Thales to Deliver 4 Panoramic Above Armor Gimbal (PAAG) to the German Armed Forces
Thales has signed a contract with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for the delivery of 4 PAAG to the German Armed Forces to equip the BOXER armored vehicle.
The Stabilized Panoramic Above Armor Gimbal (PAAG), built-in Thales premises in Glasgow, UK, is an electronic surveillance system that is remotely controlled from inside the BOXER and gives users a stabilized long-range ‘Detection, Recognition, Identification’ (DRI) and weapon aiming ability on the move during daylight and night conditions.
The system with a thermal imaging device and high-resolution daylight color camera enables targets to be identified in the range of up to four kilometers, depending on their size. In continuous operation, the entire hemisphere around the vehicle can be covered. A laser rangefinder offers to measure distances of up to ten kilometers. It can also be raised above the vehicle roof to allow the monitoring of targets from behind a ridgeline without putting the user in a direct line of sight, which greatly reduces operational risk.
An Automatic Video Tracking (AVT) and Assisted Target Detection (ATD) are also included in the JFST PAAG system. Combined with an artillery command and control system, PAAG will contribute significantly to the capability being fielded.
The BOXER Program, managed by the European armament agency OCCAR, provides the German, Netherland, Lithuanian, and the United Kingdom Armies with a new generation of all-terrain armored utility vehicles on the basis of balanced capabilities of transport capacity, mobility, protection, survivability, growth potential, and efficient life cycle costs.
The JFST program in Germany will see the delivery of two prototype JFST-heavy vehicles based on the BOXER 8x8 Armored Vehicle coupled with a new JFST Mission Module integrating Thales PAAG.
The BOXER is an 8x8 all-terrain heavily armored utility vehicle with a unique modular concept of a common drive module and an exchangeable mission module, making it a flexible military vehicle, thus ensuring maximum strategic and tactical mobility in a wide range of operational scenarios.
