Rheinmetall formally transferred its new IdZ-ES future soldier system to the German Bundeswehr recently. Short for “Infanterist der Zukunft – Erweitertes System” or “Future Soldier – Expanded System”, IdZ-ES is also known as the “Gladius”.

The handover ceremony coincided with the 10th Armoured Division’s traditional “International Division Skiing Championship” at Ruhpolding in Upper Bavaria. Bodo Garbe, member of the Executive Board of Rheinmetall Defence, symbolically handed over the Gladius to Lt General Bruno Kasdorf, Chief of Staff of the German Army, and Harald Stein, President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).

“The new IdZ-ES is an original, comprehensive, innovative solution. For the first time ever, it proved possible to implement an entirely new design for a soldier system and get it to the troops. Thanks to Gladius, as we call it at Rheinmetall, German infantrymen can now play an active role in network-enabled warfare”, declared Bodo Garbe.

Garbe went on to note that “the availability and flow of information on the battlefield are at least as important as firepower, protection and mobility.