Page 42 - Australian Defence Magazine March 2019

LAND WARFARE
LETHALITY
to which SEM will best meet Department of Defence needs,” Defence says. “This is intended to afford industry latitude to pres- ent solutions that think outside the norm of Defence business models within a bound- ed framework provided by the SEM. The Commonwealth will consider any SEM that provides a more effective means of de- livering lethality capabilities for Defence.”
However, the Commonwealth will retain control of certain aspects of the acquisition and sustainment of products, which it says will “necessarily impose some limits on the scope of some services provided under all SEMs”. The reasoning behind this is to allow the Commonwealth to maintain its traditional responsibilities in the acquisi- tion and sustainment of ADF materiel.
Potential SEMs identified include Man- aging Contractor (MC), External Ser- vice Provider (ESP), Integrated Support Contractor (ISC), Product Supplier, but Defence is also open to other innovative solutions proposed by industry which can provide the Commonwealth with a similar level of schedule or cost benefit.
“The Lethality program is seeking indus- try input to assist in shaping the SEM strat-
egy to rapidly develop and deliver capabil- ity to Defence,” Lieutenant Colonel Byron Cocksedge, project director Land Systems Division, told industry representatives at the recent information briefing.
Capability Streams
The Lethality program has identified five Enabling Streams under which umbrella the Capability Streams sit and include Target Systems and Simulation, Integration (both digital and physical, across maritime, air and land platforms), Sustainment, Munitions and Weapons Ancillaries Integration (including digital sights and advanced sensors). Each of these Enabling Streams relates to the services and capabilities which could potentially be delivered by under the auspices of a SEM.
The capability streams themselves consist of the following systems:
• Assault Rifle
• Close Combat System (including Low Profile
Weapon System, Sidearm, Personal Defence Weapon, Hand to Hand Combat Weapon, Shotgun and Assault Breaching System)
• Sniper System: (Medium Range Anti- personnel Sniper capability, Long Range Anti-personnel Sniper Capability,
Anti-Material Sniper Capability, Sniper Surveillance Capability, Sniper Soldier Combat Ensemble)
• Machine Guns (Light, Medium and Heavy Machine Gun Systems)
• Direct Fire Support Weapon (Short, Me- dium and Long Range Direct Fire Support Weapons, Light Weight Mortar, Light Weight AutomaticGrenadeLauncher [AGL])
• Munitions (Less than Lethal Munitions and Command Detonated Munitions)
• FamilyofGrenades
• Emergent Weapons Technology (includ-
ing Unmanned Weapons Systems and Loitering Munitions).
However, at the recent industry briefing
it was noted that the Commonwealth will not be seeking cost or schedule data with re- gard to the Assault Rifle at the present time, but further information will be forthcom- ing at a future point in time.
“The Commonwealth is in the final stages of introducing the EF88 into ser- vice,” Defence says. “This weapon platform, combined with world-leading sights and night and day optics and ammunition, is performing as an optimised system and is currently meeting all Commonwealth re- quirements. Further enhancements to the basic system are funded and will be fielded.”
The remaining capability will be delivered in three distinct tranches, with the first occurring between FY 2022/23 and FY 2024/25, the second between FY 24/26 and FY 2026/27 and the final one between FY 2026/27 and FY 2028/29. Although the make up of each tranche has already been defined, Defence says that it reserves the right to bring capabilities forward or push them to the right, subject to changing national requirements.
LEFT and BELOW: The current generation of weapons will be replaced, everyhting from 9mm side arms to rifles and machine guns are covered in the various phases of the wider Lethality program.
42 | March 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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