Rheinmetall air defence AG：Rheinmetall Air Defence

German military arms company

Rheinmetall Air Defence office at the arms factory in Zürich-Oerlikon

Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the companys Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetalls other air-defence products.[1] Oerlikon Contraves was a Swiss anti-aircraft artillery manufacturer famous for its adaptation of the 1916 20 mm Becker as the Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon design, which was used in the Second World War and still in use today. Copies and derivatives of these designs were made by German, French, British, and Japanese weapon manufacturers. Oerlikon Contraves was purchased by Rheinmetall in 1999.[2]

As of January 2009[update], Rheinmetall Air Defence had around 1,050 employees at locations in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Canada. The groups sales in 2008[update] were about 380,000,000 Euros.[1]

Oerlikons earliest predecessor was Schweizerische ...