The Austrian defense ministry has awarded German defense company Rheinmetall a six-month test and evaluation contract for its counter-small unmanned aerial systems (C-sUAS) system.
The company shipped the most recent version of its rapidly deployable C-sUAS system to the central European country earlier this month.
The system comes in two shelter units and can be deployed with trucks and trailers. The automatic elevating sensor unit can integrate detection technologies such as a passive emitter locator, ADS-B receiver, and S-band and X-band radar.
The system also features “an integrated, stabilized 360° electro-optical PTZ sensor” that “provides verification and tracking capabilities,” the company stated.
A separate command and control shelter functions as an operator workstation for the system, which is a refinement of the Oerlikon Skymaster C2 system.
The C-sUAS provides sensor data fusion, and “scalability to integrated target cueing devices and effectors for different countermeasures as well as links to higher echelons,” according to Rheinmetall.
The Austrian armed forces plan to trial the system at several locations in the country to familiarize soldiers with the platform and simulate air base protection, integration with other military units, and urban C-sUAS protection.
The armed forces also plan a public demonstration at the Airpower 2022 air show at Hinterstoisser Air Base in Zeltweg.