The Anubis is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

remote controlled weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), or remote weapon station (RWS), also known as a remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated weaponized system often equipped with fire-control system for light and medium- caliber weapons which c ...

(RCWS) designed and manufactured by the Pro Optica company. It can use either a 7.62×51mm or a

12.7×99mm The .50 Browning Machine Gun (.50 BMG, 12.7×99mm NATO and designated as the 50 Browning by the C.I.P.) is a caliber cartridge developed for the M2 Browning heavy machine gun in the late 1910s, entering official service in 1921. Under STANA ...

machine gun, and can also mount

40 mm grenade 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition (subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 ...

launchers. Optionally, the turret can be equipped with level 2

STANAG 4569 NATO AEP-55 STANAG 4569 is a NATO Standardization Agreement covering the standards for the "Protection Levels for Occupants of Logistic and Light Armored Vehicles". The standard covers strikes from kinetic energy, artillery and IED blasts. Level ...

ballistic protection. The Anubis is gyrostabilized on two axes, and is equipped with a

thermal imager A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

, a

CCD camera A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

, an automatic

fire control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a Director (military), director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs ...

, as well as an easy-safe

laser range finder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...

. Detection ranges during night can go up to 6 km for a vehicle and 3 km for a human being, these distances are reduced to one-third for identification. The turret is electrically controlled, but can also be controlled manually as a backup.

In use

The Anubis RCWS was first seen at the National Military Parade in 2014, where it was mounted on a

Dacia Duster The Dacia Duster is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2010. It is currently in its second generation, launched in the autumn of 2017. It is marketed ...

military model. In 2018, it was presented at the exposition. A first contract was signed in 2017 when it was announced that the

Romanian Navy The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flo ...

purchased 4 turrets equipped with 12.7 mm machine guns. The systems were to be added on the

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, in order to provide

anti-piracy Anti-piracy may refer to: * Anti-piracy, protection against copying of computer software. * Piracy#Anti-piracy measures anti-piracy measures, measures to counter maritime pirates. See also * Pirate (disambiguation) {{Disambiguation ...

capabilities. In 2021, at the Egypt Defence Expo, it was announced that

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

acquired a new lot of Anubis systems. Pro Optica previously delivered a number of Anubis turrets equipped with 12.7 mm machine guns to the Egyptian Army. The systems are used by the Egyptian 4x4

light armored vehicles A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted ca ...

. In 2023, several

BMC Kirpi BMC Kirpi ( Turkish for "Hedgehog") is a Turkish made Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle manufactured by BMC. ''Kirpi'' provides significant protection against mine and ballistic threats. It combines standard and add-on armor providing pro ...

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes. T ...

s with Anubis RCWS systems were spotted in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. These vehicles were part of a delivery of over 40 Kirpi MRAPS in support of Ukraine in the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

PRO OPTICA - ANUBIS Presentation
video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Vehicle-mounted weapons Remote weapon stations Weapons of Romania