Rheinmetall Buys a Majority Stake in Jenoptik LDT GmbH

Released on Tuesday, May 27, 2008

By taking over a 51% share in Jenoptik subsidiary LDT Laser Display Technology GmbH of Jena, Germany, Rheinmetall Defence widens its lead as the world's foremost supplier of simulators for flight crew instruction and training. Moreover, the move reinforces Rheinmetall's range of products with an array of high-performance visualization systems on the global cutting edge.

From now on the company will operate under the name "LDT Laser Display Technology GmbH".

Working in cooperation with Jenoptik, in recent years Rheinmetall Defence has pressed ahead with the development of its Avior laser projection technology, now found in numerous flight simulators made by Rheinmetall Defence. Avior is widely considered to be the world's finest display technology for training simulators, whether military or civil.

Pilots of the German armed forces and those of other nations now train using Avior visualization systems, including for the Tornado combat aircraft. In 2007 Rheinmetall Defence attained qualification for Avior under the stringent Level D requirements of the Joint Aviation Authorities for the first time; complying fully with JAR STD 1A, Amendment 3, this qualification meets the highest current criteria for civil flight simulation worldwide.

Unlike conventional display forms, Avior laser projection offers the advantage of unlimited sharpness of depth as well as the greatest contrast and range of colours of any projection system now available. For the time ever, it is now possible to combine all training-relevant visibility conditions in a single projection system, including day, dusk, night and night vision. This provides pilots with an extremely realistic training environment.

As purely digital systems, laser projectors not only produce superb imagery, they are highly reliable and economical to operate during their service life, making them very useful in highly advanced, sophisticated simulation applications.

Having supplied numerous laser projectors in Europe, North America and Asia, today LDT Laser Display Technology GmbH is one of the world's leading makers of laser projection systems.

Rheinmetall Defence is a global leader in simulation systems and training technology. The Group's flight simulators make a major contribution in helping to prepare fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter crews to meet today's fast-growing requirements.