06.2013