Rheinmetall eyes ship-mounted weapons market

Rheinmetall Defence has made a strategic acquisition in its takeover of the stabilised weapon platform activities of Britain’s EM Digital, reinforcing the group’s portfolio of advanced naval systems and equipment. The company has established a new subsidiary to offer a wider range of naval weapons to the market.

The new subsidiary, Rheinmetall Advanced Stabilised Platforms (RASP) of London, has been formed with Rheinmetall holding a 51% stake in the company, with the remainder owned by Seawood Ltd.

According to Rheinmetall, the acquisition reflects its ‘quest for global leadership in innovative high-tech solutions for naval weapon stations’. RASP’s prime focus is the development and production of naval weapon stations and platforms. Rheinmetall is already well established in this field, with its MLG 27 light naval gun and the shipboard version of the Millennium automatic cannon. RASP will now be able to expand its offerings with a wider portfolio of made-to-measure components and complete weapon systems.

RASP offers an extensive range of stabilised modular platforms for small-calibre (5.56mm to 14.5mm as well as 40mm automatic grenade launchers) and medium-calibre weapons (20mm - 40mm) for naval applications; and the open system architecture greatly facilitates integration of weapons and electro-optical sensors. In addition, RASP develops and manufactures a wide variety of electronic components and subsystems such as fibre-optic gyroscopes, which play a vital role in modern maritime operations.