The Samson Jr. LRCWS is a Lightweight Remotely Controlled Weapon Station, designed for use on Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) and other vehicle types in which deck load must be kept to a minimum, such as trucks, ambulances and other 4- wheeled light vehicles. The system provides the host vehicle crew defensive fire capability without compromising the vehicle's internal space. The Samson Jr. LRCWS may host a 7.62 mm M240 General Purpose Machine Gun (NATO western standard) or 5.56mm M249 MINI-MI Machine Gun and their equivalents. Due to its size, it can also host sniper weapons and non-lethal weapons, making it suitable for paramilitary missions as well as military operations.

RAFAEL designed the new Samson based on the vast experience it has gained with its very successful Overhead Weapon Stations (OWS) and the rest of Samson weapon stations family; Samson RCWS for 30 mm cannons and the Mini-Samson for 7.62 machine guns up to 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL). The Samson Jr. was designed with extreme accuracy, a smoother pan and tilt and quicker elevation movement. The Samson Jr. shares a high level of commonality with the other family members, making it very cost effective in terms of operation, training and maintenance.

"We are pleased that we can now offer a full range of weapon stations for any type of AFV and that our customers will now be able to choose the best Samson for the specific type of weaponry that they require" said Dr. Ehud Netzer, Corporate VP and General Manger- Systems Division at RAFAEL.

The Samson Jr. is currently in evaluation in the Israel Defense Forces and is participating in two separate competitions for weapon stations in the under 100 kg category.

• Mount Type: Independent mounting system for weapon and Sight Pod

• Main weapon: One of the following: 5.56mm; 7.62mm

• Sight Pod (Day, Night, LRF): Observation suite fastened rigidly to the Mount Assy

• Compliance with Environmental Conditions (partial list): MIL-STD-1275; MIL-STD-461; MIL-STD-810; STANAG 2895; EN 60825

• External Interfaces: I/O video channels; RS422/RS485/RS232 comm channels; CAN-BUS comm channel; Ethernet; I/O discrete lines