Germany’s Rheinmetall unveils container-based drone swarm launcher

German defence company Rheinmetall has presented a 20-foot standard shipping container system capable of launching a swarm of kamikaze drones.

The system was showcased at the Eurosatory defence exhibition near Paris. According to Defense News, a single container can house up to 18 FV-014 loitering munitions, which can remain airborne for up to 70 minutes.

“Potential applications include driving the loaded containers to the front line on the back of trucks, where they would discharge their cargo to hit targets with their 4 kilogram warhead up to 100 kilometers away. 

The loitering munitions have a maximum flight time of 70 minutes, meaning they can circle a general target area for a while until ground commanders call for a strike,” the report added.

Rheinmetall stated that the internal interfaces of the container allow, if needed, the integration and launch of more advanced munitions in the future.

By Jeyhun Aghazada