The German Ministry of Defense has placed an order for the purchase of 70mm unguided rockets for combat helicopters.

This was reported on the official website of Rheinmetall.

Under the signed contract worth more than €100 million, the German Army Aviation will receive many 70mm unguided rockets.

Production of the rockets under this contract is expected to begin in 2025 and last until 2029.

Rheinmetall will cooperate with Thales Belgium SA to produce this type of rockets at the plant.

Thales Belgium SA is currently one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of unguided and high-precision 70mm rockets for combat helicopters.

The missiles to be purchased by the German Army Aviation will be produced for practical training exercises and will be used for training rockets.

The only missile carrier of this type in the German Armed Forces is the Tiger KHT/UHT attack and reconnaissance helicopter.

German helicopters use FZ207 19-round pods, which are equipped with FZ-Raketensystem 70mm rockets.

Missiles of this type are manufactured by former Forges de Zeebrugge (now Thales Belgium) at the Herstal plant in Belgium.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that the AH-1Z attack helicopter of the U.S. Marine Corps tested the latest AGM-179 JAGM guided missiles against moving surface targets.

The JAGM is a new airborne weapon that will enter service in the United States only in 2022 and is intended to replace the previous Hellfire and Maverick guided missiles.