First Firing Campaign with Advanced Amoun Batteries from Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall AG, Some weeks ago the very first firing campaign with four advanced Amoun batteries from Rheinmetall Italy – including two of the systems delivered to the Kuwaiti armed forces a short time ago – was conducted in the middle of the desert about 100 km to the west of Kuwait City. The official handover of these systems had been celebrated in the presence of high-ranking visitors. 
 
Five Aspide missiles were launched from SAM missile launchers during the tests; the test team also fired 35 mm anti-aircraft guns six times. The test results were excellent and to the full satisfaction of all involved. The systems employed for the first test campaign consisted of two Amoun batteries, each with a Skyguard Fire Control Unit (FCU), two 35 mm anti-aircraft guns and two SAM missile launchers. 
 
The delivery agreement for the two Amoun systems that served as a partial replacement for the five batteries that had disappeared during the Iraqi invasion had been concluded in 2002 and officially finalized a few months ago. 
 
Claudio Koporossy, sales director at Rheinmetall Italy in Rome on the successful test campaign: “The firing tests were organized in four sessions; the first three were basically training and exercising and the last day was the VIP event attended by numerous high-ranking visitors, including the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and his deputy, all forces commanders and many generals.” 
 
The third missile launch was particularly notable according to Koporossy: “A so-called friendly target was simulated. The Aspide missile has a self-destruction mechanism which can be triggered from the Skyguard system – something that was done in this test. This allowed us to demonstrate an important function of the system that permits missile destruction in flight if – at the last minute – a target is identified as friendly.” 
 
Thanks to the outstanding results of the test campaign in Kuwait, sales manager Koporossy rates the chances of further system deliveries to Kuwait – to substitute the three Amoun batteries that went missing in 1990/1991 and have not yet been replaced – as good.