Germany selects Rheinmetall to upgrade future soldier systems
The IdZ-ES suite networks dismounted troops with a Puma IFV 'mothership'. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
Rheinmetall has received a contract to provide enhanced networking capabilities to equip 14 platoons of German Army infantry.
The German Armed Forces has contracted Rheinmetall to modernise command and control elements of its soldier systems. A total of 14 platoon-level Future Soldier-Extended Systems (IdZ-ES) will be delivered, covering equipment for 476 individual troops.
According to Rheinmetall, the contract value is in ‘the mid-double-digit million-euro range’. The order was placed in December, when the budgetary committee of the German Parliament approved funding from the country’s €100 billion special defence procurement fund.
The VJTF 2023 version of IdZ-ES, for use by German troops assigned to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, links dismounted soldiers to the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, which serves as a ‘mother ship’.
The system represents a ‘significant step’ in the process of digitalisation for the German Army. According to Rheinmetall, the technology enables mounted and dismounted personnel to access the same information, and allows dissemination of data more precisely, quickly and robustly.
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