Nexter Presents its Low Altitude Air Defence and Anti-Drone Warfare

Faced with the increasing emergence of new air threats in today’s theatres of operation, Nexter is exhibiting solutions that meet the needs of anti-drone and ground-air defence on its stand.

Today, Nexter is able to integrate various solutions available on the market on its vehicles, from 4×4 vehicles to combat tanks. In partnership with Thales, Nexter offers the RAPIDFire weapon system for low-altitude ground-air defence. In the future, Nexter will position itself as a system integrator for new anti-drone systems.

At Eurosatory 2022, Nexter is presenting weapon systems such as the ARX 30 and RAPIDFire, equipped with medium-calibre guns, offering surface-to-surface and surface-to-air capabilities to counter new threats such as drones, missiles or loitering munitions at short and medium range. These weapon systems have the advantage of being able to deal with a large number of simultaneous threats such as a swarm of drones, to adapt the munition rapidly to the target in the face of combined threats, to benefit from excellent reactivity at short range and, above all, to have a very low cost in the face of often inexpensive targets.

For protection up to 1500m, Nexter is developing the ARX 30 C-UAV (available by 2025). This remotely operated weapon system uses the 30M781 cannon, which equips the Tiger helicopter. This electromechanically operated gun, which uses NATO-standard 30×113 ammunition, is effective on small and medium-sized ground and air targets. Its compactness and low recoil force make it suitable for integration on all types of vehicles and chassis as a primary or secondary weapon. It is presented in a C-UAV version, coupled with a MATIA radar.

To protect larger units up to 4000m, Nexter is presenting the RAPIDFire in its land version with a 1/10th scale model identical to the naval version that will equip the new French Navy’s supply ships (BRF) from the end of the year. This remotely operated multi-role artillery system, armed with the JAGUAR’s 40CTA gun, is equipped with its own tracking and pointing systems designed by Thales. Accurate and ergonomic, RAPIDFire offers a close-in self-defence capability against surface and air threats, from the smallest civilian drone to rockets, missiles, helicopters and aircraft.

Nexter presents these weapon systems, integrated on different platforms, allowing the destruction of air targets:

• The ARX 30 integrated on the SERVAL (1/10th scale model),
• The ARX 30 integrated on the EMBT technology demonstrator,
• A SERVAL equipped with an MBDA ATLAS RC turret firing Mistral missiles,
• A TITUS augmented mission equipped with an anti-drone kit (the ARX 30 turret associated with the MATIA radar and integrating the NEROD microwave jammer gun from MC2 technologies),
• A CERBAIR Hydra 300 UAV detection antenna installed on the VBCI MkII’s T40 turret, recently successfully tested in this configuration,

The RAPIDFire turret integrated on the CAESAR MkII chassis (1/10th scale model).