#Rheinmetall

It’s not very often our Photo Of The Day is taken by myself, but here’s an exception. This is the Rheinmetall SSW40 – Squad Support Weapon 40mm, shown at EnforceTac in the spring of 2023.

You are here so you know what tonight means, esoteric night vision content! We started this year’s Friday Night Lights looking at the B2 Spirit with cooled MWIR thermal imaging. Tonight we look at the Rheinmetall/Oerlikon LLM01 (Laser Light Module 01) which various European militaries use on their service rifles.

This week at Eurosatory 2022, Rheinmetall showcased a surprise, not their first tank the KF-51 or their unmanned ground vehicle that can launch loitering missiles, but the Squad Support Weapon or SSW40. It appears that the SSW40 is a matured version of the Hydra, a prototype automatic magazine-fed grenade launcher, which was first exhibited by Rheinmetall in 2012.

None of TFB’s Photo Of The Days is the same, and the CARACAL Air Assault Vehicle above is a perfect example. During Eurosatory 2022 in Paris, under the motto “Move – Sense – Strike”, Rheinmetall showcased the new family of Caracal airborne vehicles.

What could be better than the Heckler & Koch HK433? Quite possibly the Heckler & Koch HK437 right above you, chambered in .300 Blackout (7.62x35mm). The rifle is also equipped with a VarioRay laser light module from Rheinmetall and an EOTech EXPS. You don’t hear as much about the .300 Blackout caliber as before, but it is still gaining in popularity with various Police and Military forces as a medium-range weapon due to its stopping power and suppressability.

The Portuguese Army has ordered LM-LowProfile laser modules from Rheinmetall. These types of low-profile laser markers and illuminators are normally mounted on top of a rifle. Due to the low profile (25 mm height) of these devices, iron sights and other optics can still be used. The LM-LowProfile module features a variable infrared illuminator and two laser target markers (infrared and visible). Operation is done via either a single push button or an optional remote cable.

The South African Army has purchased more than 20,000 rounds of Rheinmetall’s a new medium-velocity (MV) 40mm ammunition. These include a mixture of high explosive, high explosive dual-purpose, practice ammunition, practice tracers, red phosphorous smoke rounds and orange target marker ammunition. In total, Rheinmetall have nine different MV ammunition types, with a range of up to 800 metres.

Rheinmetall is a German defense contractor. They make various military products like electro-optics, night vision and aiming systems. Earlier we saw the GN1 from SIMRAD which is now owned by Rheinmetall. Today we will take a look at their Vario-Ray LLM (Laser Light Module).

The Swiss Army has placed an order for almost 10,000 VarioRay LLM laser lights from Rheinmetall.

Since the late 1990s, the Heckler & Koch G36 is the standard rifle of the German Bundeswehr.

As this is The Firearm Blog it’s easy to focus on the firearms, the Heckler & Koch HK433 and the G95K (Heckler & Koch 416 A7) in this case.

Today’s Picture Of The Day shows a Heckler & Koch SFP9 (VP9), ready with optics. I think the red dot sight is a Leupold Deltapoint Pro.

Around these introducing words, you can see a zoomed-in version from one of the pictures from the Concamo photoshoot.

When we think of the iconic Cold War G3, we automatically think Heckler & Koch – but that wasn’t always the case. When the fledgling West German Army adopted the, now famous, roller-delayed rifle it was produced by not just H&K but another famous German arms manufacturer – Rheinmetall.

Introduced in March of this year, we were able to get our hands on Rheinmetall Air Defense AG’s ILEE® TwinBeam Mk2 visible/IR laser designator. The TwinBeam Mk2 is actually just one such designator out of a large product line of similar designators that fill different capabilities and needs. Many of the small arms laser designators are capable of being mounted on an M1913 Picatinny rail and are very similar in controls and materials used in construction.