Rheinmetall AG,
Rheinmetall Defence has completed its modernization of the German Army’s GÜZ Combat Training Centre at the Altmark Training Area (ATA), officially transferring the new technology to the Federal Agency for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB). This brings to a successful conclusion a project which Rheinmetall Defence won in a competitive bidding process in 2006.
A special challenge in implementing the upgrade was the customer’s insistence that training operations continue unimpeded during the modernization phase. It was only during the slack summer period and at the end of the year that the existing system technology could be switched off in order to carry out the necessary upgrades. Afterwards, the new technology packages were individually launched and successfully checked for interoperability with the Centre’s other subsystems and segments.
Specifically, Rheinmetall Defence upgraded the data and the audio/video unit in the command and control centre, the observer/trainers’ voice communications (TETRA), the GÜZ wireless data link (TETRA) and the data link to the German Army’s tactical voice communications network. In addition, the ATA’s communications network was brought up to date, as was the technical equipment in the communications centre and the observer/trainer’s field terminal.
“We stayed on schedule without interrupting operations”, declares Rheinmetall project manager Joachim Eisenhauer, praising “a fine performance by the entire team”.
The GÜZ Combat Training Centre, located in the Altmark distract near the former inner-German border, was already setting global standards for simulated live training operations; revamped, it is now ready to expand its lead still further. The Centre’s computer-supported training operations are noted for their outstanding realism, excellent results and cost-effectiveness. The Centre does a world-class job of preparing soldiers for real-world operations – a fundamental element of Force Protection.
The GÜZ is the German Army’s central training facility. Here, troops undergo additional training to ready them for international peacekeeping missions as well as NATO Response Force certification, with highly realistic scenarios aided by cutting edge simulation technology.
Furthermore, the Combat Training Centre enables frontline units to engage in combined operations with support elements under conditions that come very close to reality. In the Bundeswehr’s ongoing process of Force Transformation, GÜZ also serves as a “CD&E” test bed for networked-enabled operations.
