The German Bundeswehr’s fleet of swap-body trucks is to be equipped with Rheinmetall’s ROSY rapid smoke/obscurant system, consisting of two launchers with two magazines, a quick fastener and a control device. The biggest ROSY order yet, it marks a new milestone in the system’s adoption by NATO armed forces.
The ROSY system is designed to protect military and civilian vehicles from unexpected attacks during reconnaissance missions or when travelling in convoys, as well as during offensive and defensive operations, by producing an instantaneous, extensive, multispectral interruption of the line of sight. It can also generate a smokescreen that provides moving vehicles with prolonged protection.
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition will supply 540 ROSY systems to Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV), the company that manufactures the Bundeswehr’s swap-body trucks.
Installed in both protected and unprotected cabs, the ROSY system will enhance the survivability and sustainment of logistic units.
Unlike the Unprotected Transport Vehicle (UTV), which is also supplied by RMMV, swap-body trucks also operate in forward zones of the area of operations to keep combat and combat support units supplied with ammunition, for example.
However, even when operating deep in the rear, logistic units must be ready to respond to attacks by remnants of enemy forces or special operators, which is why the fast-acting ROSY system makes a valuable contribution to force protection in rear echelon zones.
Rheinmetall is due to deliver 150 ROSY system kits by November 2021, with a further 390 to follow by the end of October 2022. There is also potential for additional deliveries, with the goal being to make sure that the Bundeswehr has enough trucks in 2023 when Germany takes over leadership of the VJTF, NATO’s spearhead rapid reaction force.
