Is it German or Swiss, mate? (Defence Industry Report).

Neutral as they might be, and still somewhat Euro-sceptical, Switzerland is also falling victim to the worldwide rationalisation tide. Except for a very few companies, its defence industry is gradually sliding into the Eurozone. That segment of the industry is essentially located in the largest northern Swiss-German speaking area of the nation, which largely explains why the alliances tend to be Germanic.

The first tidal wave swept up that huge Swiss icon that Oerlikon once was. Seemingly as deeply anchored into the Swiss landscape as the Matterhorn, Oerlikon Contraves was nevertheless taken over by Rheinmetall a couple of years ago, causing a shock amongst the Swiss population. Certainly, like all defence companies around the world, the company suffered from the dramatic downsizing of military requirements, at home in particular, but also the company had arguably made the mistake of moving into the missile business at the wrong moment, with the Adats.

Over-taking companies generally tend to suffer from an ego syndrome and are quick to tear down the brand name of recent acquisitions from the entrance gate and replace it with their own--more often than not with dire consequences. At least Rheinmetall had the sense to preserve a recognised brand name. This may be explained by the fact that Oerlikon Contraves markets some truly unique products. Currently, the company's activities essentially focus on upgrading some of the thousands of air defence gun systems sold around the world and marketing a new autonomous air defence system, the core of which is a high rate-of-fire revolver canon. Calibre remains at 35 mm, but here too, the word `unique' manifests itself, in a perfectly justified manner, Oerlikon Contraves having developed a phenomenally effective munition designated Ahead. Programmed as it leaves the muzzle, this round and its system can perfectly well be incorporated into virtually any of the upgrade kits offered by the company.

This introduction naturally leads us to Rheinmetall DeTec in Germany, a company that has had to resize and diversify its activities in recent years. The largest weapons currently manufactured by Rheinmetall DeTec are tank and artillery guns. Perhaps not very widespread, but certainly testifying the company's command of technology, is the fact that the original design of the US Army's Abrams M256 gun originated from Rheinmetall's workshops. Heavy tanks may not be the ideal business to be in today if this is one's sole source of income. However, with upgrading being all the rage, Rheinmetall DeTec is currently busy producing a new, 155-calibre barrel for whomever might be willing to provide their early-model Leopard 2s with modern performance (although it is being produced for new builds).

Still in the armoured fighting vehicle weapons context, mention also has to be made of DeTec's new developments in 105 mm guns for light armoured vehicles. The 51-calibre SB Rh 105 105-30, by virtue of high grade steel properties and chrome-plated barrel, sees its gas pressure hovering over the 600 Mpa mark. A muzzle brake and hydraulic brake minimize recoil impulse to bearable levels, but when used in conjunction with the new 1700 meter-per-second muzzle speed KE 105 round, the gun is said to offer about the same performance as a conventional 120 mm tank gun.

We will not be able to cover the entire scope of Rheinmetall DeTec's activities here, or this issue would have to be as thick as a telephone book. The company, for example, is involved in the Eurospike programme with its own subsidiary STN Atlas, as well as Diehl and Rafael, with the aim of transferring the latter's Spike anti-armour missile to Europe. On the vehicle front, Rheinmetall is also developing a three-man undercover 120 mm howitzer based on the Wiesel 2 tracked vehicle as well as its related munition. Upscale, of course, is the monumental PzH2000 howitzer built by KMW, but for which Rheinmetall has the responsibility of the weapon system and its ammunition.

While on the subject of the PzH2000, the German Army has placed an order for a total of 185 to equip seven battalions. Deliveries started in July 1998 and about 125 have been delivered. As the German Army Artillery School recently visited by Armada proved, the 60-round magazine replenishment is effected in under twelve minutes. The gun is able to stop in position and, 30 seconds later, fire ten rounds in less than one minute; allow another 30 seconds to pack up and it is on its way again. The PzH2000 is also capable of multiple round simultaneous impacts with five rounds.

The artillery school also demonstrated its `short-tube training system' which uses an off-the-shelf PzH2000, but on which the standard tube is replaced with a system receiving dummies. All external control and monitoring systems are plug-in devices and crews are thus able to train `on the real thing'--and this includes failures and all safety aspects. Any PZH2000 can be thus converted in 3.5 hours.

The PzH2000 is really a large machine which requires considerable means for deployment, "we [the Bundeswehr] are now considering lighter air transportable solutions", said the school Commander when asked about peacekeeping operations, "because the PzH2000 is slightly too big for the job". In spite of this handicap in today's cash-strapped militaries, the German howitzer has chalked up a few export successes, notably in Greece as seen above, but also in Italy who will build them under license, as well as in the Netherlands and Sweden.

STN Atlas was mentioned earlier. This has become Rheinmetall's electronics house and is thus much involved in simulators and battlefield management systems, but is probably better known as a reputed worldwide supplier of ship and submarine command and navigation suites.

Talk of the PzH2000 and its manufacturer naturally leads to the other `piece de resistance': the Leopard 2. We won't expand on the history of this well-known main battle tank, but rather on the latest developments--the A6 EX. First of all, this new iteration of the Leo 2 is fitted with the latest L55 barrel designed by Rheinmetall W & M in Unterluss, and while it remains fully Nato compatible, will be able to fire the new improved kinetic energy ammunition devised by the same supplier. The round is known as the LKE 2 or LKE II in the manufacturer's nomenclature, but also as the DM53 in the Bundeswehr. The penetrator, it must be emphasised here, does not use depleted uranium. The tank is also fitted with an auxiliary power unit and air conditioning and can be equipped with additional protection against land mines.

The German Army is to receive 225 Leopard 2 A6s, while the existing 350 might eventually be called in for upgrade. How far beyond the gun the upgrade will go is not known. The Dutch Army, in the meantime, has signed a contract with Rheinmetall for the retrofitting of the L55 onto its 180 Leo 2s.

Tanks need to be hauled around if long distance deployments are required and, in Germany, this is very much a three-spoked-star affair. In fact, automotive giant Mercedes Benz offers a wide range of trucks for the military, many models of which have been exported to the four corners of the world. Starting from the top of the range is the Actros series which includes a 6 x 6 tractor able to tow a tank trailer, a heavy 8 x 8 multiple purpose truck as well as 6 x 6 and 4 x 4 tarpaulin-covered flat-bed transports. The range drops down to the Unimog series and the ubiquitous G-Wagon `jeep', but the latest addition to the range is the forward-engined 4 x 4 S2000 six-tonne payload utility vehicle.

Diehl, also known for the heavy-duty armoured vehicle tracks it manufactures and exports throughout the world, is deep into weapon technology and development. Together with Rheinmetall it has formed the Giws Company to develop the Smart 155 mm submunition. The company can actually pride itself with the fact that this is the first such so-called smart submunition to have entered service with a howitzer unit. The Smart--in fact two of them--is carried in a DM702 artillery shell and released above an armour formation. It then deploys a parachute under which it spins in a slightly canted position. This enables its two sensors--infrared and millimetric wave--to scan a spiral pattern above the ground as it descends. As soon as it picks a target it triggers its explosively formed penetrator warhead to attack armour from the roof.

Looking overseas, Diehl has recently entered a partnership with Denel in South Africa for the marketing of a trajectory correction fuze that can be retrofitted to many existing artillery rounds. Based on a conventional multifunction fuze casing, the trajectory correction fuze embodies a GPS receiver that will deploy a cloth-covered wire mesh collar to brake the course of the round until it matches the correct flight pattern required to reach the desired targeting point.

Turning back to Switzerland, it is somehow bemusing to see the extent to which such a small nation has succeeded in developing a worldwide industry. Oerlikon Contraves was mentioned at the beginning of this article, but others like Mowag, Pilatus and--no laughing--Victorinox, with its icon Swiss army knife, have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, tremendous success abroad. Curtiss-Wright on the other hand may sound awfully non-Swiss but actually is located in the northeast corner of the country at the Rhinefall, and has specialised in the manufacture of armoured vehicle suspensions and electronically controlled drives for turrets. Bucher-Guyer on the other hand, is a relative newcomer in the defence field and may not yet have the universal reputation of some of its automotive industrial counterparts. Nevertheless, the Duro transport it has developed is now in service with the Swiss Army and, while the British Army has ordered some 82 as Cormorant platforms, this vehicle is also attracting considerable interest in Southeast Asia where it may be produced under license. The unique rigid-chassis and De Dion suspended Duro can be had in 4 x 4 or 6 x 6 guises. An armoured version was developed in cooperation with O'Gara Hess & Eisenhardt's subsidiary in France, while the very latest up-rated 8.5-tonne model unveiled at Eurosatory powered by a 5.9 Euro III emission-compliant Cummins diesel should broaden the Duro's potential market worldwide.

Mowag has managed the extraordinary feat of remaining a one-man owned company until recently, and the only reason behind its acquisition by General Motors was a lack of interest from potential heirs. The Piranhas have long been produced under licence by General Motors but also by GKN (which later came under the Alvis fold). Nevertheless, the company continues to operate under its original name and to develop its family of armoured vehicles, the latest member of which is the Piranha IV. This is a much larger vehicle than its predecessors--and for that reason is not intended to replace them, but rather complement them. It is very much the first embodiment of what is perceived as the alternative to heavy tracked armour worldwide. The prototype is pretty much to production standards level and includes facilities for full-spec battlefield management systems together with vehicle management electronics. In terms of development the Piranha IV is thus well ahead of its competitors, almost ready for production and ready to pounce on certain politically entangled programmes attempting to achieve similar objectives. In the meantime, Piranha IIs and more particularly IIIs in many forms (including command post 8 x 8s) continue to sell like hot cakes. There is even a 10 x 10 capable of carrying a 105 mm turret.

Pilatus is also known throughout the world due to its highly successful PC-7s and PC-9s. Variations on the theme are even being produced as Raytheon's Texan II (initially Beechcraft) in the United States and even South Africa. The PC-6 Turboporter, on the other hand, is still a favourite among parachutists. Upscale is the PC-12, which, apart from being aimed at the fast business traveller market, has demonstrated its suitability as a platform for airborne observation carrying underbelly sensors.

The latest bird in the Pilatus nest, however, is the PC-21, which made its public debut at Farnborough. We shall not dwell too much on this aircraft here since it is the subject of a separate article in this issue. However, and deceptively, it is an entirely new design from the ground up and is revolutionary not so much in the technologies used but rather more in the very ambitious scope it intends to reach. It can provide the full feel and behaviour of the fighter aircraft the student will next sit in. For the more aerobatically-inclined aficionado, the PC-9 and PC-7 remain available on the production line.

Ruag Holding, on the other hand, is a new name, but its roots are deep and historical. The group is now the common umbrella for former SF, SW, SM and SE, themselves being offshoots of the Swiss Armed Forces arsenals and suppliers. With the dramatic downsizing of their sole customer (or almost) following the demise of the Soviet regime, those companies underwent a complete restructuring to their present status as Ruag Aerospace, Ruag Land Systems, Ruag Munition and Ruag Electronics. As a matter of fact, Ruag is a typical example of a company whose products are better known than those who produce them.

Ruag Munition, for example, is at the forefront of warhead technology, developing and producing what are amongst the best warheads available today for anti-armour weapons like the Swedish AT4, the German Panzerfaust III, mortar bombs (see Armada 4/2002, page 41) and even the Spanish Alcotan 100 and the Tow 2 anti-tank missile. Ruag Munition is always looking ahead into newer developments such as thermobaric war-heads and even new applications for the Russian Arena active self-protection for armoured vehicles. Another advanced field in which Ruag Munitions has a strong foothold is isostatic pressing and shrink fit warhead assemblies. Quite apart from packing more punch in a given volume, this technique allows the firm to achieve extremely accurate warhead shaping and thereby design asymmetrical warheads without which downward-firing but forward-moving weapons would not be able to operate efficiently. Indeed the forward motion of the missile would cause the warhead to `drag' over the armoured surface like a blowtorch cutter rather than punch a hole in it. And indeed yes, this is what the Swedish Bill 2 and BTLaw carry. Ruag Munition's latest small calibre products are extremely bad news even for troublemakers equipped with ceramic armour plated vests: at a recent demonstration, the .338 Lap Mag AP showed that it nicely cleared such protections from a range of 600 metres.

Turning to Ruag Land Systems, this is the home of larger barrels for artillery and tanks. Ruag Land Systems has developed a complete upgrade kit for M109 howitzers. The L47 barrel itself is chrome plated to reduce wear (contrary to what one would instinctively believe, wear does not so much occur at the contact point between the rifling and the band but inside the groove due to gas erosion) and range is stretched to 36 kilometres while firing rate is increased by virtue of a semi-automatic loader. Navigation and positioning system, travel lock, night vision for the commander and the driver and fire-protection in both crew and engine compartment complete the modernisation.

Another very interesting development from Ruag Land System is the 120 mm Compact Tank gun--one item that has been regularly and extensively covered by Armada International. Basically, it evolves from the defunct Swiss Army tank project, but has proven an ideal candidate for upgrading older tanks from 105 mm but without adding weight. In conjunction with Jordan's King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (Kaddb--or cadbee) and Raytheon (for the fire control system), a kit has been developed to upgrade M60 tanks with this L50 barrel. The barrel however, is also suitable for lighter 25-tonne class vehicles, and if the reader has seen a CV90 equipped with a unusually large barrel at a defence show or another, this is what it had. To close this Land Systems chapter, mention must also be made of yet another advanced development--the vehicle-based 120 mm Longhorn mortar. Mounted on a heavy truck or armoured vehicle, the 1.5-ton Longhorn will rapidly deliver 120 mm rounds some ten kilometres away at a rate of four in less than 20 seconds. The system comes with complete navigation and laying system.

Ruag Electronics, on the other hand, is very much the place to go for simulation. Its systems span small arms part task trainers, full battlefield training systems and artillery. The M109 Howitzer Crew Trainer, for example, is in service with the Swiss Army, and provides realistic exercises whether a single turret crew or even a complete battery is involved. In a most recent development, Ruag Electronics Codarts combat system was selected by the US Department of Defense for evaluation as part of a foreign comparative test. The programme is aimed at meeting the Marine Corps requirements to integrate current training devices that provide deployable force-on-force training for the Marine Air Ground Task Force.

To wrap up the Ruag chapter, Aerospace essentially is Switzerland's point of reference for military aircraft maintenance (F/A18, F-5, Hawk and Mirage as well as all Pilatus aircraft models and certain helicopters). However, Ruag Aerospace is also responsible for the integration of improvements to other flying objects such as missiles--the Tow, Dragon and Stinger to name but a few. Another specialty is the Stinger tracking and launch simulator which is said to be the only of its type to offer the user the feel of the real thing, including upon firing. The round is a dummy with a range of 150 metres of course, but the target can be a real aircraft.

The name Leica will undoubtedly ring a bell or two. The camera part of this, however, went its own way in 1996, but Leica Geosystems, which has since become Leica Vectronix, continues with its original activities as a manufacturer of optical-based and field survey instruments, something it started to do in 1921 when it was known as Wild Heerbrugg. Today the company's catalogue of products includes gun laying and positioning systems, goniometers, laser rangefinders and observation and target acquisition systems. The latest addition to the range is the Vector 21 7x binocular and laser rangefinder, which was officially launched at Eurosatory 2002, and ordered by the Dutch Army.

Mention was made earlier of Victorinox, a firm that is known the world over for its range of bright red Swiss Army knives. Well, be it as it may, the pocket knife actually issued by the Swiss Army to its officers has never been red, but silver! This being said, Victorinox also produces a wide choice of militarised knives for export as well as a multiple-blade pocket took that is as heavy-duty as it is handy.

Finally, a report that highlights Swiss products could not be concluded without mention of what Switzerland is best known for throughout the world: its watches. Away from the luxury chichi for the jet set, MB-Microtec produces a diehard timekeeper for the man in the field. Waterproof and tough it is, this goes without saying, but its unique feature is its patented Traser cell-illuminated dial that is so bright that it can actually be used to illuminate a map or a notebook should anything else fail to be on hand. Astonishing as it may sound, the tiny, airtight, long-lasting Traser cells have tritium gas enclosed within and need no light source for `charging'. A feature that has to be seen to be believed. At any time.

Just a Note

It was obviously impossible to condense all defence products from Germany and Switzerland into such a tight space, the author limiting himself to the latest developments. Eads, or Eurofighter and Iris-T on the other hand, had to be left out altogether due to their multinational reach. On the other hand, the Swiss defence industry has produced a useful pamphlet showcasing its most significant products which can be obtained by contacting Armada International through the www.armada.ch website.

Exeunt Panther, Enter Igel

The 35-tonne armoured vehicle programme initially known as the Schutzenpanzer-3, then the Panther, has recently gone through a complete overhaul--to the extent that the 50-50 joint venture between KMW and Rheinmetall hitherto called Panther GmbH will have to be renamed. The Panther was to be developed to the tune of 280 million [euro] for an entry into service date around 2008. However, the German Government and the Bundeswehr have now reset the parameters to 198 million [euro] and year 2005. Still aimed at replacing the Marder in the German Forces, the 35-tonne infantry armoured vehicle is now known as the Igel (hedgehog). Reading between the lines of the project, the 400-vehicle programme is also aimed at preserving the German industry know-how; this is a reason why the two companies were forced into a joint venture rather than seeing them tear themselves apart in a cut-throat competition. According to the manufacturers, the joint venture is starting from a clean sheet to reduce development costs and come up with "a new concept [involving] only new components like the chassis, drive system and remote-controlled turret". May as well say the entire vehicle. Another point of concern is the ambitious timeframe since the manufacturers say "the first procurement batch will cover 400 new infantry tanks, with the first being handed over to the government starting from mid-2005" i.e. just over two and a half years from now.