The Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has secured a preliminary contract to supply 50 Remote Weapon Systems (RWS) to Ukraine valued at up to $41 million.
The current contract is the second agreement between Ukraine and the EOS company, following a preliminary contract signed on April 3. Under the preliminary contract, Ukraine had ordered 100 RWSs for $80 million, but a final agreement was subject to a successful demonstration of the EOS production capabilities and completion of all export procedures for lethal weapons. Since the tests under the first contract were successful and the export procedures were completed, Ukraine signed an agreement with EOS for the supply. Moreover, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already been using EOS products in real combat operations.
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Under the second agreement, the cost of one system, including ammunition, spare parts, and other related services, is $820 thousand, which is the same price as in the first contract. The company, however, continues to keep the name of the system secret. The announcement of the first contract was accompanied by a photo of a Dutch Boxer armoured fighting vehicle with a heavy RWS. Electro Optic Systems has 4 types of RWS and only one of them is heavy. It was assumed that it is going to be the R800S gimbal RWS.
The vehicle has a 30mm cannon, a 40mm automatic grenade launcher, and an anti-tank missile system that matches the capabilities of the R800S system. However, unlike the R600S RWS, it was designed without additional armor.
The second announcement is illustrated with the R400S - Mk2 light system that has a 30mm automatic cannon and can be installed on armored vehicles, including the JLTV and Bushmaster.
The combat capabilities of the system are slightly inferior only in terms of its armaments. However, both modules have an identical digital fire control system that enables automatic target selection, tracking, and lead and error calculations, taking into account atmospheric conditions, target movement, and the vehicle's own movement.
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