MASS - Multi Ammunition Softkill System
Protection system for the Halifax Class
Rheinmetall was contracted to equip the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigates with the MASS.
This countermeasure system provides a unique level of protection against modern sensor-guided missiles on the high seas and in coastal waters, as well as from asymmetric terrorist-type threats. With the information from on-board sensors and systems, the MASS calculates the best missile defeat solution and, being fully trainable in azimuth and elevation, then fires the decoys and places them in time in the optimal position without the ship having to manoeuvre to obtain an effective countermeasure solution.
Fully automatic, MASS offers significant tactical, operational, and logistical advantages, and can be installed on any type of ship. It can be integrated into all naval command and control systems, but can also operate in a stand-alone mode.
MASS significantly enhances ship survivability through speed of response and the ability to put the required multi-purpose decoy rounds in the precise position necessary for optimum defence.
The MASS_DUERAS version chosen by the Royal Canadian Navy is a piggyback solution. It features additional launching tubes for distraction rockets mounted on top of the MASS launcher.