Defense Giants Rheinmetall and Cassidian pursue UAS activities together

Rheinmetall and Cassidian have agreed to pursue Rheinmetall’s Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) activities in a joint venture. The announcement made by the duo in Munich and Düsseldorf came on Friday. The contract states that Cassidian will be awarded 51% for the venture’s share while Rheinmetall takes 49% on the two company’s cooperation on tactical UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems), medium-altitude UAS and cargo loading systems. Incorporating into Rheinmetall’s sector is ideal for Cassidian to supplement its existing UAS portfolio. Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH, a Bremen-based subsidiary of Rheinmetall, through this venture expects to improve its development of Airborne Systems product unit and secure sustainable long-term prospects for it. The Joint Venture based in Bremen, counts 160 employees, will be involved in manufacturing of the unmanned reconnaissance system KZO (Kleinfluggerät Zielortung), an advanced UAS that renders its services to the German Armed Forces. Work on the Heron UAS in the SAATEG (system for imagery reconnaissance deep in the area of operations) programme. Stefan Zoller, CEO of Cassidian, said to the agreed creation of the Joint Venture, “As Europe’s leading provider of Unmanned Aerial Systems, we see this as a logical step towards expanding our present UAS programmes.” Klaus Eberhardt, Chairman of the Executive Board of Rheinmetall AG, added, “First and foremost, our goal is to strengthen the Airborne Systems product unit in a sustained way, providing it with new opportunities for marketing its state-of-the-art products in years to come.”