Rheinmetall, Cassidian gain orders

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The New Year has started strong for German defense companies, with orders logged for Asia and the Middle East as well as for Germany itself.

The Rheinmetall Group, which has headquarters in Dusseldorf, reports the receipt of multiple contracts from Malaysia, an unidentified Asian country and Kuwait for fire control radars, electro-optic systems and defense systems training.

The contracts received by Rheinmetall have an aggregate value of almost $377 million.

Meanwhile, the German navy's F125 class frigates are to be equipped with Cassidian's TRS-4D naval radar and the German army will receive thermal imaging units for its Leopard 2 battle tanks from Cassidian Optronics GmbH.

Cassidian Optronics is a subsidiary of Cassidian, which itself is a subsidiary of the EADS group, which has headquarters in the Netherlands.

Rheinmetall said the orders received all relate to air defense systems. Malaysia will be supplied with 12 radars TMX/EO Mk2 fire control radars and six electro-optical systems for six new navy patrol boats, it said. Under the contract, the company will provide spare parts and training and transfer technical expertise to local companies.

Delivery of the systems will begin in 2015 and end five years later.

"The Malaysian navy's new 'Second Generation Patrol Vessels Littoral Combat Ships' play a significant role in safeguarding regional sea lanes, where piracy poses a major threat to commercial shipping," Rheinmetall said. "Fire control technology from Rheinmetall will form a crucial element in the OPV's shipboard technology, controlling the vessel's primary and secondary armament.

"This important order underscores Rheinmetall's increasing importance as a supplier of advanced technology to the world's navies."

Rheinmetall said a second customer in Asia, which it didn't identify, ordered the company's Oerlikon Skyshield, a stationary air defense system to protect air force installations. Six systems will be provided. The first delivery will occur in 2014.

Kuwait's contract with Rheinmetall is for training air defense personnel in the use of Rheinmetall systems already in Kuwait's arsenal, including the 35mm Skyguard system.

The contract is for three years and includes the construction of training centers.

While Rheinmetall's contracts came from international customers, Cassidian's were for the German military. Four F125 frigates being built will be supplied with the company's TRS-4D radar, which uses Active Electronically Scanned Array radar -- based on multiple independent emitters and which delivers unprecedented detection performance.

The first system, which will be land based, is to be delivered to the German navy next month. The first system for the first F125 frigate -- the Baden-Württemberg -- will be delivered in August.

"This new radar guarantees high operational availability on long-term missions and also improves the survivability of navy ships," said Elmar Compans, head of the Sensors and Electronic Warfare unit at Cassidian.

The German army is also on the order books for Cassidian. The company's Optronics subsidiary, under a $9.4 million deal, is delivering its third-generation thermal imaging system, called Attica.

The system will be part of a tank commander's periscope and will enhance the commander's ability to acquire targets.