Rheinmetall will soon be responsible for running the GÜZ, one of the world's most advanced combat training centres, a German Army facility located in the Altmark district of Saxony-Anhalt. Starting 1 September 2008, Rheinmetall will take over management of the GbZ, which the company also played the leading role in creating.

The parties signed the contract on May 29th, 2008, at the Berlin Air Show ILA. For Rheinmetall Defence's Simulation and Training division, the deal represents sales of more than Euro 100 million spread out over the six-year lifetime of the contract, depending on the level of utilization.

The principal reasons for handing over the operation to Rheinmetall Defence were economic efficiency and the conceptual approach contained in the proposal.

"We're very pleased to be selected in keen competition with other bidders to be the future GbZ operator. This contract underscores our ability not only to supply customers with complex and sophisticated training facilities, but also with related services that meet the full range of customer requirements", declares Ulrich Sasse, head of Rheinmetall Defence's Simulation and Training division.

A team of over 200 Rheinmetall employees, the great majority of whom already work at the GÜZ, will carry out the extensive range of services needed to run the facility. These include various support services as well as general administration, repair and maintenance of computer hardware and tactical vehicles, operating and maintaining the exercise control centre, the communications network and the laser simulators. Others work as drivers, still others are in charge of issuing and keeping track of the facility's many items of simulator equipment as well as maintaining and storing them. Apart from preserving these jobs, Rheinmetall intends to outsource certain service activities to local companies.

Another objective is to develop the GÜZ's existing capabilities, enabling full integration of new mission requirements such as joint and multinational operations into the exercises. Training soldiers to fight in an urban environment is equally important, and Rheinmetall will be in charge of this too, bringing into play the newly extended version of its "Future Soldier" equipment.

In 2006 the German government already contracted with Rheinmetall Defence to upgrade the technology in the GbZ exercise control centre as well as the training facility's data communication system. Then, at the end of 2007, came an order to link the southern section of the site with the rest of the training area, which had already been equipped with simulation technology, and to supply additional mobile online video technology.

Preparing German troops for their missions through realistic, efficient training is one of the Bundeswehr's core imperatives. The GÜZ provides the perfect venue for training military formations of all types to perform effectively on the modern battlefield, giving troops the skills and confidence they need to execute a vast variety of missions and tasks. As the GbZ's new operator, Rheinmetall Defence will systematically develop the site's existing capabilities, enabling it to do an even better job of meeting the military's requirements and carrying out its core mission to the full.

Rheinmetall
02.06.2008