The Protector RWS is a remotely controlled weapons station (RWS) that can be mounted to vehicles and stationary platforms. It has been in full scale production since December 2001. It is manufactured by

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and the supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapon ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Design

The system consists of a stabilized firing platform, a

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 ...

and control grips. Several weapons can be mounted to the platform, such as: *

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...

12.7x99 .50 BMG

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable o ...

* NSV 12.7x108

M240 The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by t ...

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, in ...

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

general-purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for v ...

M249 The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...

FN Minimi The FN Minimi (short for french: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun/squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more tha ...

5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the ...

* MK19 40×53 mm

automatic grenade launcher An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an ammunition belt or magazine. These weapons are often mounted on vehicles or helicopter ...

H&K GMG The GMG (''Granatmaschinengewehr'' or "grenade machine gun") is an automatic grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the German Army. It is also often referred to as GMW or GraMaWa (''Granatmaschinenwaffe''). Design details The GMG fi ...

40×53 mm automatic grenade launcher *

XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon The XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW) was a developmental 25 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher with programmable airburst capability. It is the result of the '' OCSW'' or ''Objective Crew Served Weapon'' project. It is lightweight an ...

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with t ...

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

* Hellfire anti-tank guided missile (from a modified Protector)

Versions

Several versions of Protector have been developed with more than 20,000 units sold around the world in service with 23 countries. Between the M151 and M153 variants KONGSBERG has delivered more than 18,000 systems to the U.S. Armed Services. These systems are in-service within every branch of the U.S. military and many US agencies.

Overview

The Protector family includes the RS2, RS4 and RS6 Remote Weapon Stations, with weapons from light machine guns (5.56mm) to light cannons (30mmx113mm

M230 chain gun The M230 Cannon is a 30 mm (30×113 mm), single-barrel electrically-driven autocannon, using external electrical power (as opposed to recoil or expanding gas generated by the firing cartridge) to cycle the weapon between shots. It was desi ...

). It also includes the Remote Turrets, designed for medium caliber cannons like 30mmx173mm and 40mmx180mm (

Mk44 Bushmaster II The Mk44 Bushmaster II is a 30 mm chain gun manufactured by Northrop Grumman. It is a derivative of the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster, and uses 70% of the same parts as the M242 while increasing the firepower by as much as 50% with the 20% increase i ...

M151 versions

* M151 Protector – deployed with the first

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It ...

brigades * M151 E1 (Block 1) – includes improved thermal cameras * M151 E2 (Block 2) – stabilized version * Several country specific adaptations * Weight (kg): 135 * Height (mm): 749 *

Operating temperature An operating temperature is the allowable temperature range of the local ambient environment at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the de ...

(in °Celsius): -46 to +65 * Storage temperature (in °Celsius): -51 to +71 The system also features 4 M6 Smoke Grenade Dischargers. Specifications (excluding weapons and ammo):

M153 Protector

M153 Protector is designed to meet

CROWS The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. T ...

II requirement. Specifications (excluding weapons and ammo): * Weight (kg): 172 * Height (mm): 762 * Operating temperature (in °Celsius): -46 to +65 * Storage temperature (in °Celsius): -51 to +71

Other variants

;Protector Lite :Protector Lite is a lightweight version for 7.62 mm machine gun with 200 rounds of ammunition carried. ;Protector Super Lite :Protector Super Lite is the lightest version currently available, and is a lightweight (30 kg), man-portable system that can be operated both remotely and manually. The Super Lite is fully stabilized and adaptable to any wheeled, tracked or stabilized platform, including tripods. ;Protector Medium Caliber RWS :Protector Medium Caliber RWS is designed as a vehicle turret for 20 to 50 mm autocannons, with coaxial machinegun of 5.56 to 7.62 mm. Specifications (including weapons and ammo): ;Sea Protector The USCGC Sea Devil mounts a remote-controlled, gyro-stabilized machine gun on her bow

The USCGC Sea Devil mounts a remote-controlled, gyro-stabilized machine gun on her bow

:Sea Protector is developed for naval applications.: :In operation, maximum azimuth

slew rate In electronics, slew rate is defined as the change of voltage or current, or any other electrical quantity, per unit of time. Expressed in SI units, the unit of measurement is volts/ second or amperes/second, but is usually expressed in terms of ...

>100°/s, with maximum elevation slew Rate >50°/s. Range of Elevation -20° to +60° ;Protector Dual RWS Protector Dual RWS mounts two weapons. It provides a dual user functionality (Gunner / Commander). The coaxial weapon is mounted on the same axis as the main gun. ;Protector with Non Lethal Effectors :Protector with Non Lethal Effectors is designed to close a capability gap in peacekeeping, peace enforcement and humanitarian operations as well as today's asymmetric warfare. ;Protector Nordic :Protector Nordic is claimed by the Norwegian remote weapon station developer as the most technically advanced Protector RWS ordered to date, and is a key element in the foundation for cooperation in the Nordic material programs. The extended functionality includes the Day Camera VIS 95 with 95 field of view and the Infrared Aim Laser (850 nm), both developed by Kongsberg. ;Protector NM221 :Protector NM221 includes internal ammunition feed.

Users

* – ASLAV PC vehicle * – Currently installed on the

RG-31 The RG-31 Nyala is a 4×4 multi-purpose mine-resistant ambush protected infantry mobility vehicle manufactured in South Africa by Land Systems OMC (the division of Denel SOC LTD, located in Benoni, South Africa) and in Turkey by FNSS Defence ...

and TAPV fleet. Additional units are on order for integration on the ACSV fleet, with deliveries starting in late 2020. * –

Patria AMV The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, w ...

, 175 * – LMV * – CV90 family * –

vehicle * – Renault VAB * – TATA Kestrel * – Unknown * – Mowag Piranha IIIH CRV and RG-32M LTV * – Currently only a few for testing * – VBL Mk 2 * – Dingo 2 vehicle * – Boxer vehicle * – Unknown * – CV90 family (Protector Nordic), NM205F3 APC (Protector NM221), Iveco LMV (Protector Lite), Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate (Sea Protector), HNoMS Maud and

Skjold-class corvette ''Skjold''-class corvettes (skjold means "shield" in Norwegian) are a class of six light, superfast, stealth missile corvettes in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy. The boats were formerly classed as MTBs ( motor torpedo boats) but, from 200 ...

(Sea Protector) * –

Pandur II The Pandur II is an improved modular all-wheel-drive version of the Pandur 6x6 APC wheeled armoured vehicle. It was developed as a private venture by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge. Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge is ...

* – Unknown * –

* – Piranha I vehicle cdmt, Mowag Duro IIIP and canot-patrouilleur 16 * – Sisu Pasi,

ARCHER Artillery System The Archer Artillery System, or Archer – FH77BW L52, or Artillerisystem 08 is a self-propelled gun system for Sweden and Norway. The heart of the system is a fully automated 155 mm/L52 gun howitzer and a M151 Protector remote controlled weapon ...

, RG-32M * – Unknown * – Unknown * – used on Mastiff vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan,

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

family of vehicles * –

, M1A2 Abrams, and numerous other vehicles * – to be used on 490 VCBI IFVs. * – used on

Joint Light Tactical Vehicle The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a United States military (specifically U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps) and United States Special Operations Command program to partially replace the Humvee fleet with a family of more survivable vehicle ...

s. * – Used on Piranha V vehicles.

Gallery

File:SEC Det X ASLAVs.jpg, Australian ASLAV-PCs in Iraq File:Remote Weapons Station on a Canadian Nyala -a.jpg, Canadian RG-31s in Afghanistan Image:Rws stryker interiorscreen.jpg, Interior control station for M151 Protector Remote Weapon Station in Stryker ICV Image:Stryker 25th ID Iraq DF-SD-05-12693.JPEG, Stryker ICV on patrol in Iraq File:Slovenians Patria AMV.jpg, Slovenian Patria AMVs with 40mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launchers.

References

External links

{{commons category
Kongsberg Protector RWS webpage
Vehicle weapons Remote weapon stations Kongsberg Gruppen Goods manufactured in Norway Goods manufactured in France Military equipment introduced in the 2000s