The Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS), also known as Katlanit (קטלנית in Hebrew: "lethal") is a remote weapon system (RWS) that enables a variety of devices to be operated automatically or by remote control, including 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 12.7 mm .50 BMG machine guns, 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank missiles and observation pods.

Variants

There are a total of three variants of the Samson family:

• Samson Jr. ROWS - for 5.56mm and 7.62mm machine guns, weighing .

• Mini Samson ROWS - for 12.7mm and 14.5mm machine guns, as well as 40mm grenade launcher, weighing , similar to that of Mini Typhoon naval ROWS and OWS.

• Standard Samson - for guns with calibre ranging from , weighing , similar to that of standard Typhoon naval ROWS and OWS.

For example, the Samson Remote Controlled Weapon System for 30mm autocannon is designed to be mounted on lightly-armoured, high-mobility military vehicles and operated by a gunner or vehicle commander operating under-the-deck. It offers optional SPIKE guided missile, smoke grenade launcher, and embedded trainer. The RCWS 30 is a product of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Israel has also installed a variant of the Samson RCWS in pillboxes along the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier.

The Sentry Tech system, dubbed Roeh-Yoreh (Sees-Fires) in IDF service deployed on the Gaza fence, enables camera operators located in a rear-located intelligence base to engage border threats using the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and the SPIKE guided missile.

Operators

• : LAV III

• : 4 stations initially procured for needs of Croatian Army, installed and tested on M84D and M95 tanks, but eventually Croatian Army opted for Protector RWS, 12.7mm and 30mm.

• : Pandur II

• : IDF Namer, some IDF Achzarit, some HMMWV

• : 88 German Boxer Infantry Fighting Vehicles with Rafael's weapon stations with 30mm cannons and "Spike LR" antitank missiles

• : Hunter AFV

• : Infantry Carrier Vehicle Dragoon

References