Rheinmetall will equip the Dutch military’s Fennek wheeled Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles (ARV) with a new gun carriage-adaptable aiming device.
The new device is known as the Lafettenadaptierbares Zielgerät 400 (LaZ400) and is designed to replace the ARV’s existing thermal imaging system, enhancing the Fennek’s reconnaissance and target engagement capabilities.
Awarded to Rheinmetall through Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the Fennek general contractor, the order is for 246 devices and is valued at €36m.
The LaZ400 retrofit is part of the Dutch military’s Fennek midlife upgrade program which will see the Dutch Armed Forces mount the LaZ400 on Fennek’s 1530-type gun carriage. This 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’s colour daylight sensor, thermal imaging sensor and laser rangefinder enable a high level reconnaissance performance as well as precise engagement of targets.
Due to be delivered through to 2027, the devices will be fabricated at the Rheinmetall Electronics plant in Ismaning in Bavaria. This order will bring the number of LaZ family devices now in use to over 2,700.
