A fiery dawn

Wednesday, 9 September, 2009

Making its DSEi debut in the Australian Pavilion on Stand 1455, the EOS range of stabilised remote weapon stations first entered service in 2004, since when some 500 units have been supplied for use in the harsh environments of Iraq and Afghanistan. The family has also grown to accommodate stations that can mount weapons of higher calibre.

Current users include the armies of the US, Australia and the Netherlands, but the presence here of the R-200, scaled for light or unarmoured vehicles, and the R-400 Raven, which is capable of mounting cannon up to 30mm, is an indication of the company’s serious endeavour to penetrate European and other markets more deeply.

Videos shown on the stand demonstrate the effectiveness of the fully stabilised R-200 system, which is capable of operating most 7.62mm or 5/56mm automatic weapons, although it is also able to accommodate a wider range of weapons. However, the widest selection of weapons, including cannon, twin mounts or grenade launchers can be mounted on the R-600, described as the ultimate weapon station!

At 75kg, the R-150 is the lightest in the EOS range and is intended to provide low-cost but accurate firepower for force protection. Unlike others in the series, its sensor does not include a laser rangefinder, but does have a daylight colour CCD camera and a thermal imager.

The first round hit probability of each weapon station is provided by a ballistic solution, taking into account the weapon, ammunition, range and ambient environment. For an enhanced first round hit probability, optional additions can include vehicle attitude and dynamics, target video tracking, and multi-axis stabilisation.