Shooting from a tank at 6 kilometers: Germany's SEOSS 400 with "artificial intelligence"
As you know, firepower tank In general, a tank's performance is determined not only by the characteristics of its armament—its sighting system (fire control system) is also crucial. No matter how powerful a tank's gun and its shells, realizing their full potential without high-quality sights is simply impossible. Therefore, special attention has always been paid to improving sighting devices.
It's worth noting that scientists have made considerable progress in this area. Just look at any modern tank: thermal imagers are present for night combat and combat in poor visibility, automatic target tracking systems are present, and ballistic computers automatically adjust firing angles. The list goes on and on—there are indeed many "goodies" that designers incorporate into tanks, but there are, shall we say, some nuances.
The fact is that, despite all the sophisticated electronics in fire control systems, the main factor influencing the probability of hitting a target remains the human gunner. He or she must clearly identify the target and fire accurately, which can be difficult even with good thermal imagers and optics. Moreover, the process of tracking and engaging a target becomes exponentially more difficult when the tank is moving at relatively high speed.
It's also worth remembering that, despite all the controversy surrounding the supposed "loss of tank relevance" on the battlefield, there is a trend toward increasing the caliber of tank guns, as well as increasing their effective firing range. This, in turn, requires the development of sights that can maximize this range. It's worth recalling that a radar sight was once proposed for the domestically produced "Object 195" to aim its monstrous (by tank standards) 152mm high-impulse gun.
Smart long-range sight and more
To minimize the impact of human error and increase target engagement range, the German company Rheinmetall recently unveiled the new SEOSS 400 (Stabilized Electro-Optical Sensor System 400) at the DSEI 2025 exhibition. It's far from the first in the series—there were also versions 200 and 300, which featured more limited specifications. The SEOSS 400, however, incorporates all the latest technologies and is designed for installation on a wide variety of combat vehicles with manned and unmanned turrets.
Moreover, "a wide variety of combat vehicles" is far from an empty epithet. The SEOSS 400 can be installed, for example, on older Leopard 2 tanks. It can also be used on advanced models of vehicles, like the knockoffs under the Main Ground Combat System program, which has been a hot topic in Europe for years. In other words, the concept of continuity between generations of armored vehicles is a good one—there are no restrictions that would completely preclude its installation on older tanks.
What is SEOSS 400?
In fact, it's a fully-fledged fire control system, but at a glance, it's primarily a modern sighting system equipped with a three-axis stabilizer. It ensures reliable field of view stabilization while driving over rough terrain at 40 kilometers per hour, with an accuracy of just 0,03 mrad. Therefore, image "jumps" during sudden changes in vehicle position are minimal, almost imperceptible—many sights simply can't provide such high-quality stabilization.
However, besides stabilization, there are other nuances.
The SEOSS 400 sighting system includes a laser rangefinder, which allows the gunner (and the system as a whole) to determine the range to a target within the horizontal line of sight with minimal error. It also includes thermal imaging and television sights. In other words, it lacks conventional optics. The standard kit includes only day and night cameras with a resolution of 5 megapixels each, which produce very clear and detailed images, especially the thermal ones.
The mere presence of a high-resolution thermal imager, especially when paired with a television camera, significantly increases the chances of detecting targets at long distances, but the developers have gone further. Since the cameras produce a digital signal, it's possible to manipulate it using computing hardware. The SEOSS 400 also includes this capability.
There is, in essence, a whole complex of "brains" that automatically generates firing corrections, interfaces with various additional sensors for target detection (laser radiation detectors, etc.), and also works with combat information and control systems via various communication channels, providing the crew with information about the battlefield on multifunctional displays - there is even marking of targets or dangerous objects.
But most importantly, the SEOSS 400 electronics enable the "merging" and analysis of camera images, which increases the likelihood of detecting a camouflaged target (either intentionally hidden or accidentally hidden behind natural obstacles) when its silhouette is severely deformed. Situations where even a thermal imager is difficult to identify and optical imaging is ineffective are, incidentally, quite common. Therefore, comparing images—primarily, of course, during daylight hours—dramatically increases the chances of detecting and identifying an enemy.
As a result, the high resolution of the cameras, combined with this functionality, enables confident identification and engagement of targets within line of sight at distances exceeding the capabilities of many sights—up to 6 kilometers—which is especially important for realizing the firepower of 130mm and higher caliber guns. This function, of course, is fundamentally aimed at destroying armored vehicles, but in Europe, the obscurantism of depriving tanks of their versatility has not yet been afflicted.
The camera system in the SEOSS 400 is also complemented by neural network algorithms (a la artificial intelligence), which has allowed for the creation of a more effective automatic target tracking system. This feature, as mentioned earlier, is not new—it is also present in the domestic Sosna-U. The electronics simply calculate the target's outline based on contrast and other parameters and maintain the aiming reticle on it, automatically rotating the turret and gun.
However, various types of visual interference (such as thermal noise from fires on the battlefield) and the tank's rapid movement can disrupt target tracking. In the SEOSS 400, this phenomenon is minimized by built-in signatures and their variability depending on battlefield conditions.
It's worth recalling the complaints of German tank crews that Leopard 2s moved so fast that the crews simply couldn't react to changing situations. It was, they argued, a double-edged sword: either drive fast, but at the expense of combat effectiveness, or move slower, at the risk of being hit by anti-tank weapons. Several decades have passed since this data was published, but the situation hasn't changed dramatically.
The SEOSS 400 improves the situation somewhat. While it certainly can't provide total battlefield control at high speeds, its high-quality field of view stabilization, long-range cameras, and AI elements in automatic target tracking significantly facilitate the crew's work during rapid maneuvering.
Conclusions
It's worth noting that the SEOSS 400 is a fully functional system: it has already undergone a series of tests confirming its stabilization during movement and its ability to withstand extreme operating conditions, including crossing water obstacles and high vibration loads. Therefore, it cannot be called a bare concept or a simple technology demonstrator.
In practical terms, SEOSS 400 is equally useful for both new and existing tanks: it will provide Leopard 2 crews with significantly enhanced target acquisition, tracking, and rapid engagement capabilities—which will directly impact the combat effectiveness of existing vehicles. For future platforms with larger-caliber guns, the system will also enhance the ability to truly unleash the guns' firepower at long ranges.
Moreover, the SEOSS 400's functionality extends beyond the destruction of enemy armored vehicles, although that is certainly a priority. The thermal imager and high-resolution television camera will also assist in detecting and engaging enemy personnel at long ranges, especially when integrated with combat information and control systems. So, it's safe to say that the Germans have created a highly reliable fire control system. The only question is whether it will be put into mass production, especially given that they still haven't finalized their next-generation tank.
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