Bundeswehr to get new Air Defence System
14 June 2001
Germany's Bundeswehr will soon be taking delivery of an advanced air defence system. On 27 June the first platoon of its new "LeFlaSys" air defence system will be handed over at the Feldwebel Schmid barracks in Rendsburg, home of the German Army Air Defence School.
The lead contractor, Rheinmetall subsidiary STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH of Bremen, is manufacturing the system in co-operation with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG of Munich. As the supplier of the Wiesel 2 platform vehicle, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH of Kiel is also heavily involved in the project.
Delivery of the systems will be completed in 2003. Other NATO countries are planning to procure similar air defence systems, or have already decided to do so.
The LeFlaSys consists of an Air Defence Command Wiesel (FlaF?Wiesel), a Reconnaissance, Command and Fire Control Wiesel (AFFWiesel), an OZELOT Antiaircraft Missile Platform (FlaRakWaTrg), a lightweight Air Defence Interface Vehicle (leFAST), repair and maintenance equipment, as well as the accompanying training equipment.
The system is deployed in three light antiaircraft batteries and integrated in the German Army's HFlaAF?Sys Air Defence, Reconnaissance and Combat Management System.
The prime mission of the LeFlaSys/ASRAD is to protect combat and combat support troops and vital military assets from the threat posed by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
The platform vehicle for the weapons platform, AFF and BF/UF versions is the Wiesel 2, the successor of the Wiesel 1, independently financed, developed and manufactured by Rheinmetall Landsysteme. As part of the procurement programme, Rheinmetall Landsysteme will be supplying 67 Wiesel 2 platform vehicles (50 chassis for the weapons platforms, 10 AFF platform vehicles and 7 chassis for the BF/UF version, including two chassis for the field trial models).
The core element of the LeFlaSys is the ASRAD weapons platform. It consists of a pedestal with azimuth and elevation drives, a combined sensor unit with system electronics, including the missile-interface electronics and a multipurpose launcher. Thanks to a high degree of modularity, ASRAD can be readily adapted to a wide variety of wheeled and tracked tactical vehicles.
Designed as an air defence system for SHORAD guided missiles, it can also be used with the STINGER (Basic, Post, RMP and Block 1 versions), IGLA (SA 16) or the MISTRAL. It is also possible to equip it with so-called "laser beam riders" like the RBS 70 and Starburst.
[This message has been edited by Said (edited 19-06-2001).]
