DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 15 (UPI) -- Germany's Rheinmetall-Defense is providing the Bundeswehr with mine/IED detection technology for deployment in Afghanistan.
The two contracts, issued by the Federal Agency for Defense Technology and Procurement, were issued in response to an immediate operational requirement of the Germy military and are worth a combined total of about $34.6 million.
Under one order, Rheinmetall will modernize four Buffalo armored recovery vehicles to provide their crews with effective protection against ballistic threats, landmines and improvised explosive devices.
At the same time it will provide a pioneering high-tech system for reliably detecting mines and booby traps buried in the soil.
Rheinmetall said by the end of 2011 it also will supply the Bundeswehr with seven systems as part of the German Route Clearing Package. A complete system consists of four vehicles, including one for detection and one for clearing explosive devices, as well as a command vehicle and transport vehicle.
The route clearance package features a newly developed built-in dual sensor with ground penetration radar and a metal detector.
