At Eurosatory in Paris, the Austrian company Hirtenberger Defence Systems (HDS) announced a cooperation with ST-Engineering from Singapore via its British subsidiary. The aim is to jointly optimize the sales potential in Europe for the mobile and semi-automatic 120 mm grenade launchers (SRAMS) from ST-Engineering with HDS ammunition introduced in NATO and the EU – an interview with HDS Vice President Carsten Barth.
Mr. Barth, what is the basic idea behind the collaboration with ST-Engineering? We have thus closed a capacity gap. We have qualified ammunition that is used in Europe and NATO and is just as well-known as our conventional 60, 81 and 120 mm mortars. But today, fire support requires real mobile capabilities, no longer a towed system with two wheels – the difference can make the difference between life and death. In what way? In 2014, the European NATO and EU states were given a very vivid demonstration in eastern Ukraine of how very precise – in this case Russian – radar-guided return fire can destroy entire units within minutes. In a conflict with a modernly armed opponent, there are only a few minutes left after firing to change position – at best. Racked launchers with an 80 kg plate are far too immobile for this. 
Carsten Barth is Vice President of Hirtenberger Defense Systems (HDS).
Does this mean that you and your Asian partner are targeting the European market? Yes, because unlike our partner, we are established on the market here, but also because we see good sales opportunities with armies that have been shrinking for years until recently. We take the approach of fitting SRAMS, including HDS ammunition and fire control systems, to existing vehicles – there is no need to purchase new vehicles. Thanks to the innovative recoil damping to just 26 tons, the system is a good alternative to self-propelled artillery, which takes years to procure and costs at least ten times as much. Which vehicles are you thinking of? 6×6, 8×8 or tracked vehicles? Retrofitting is possible in practically all types, up to 4×4 and even Hägglunds-type vehicles. And what does the HDS ammunition contribute? Thanks to the precision and 60 percent higher quality of our new ConFrag ammunition, for example, fewer shells can be used to achieve a greater and much faster effect, which means less weight has to be carried. In our business, quality is still measured by lethality.
Here for more news about Hirtenberger Defence and here to the other articles in our “5 questions to” series.
