Rheinmetall-led Soldier Systems Team Wins European Defence Fund Contract

A Rheinmetall-led consortium has won the first request for proposals for preliminary studies relating to the development of a Generic Open Soldier Systems Reference Architecture (GOSSRA).

Under the GOSSRA project, studies will be conducted into developing an open reference architecture as the basis of EU-wide standardized soldier systems.

Financed by the EU’s European Defence Union, European Commission has put the Düsseldorf-based tech group in charge of a consortium consisting of partners from nine different EU member states to take forward the GOSSRA project.

This includes electronics, voice and data communication, software solutions, man-machine interfaces, sensors and effectors. As the maker of the German Bundeswehr’s IdZ-ES soldier system, the Canadian military’s Argus system and the recently unveiled Gladius 2.0, Rheinmetall possesses cutting edge expertise in this domain.

The project is an important step in improving interoperability during joint operations conducted by forces from multiple EU member nations.

Besides Rheinmetall the consortium consists of Indra and GMV Aerospace and Defence of Spain, Leonardo SpA and Larimart of Italy, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Poland’s iTTi Sp. Z.o.o., the Portuguese company Tekever ASDS Lda. and SAAB AB of Sweden.

“We are very pleased that our proposal has met with success in this early phase of the formation of the European Defence Union. It gives added momentum to our strategy of expanding the Group’s EU-themed activities in Brussels in pursuit of further European Union projects aimed at strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy with regard to security and defence policy”, declares Dr Thomas Weise, who heads the Rheinmetall Group’s recently opened Representative Office for EU and NATO Affairs in Brussels.