Tanks and self-propelled guns operated by unidentified Middle East nation are to be fitted with optical equipment from Cassidian Optronics GmbH.

Cassidian said the contract given it by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Defense Electronics GmbH is worth more than $55 million.

Details as to the number of products to be supplied for Leopard 2 A7+ tanks and PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers were not given.

"With this order, Cassidian Optronics continues to be the leading supplier of stabilized periscopes and weapon optronics sensors for the entire Leopard family," said Till von Westerman, head of the "Ground" activities section at Cassidian Optronics. We view this as recognition of the performance of our products, which we continuously improve to increase safety and effectiveness."

The equipment being supplied for the battle tanks includes commander periscopes, sensors for gunner sights and auxiliary sighting telescopes. For the self-propelled howitzers, Cassidian is providing gunner sights and commander periscopes. For indirect targeting, if the gun laying sensors fail, panoramic periscopes with 4x magnification are also being supplied.

Cassidian is a subsidiary of Airbus Defense and Space.