Thales to provide four Glasgow-built PAAG for German Armed Forces
Thales has signed an agreement with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for the delivery of four Glasgow-built Panoramic Above Armour Gimbal (PAAG), to the German Armed Forces to equip the BOXER armoured vehicle, as part of the Joint Fire Support Team (JFST) contract.
Image courtesy Thales
The Stabilised Panoramic Above Armour Gimbal (PAAG), built in Thales premises in Glasgow, UK, is an electronic surveillance system that is remotely controlled from inside the BOXER and gives users a stabilised long-range Detection, Recognition, Identification (DRI) and weapon aiming ability on the move during daylight and night conditions.
The system with thermal imaging device and high-resolution daylight color camera enables targets to be identified in the range of up to four kilometres, depending on their size. In continuous operation, the entire hemisphere around the vehicle can be covered. A laser rangefinder offers measuring distances of up to ten kilometres. It can also be raised above the vehicle roof to allow the monitoring of targets from behind a ridgeline without putting the user in a direct line of sight, which greatly reduces operational risk.
An Automatic Video Tracking (AVT) and Assisted Target Detection (ATD) is also included in the JFST PAAG system. Combined with an artillery command and control system PAAG will contribute significantly to the capability being fielded.
The BOXER Programme, managed by the European armament’s agency OCCAr, provides the German, Netherland, Lithuanian and UK armies, with a new generation of all terrain armoured utility vehicles on the basis of balanced capabilities of transport capacity, mobility, protection, survivability, growth potential and efficient life cycle costs.
The JFST programme in Germany will see the delivery of two prototype JFST-heavy vehicles based on the BOXER 8x8 Armoured Vehicle coupled with a new JFST Mission Module integrating Thales PAAG.
The BOXER is an 8x8 all-terrain heavily armoured utility vehicle with a unique modular concept of a common drive module and an exchangeable mission module, making it a flexible military vehicle, thus ensuring maximum strategic and tactical mobility in a wide range of operational scenarios.
Oliver Dörre, CEO and Country Director Thales in Germany, said: "We are delighted that the German Armed Forces and our long-standing partner Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have chosen the most advanced optronics from Thales for its BOXER JFST. This means that the German Armed Forces are now one of the 50 armies worldwide that rely on our trusted solutions for their vehicle optronic."
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