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An international customer has contracted with Rheinmetall to supply it with state-of-the-art tank ammunition. The order is worth around €39 million. The DM63A1 kinetic energy rounds will be delivered in two lots from 2016 to 2018.
Based on tungsten technology, the DM63A1 is the most advanced kinetic energy round for 120mm smoothbore tank guns on the market today. Containing no explosives, the projectile’s effectiveness relies entirely on the kinetic energy of the Rheinmetall advanced heavy tungsten penetrator technology. Manufacture of the penetrators and final assembly will take place at Rheinmetall’s plant in Unterlüß in Lower Saxony, while the temperature-independent propellant powder will be sourced from Rheinmetall Nitrochemie, with plants at Aschau in Bavaria and Wimmis, Switzerland. The order makes a welcome and important contribution to capacity utilization at all three sites.
Thanks to its new propulsion unit, the DM63A1 kinetic energy round – unlike all other types of tank ammunition available to date – can enhance the combat performance of platforms armed with a 120mm smoothbore gun, including those of the Leopard 2 main battle tank, with no need for prior technical modification. The ammunition’s temperature-independent propellant solution is a unique feature found nowhere else.
This order underscores once again Rheinmetall’s cutting-edge position in the world of large-calibre weapons and ammunition technology.
