The German Air Force has adopted the first battery of a 35-mm short-range anti-aircraft artillery complex MANTIS (Modular, Automatic and Network-capable Targeting and Interception System) manufactured by Rheinmetall Defense. The official ceremony took place on November 26, 2012 at the German military base Husum - the home base of the First anti-aircraft battery in the First anti-aircraft missile battalion “Schleswig-Holstein” of the Luftwaffe. The battery consists of six ground artillery installations, two fire control stations and a command post.
MANTIS is designed to protect military installations and strategic civilian infrastructure from low-flying air threats, including manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. Short-range NBS MANTIS is capable of detecting, tracking and shooting down projectiles at close range from the protected object. The German army will be the first army in the world to have such a means of defense against air threats. In the future, MANTIS will also become an important component of the future SysFla integrated air defense system of the Bundeswehr. MANTIS complexes are fully integrated with the control systems in service with Germany.
Bodo Garbe, member of the executive board of Rheinmetall Defense, symbolically handed the system over to the Bundeswehr in front of the assembled troops and dignitaries. Garbe commented on the event: “Thanks to MANTIS, the German Air Force currently has the most advanced short-range air defense system at its disposal. It is a very effective system capable of dealing with a wide range of threats in future combat scenarios. In addition, its open architecture design makes investments in Rheinmetall is proud of the contribution that MANTIS will make to protect our men and women in uniform during their combat deployment."
The Bundeswehr did not have a weapon system for intercepting small attacking ammunition. German military bases in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz have been repeatedly attacked by insurgents. In March 2007, the Bundeswehr approached Rheinmetall Air Defense (the former Swiss company Oerlikon Contraves Defense, acquired by Rheinmetall in 2000) with a request to develop an NBS C-RAM short-range air defense system. The development contract was worth 48 million euros.
Nächstbereichschutzsystem (NBS) MANTIS (don't try to say it out loud) is a short-range air defense system specially designed to protect the forward bases of the German army located in Afghanistan. Formerly known as NBS C-RAM (against missiles, artillery and mortar shells), the 35mm, fully automated air defense system was developed by Rheinmetall Air Defense (Rheinmetall) over a period of 12 months on behalf of the German Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (German Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement) and was successfully tested in conditions as close as possible to combat in Turkey in the summer of 2008. According to the initial plan, the system was to enter service in 2010 and was to be deployed in Afghanistan in 2011. Germany planned to use the second system for personnel training and further modernization.
The NBS MANTIS missile defense system is equipped with 35 mm automatic cannons, two sensor units and a central ground command station. The sensor system consists of a radar, effectors and optoelectronic sensors installed along the protected perimeter of the base. The MANTIS system is fully automated and operates around the clock without interruption (24/7).
The system's radar is capable of detecting attacking ammunition from a distance of three kilometers. The system automatically and instantly opens fire on the target, hitting it at the calculated point of the flight path. The NBS MANTIS system is based on the Rheinmetall Skyshield anti-aircraft gun. The easily transportable Skyshield is a modular, short-range, ground-based air defense system (SHORAD). It incorporates automated and flexible functions. The rate of fire of the system is about 1000 rounds per minute. The gun is programmed to fire in accordance with a specific task. It uses air burst advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) ammunition developed by Rheinmetall Weapons and Munitions (formerly Oerlikon Contraves Pyrotec). Each projectile contains 152 tungsten projectiles weighing 3.3 grams each. The AHEAD rapid-fire 35mm revolving cannon with air blast ammunition can be integrated into several air defense systems, including the Skyshield. These cannons have been successfully used by NATO forces since 1996, in particular, in the Skyranger ZSU and the ship's ZAK Millennium MDG-3. The MANTIS cannon fires a burst of 24 rounds.
The shells are programmed through an electromagnetic inductor located on the barrel. Tungsten projectiles weighing 3.3. grams each form a cone-shaped cloud on the trajectory of the attacking target. The response time of the system from target detection to firing is 4.5 seconds. Depending on the requirements, the system can have up to eight ground artillery installations. The two systems can work together complementing each other. Switching from one target to another takes about 3-4 seconds. The MANTIS control system is also capable of tracking the location of the source of fire and the estimated place of impact of the attacking ammunition.
MANTIS has a modular design, which makes it possible to upgrade and expand the system in the future. According to Rheinmetall, in addition to its current 35mm cannon, the system will in the future be equipped with additional weapons such as anti-aircraft missiles or high-energy lasers. MANTIS with a laser strike system was demonstrated last year. According to Oschner, two high-precision telescopes will be used in the laser system.
The cost of the MANTIS system was approximately € 150 million ($ 194.4 million). In May 2009, the German government placed an order for two NBS systems for the Bundeswehr from Rheinmetall. The contract value was € 110.8 million. Rheinmetall also received € 20 million in options for documentation preparation, further training and staff maintenance. The company will also supply ammunition for this system, worth about € 13.4 million.
Speaking at a briefing in Dresden on July 19, Fabian Ochsner, Vice President of Rheinmetall Air Defense, said: “This has now been officially agreed with the German Air Force. The system will remain in Germany, it will not be deployed in Afghanistan. that we missed our chance. Although the system will not be deployed in Afghanistan, Oshner said that the air force needs two more such systems. The reason for the refusal to send the complex to Afghanistan, apparently, was the upcoming withdrawal of the German contingent from there, scheduled for 2014.
