Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has partnered with Thales UK to support the British armed forces’ Protector Remote Weapon Systems (RWS) program.
Under the agreement, the companies will work on various capabilities for the maturation of the weapon system in the UK military and foreign markets.
The memorandum builds on an existing collaboration signed in 2007.
Kongsberg and Thales have promoted the Protector RWS globally, integrating approximately 1,000 of the weapon systems into the British defense.
“I am delighted to be re-signing this memorandum of agreement that consolidates our existing partnership over 20 years,” Thales UK Managing Director Stephen McCann explained.
“A partnership that has secured a major role within the UK Army’s Boxer Strategic Pipeline and has grown from strength to strength.”
“I look forward to extending the reach and scope of a partnership in the UK and throughout Europe and supporting Kongsberg in the United States of America.”
Expanding Collaboration
According to Kongsberg, the UK Ministry of Defence selected the Protector RWS for its high accuracy, sensor performance, system modularity, and flexibility.
The Protector family includes light machine guns, light cannons, and medium-caliber cannons that can be mounted on land vehicles and stationed platforms.
In the past 20 years, over 20,000 Protector RWS have been delivered to 28 nations.
“PROTECTOR Programmes, projects and capability areas KONGSBERG and Thales UK aspire to collaborate in have steadily grown since we signed the last agreement in 2017,” Kongsberg Executive Vice President of Land Systems Eirik Tord Jensen said.
“Both companies have expressed a high level of ambition to expand our relationship over the coming 5 years.”
Latest Protector Contracts
Kongsberg’s most recent Protector RWS milestone was a $1.5 billion contract to extend its supply to the US Army.
Another achievement was a Mechanized Infantry Vehicle agreement for the British Army’s Protector RS4 variant Boxer armored multirole vehicle.