(NSI News Source Info) March 1, 2009: Rheinmetall Defence has received an order to equip two more German Navy mine-hunters with Mass naval protection systems. (Mass stands for "Multi Ammunition Softkill System".) By June 2009, one MJ 333-class vessel and one HL 352-class vessel will each be equipped with a Mass two-launcher configuration with integrated detection unit. The order is worth around EUR 8 million.
In the wake of successful sea trials, the German Ministry of Defence already contracted with Rheinmetall in 2008 to equip two German Navy mine countermeasures ships with the Mass system. This was in response to an immediate operational requirement, the Unifil operation off the coast of Lebanon. With this follow-on contract, the German Navy is now well on the way to equipping all eight vessels in this class with Mass technology, reflecting the top priority it attaches to Force Protection. 
The Type 333 Kulmbach class is a class of five German Navy ships. Built as Type 343 Hameln class minesweepers, they have been upgraded to minehunters using Seefuchs expendable drones to detonate detected naval mines.
Mass means superior protection
Guided missiles pose an increasing threat to naval vessels and civilian shipping alike. Mass protects ships against advanced sensor-guided weapons on the high seas and in littoral zones, as well as from asymmetric threats. Mass works by firing decoys that divert incoming missiles from their intended targets. Fully automatic, the Mass naval countermeasures system offers substantial tactical, operational and logistical advantages, and can be installed on all types of ships. It can be integrated into existing command and control systems or serve as a stand-alone system. Programmable and omni-spectral, the Mass system's innovative ammunition provides protection in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (radar, infrared, laser, electro-optic and ultraviolet).
Mass with integrated detection unit
Featuring an integrated detection unit, the "Mass ISS_Integrated Sensor Suite" represents an innovative departure in naval electronic warfare. Jointly developed by Rheinmetall Defence and Saab Avitronics, this new version of Mass comes with sensors capable of detecting both radar and laser threats.
The state-of-the-art detection unit consists of an SME 100 electronic measurement support system, which will replace the existing radar warners on board the mine hunters; it also comprises the naval laser warner system NLWS. Furthermore, the Mass version deployed on German Navy mine hunters will be linked to an existing electro-optical sensor system, the MSP 500, or "Multi Sensor Platform", which is also made by Rheinmetall. As a result, Mass_ISS will make it possible not merely to detect incoming threats, but to classify them by category and type while automatically engaging them. This is the first time that Mass_ISS will be integrated into a mine hunter.
Since launching Mass onto the market in 2003, Rheinmetall has concluded contracts with eight nations for a total of 102 launcher units destined for 15 different classes of vessel, ranging from corvettes and frigates to mine hunters and patrol boats.
Mass has already been successfully introduced into the navies of Germany (K130 corvettes, F123 frigates, mine hunters), Finland (Squadron 2000), Norway (Skjold missile torpedo boats), Sweden (Visby-, Göteborg- and Malmö-class vessels), the United Arab Emirates (the Baynunah programme), Oman (Khareef-class ocean patrol vessels) as well as into two other navies in the Middle East.
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