Rheinmetall Wins $128 Million Contract For Advanced Infantry And Screening Smoke Munitions

Rheinmetall's subsidiary, American Rheinmetall Munitions (ARM) will supply M1110 40 x 46mm day/night training cartridges and 66mm vehicle-launched screening smoke grenades to the US Armed Forces.

Under a contract worth a total of $127.8 million, 40mm ammunition will be produced at the ARM plant in Camden, Arkansas, with the first deliveries scheduled to take place in 2015.

The M1110 is a 40 x 46mm low-velocity (LV) cartridge designed to enable infantry forces to conduct live fire training at night. The projectile of the M1110 contains two distinct marking agents which together are able to mark the impact point of the fired projectile with a signature that is visible at day and at night, either with the naked eye or night vision devices, eliminating the need for high explosive rounds in order to observe the impact point.

The Rheinmetall 66mm vehicle-launched grenade produces a visible and infrared smokescreen that protects combat vehicles from observation and subsequent targeting by laser illuminators, targeting devices and rangefinders. It uses a proprietary composition of red phosphorus (RP) to provide effective and long-lasting screening effects in both the visual and infrared bands; and to render sensor-guided weapons – particularly anti-tank guided missiles –less effective.

Two framework contracts were placed for the 66mm smoke grenade. For the first award, the US Marine Corps will be ordering additional quantities of the MK 1 MOD 0 version of the 66mm grenade, which is already qualified and in-service with the marines. The second contract was awarded by the Department of the Navy, and will encompass work on a new version of the MK 1 66mm grenade specifically designed to be deployed and function over water, in order to screen small boats operating in ‘brown water’ and littoral environments.