Rheinmetall to equip the Dutch Army’s Fennek armoured reconnaissance vehicle with new aiming device
3 August
2021 – Rheinmetall will be equipping the Dutch military’s Fennek wheeled
armoured reconnaissance vehicle with a new gun carriage-adaptable aiming
device. The new device, the Lafettenadaptierbares Zielgerät 400, or LaZ400 for
short, will replace the vehicle’s existing thermal imaging system,
significantly enhancing the Fennek’s reconnaissance and target engagement
capabilities. An order to this effect for 246 devices has been awarded to
Rheinmetall Electronics through Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the Fennek general
contractor. The order is worth around €36 million, including value added tax.
Due to be delivered through to 2027, the devices will be fabricated at the
Rheinmetall Electronics plant in Ismaning in Bavaria.
The Lafetten¬adaptierbares Zielgerät 400 retrofit forms part of the Dutch
military’s Fennek midlife upgrade programme. The Dutch armed forces will mount
the LaZ400 on the vehicle’s 1530-type gun carriage. The new sensor system will
supersede the thermal imaging device currently in use.
Already used in the Bundeswehr’s FLW200 remotely controlled weapon station, the
LaZ400 is a tried and tested system. Its colour daylight sensor, thermal
imaging sensor and laser rangefinder enable outstanding reconnaissance
performance around the clock as well as precise engagement of targets.
Now official, the current order will bring the number of LaZ family devices now
in use to over 2,700.
The order underscores once again Rheinmetall’s exceptional expertise in the
world of advanced electro-optical sensor technology.
Photo courtesy Rheinmetall