Rheinmetall's MASS Decoy Countermeasures System Racks Up New Successes
17 September 2004
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, a subsidiary of the Rheinmetall DeTec Group, has just been awarded two more important contracts for MASS, its highly effective naval countermeasures system.
Following in the wake of the navies of Norway, Finland and Germany, this April the Royal Swedish Navy likewise opted for the decoy system from Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH (RWM), one of Europe's leading defence contractors. Awarded by Sweden's Försvarets Materielverk procurement agency, the order – encompassing eleven systems – is worth some €8 million.
Five of the Royal Swedish Navy's new Visby-class corvettes, as well as four other corvettes, will be equipped with MASS, which stands for "Multi Ammunition Softkill System". Classed among the world's most advanced and effective naval vessels, Visby corvettes are invisible to radar thanks to their stealth technology.
Not to outdone, the navy of the United Arab Emirates has just placed an order to have four Baynunah-class multipurpose missile corvettes equipped with MASS. Awarded by the ADSB shipyards, the contract is worth some €4.5 million. Delivery of the first of these ships is planned for 2008.
MASS is an entirely new system, providing ships with effective protection against incoming missiles in inshore waters and on the high seas alike. It operates by firing sequential volleys of decoys, which divert the enemy missile from its intended target, eventually causing it to fly harmlessly off into empty space. Thanks to its new programmable omni-spectral decoys, effective protection in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (UV, EO, laser, infrared, radar) is assured.
The Protection systems/ Pyrotechnics segment of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH possesses unsurpassed expertise in developing and fabricating agents and systems for protecting military and civil targets, a domain in which it enjoys a commanding technological lead worldwide.
