Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine March 2019

DEFENCE
LAND WARFARE
LETHALITY
“The four key tenets of the program are weight reduction and the maximisation of rail space on small arms weapons, enhanced weapon modularity, improved terminal ballistics and enhanced fire control systems.”
While the EF88 is still being rolled out, planning has already begun for the next generation of rifles.
Industry Briefings
The briefing on January 31 was latest in a se- ries of engagements with local industry and was well-attended, with additional seating needed to be brought in during the session.
Brigadier Dave Smith, director general of Integrated Soldier Systems (ISS) told attend- ees that the key takeaways were that the Com- monwealth was looking for suitable service providers to deliver the lethality and capability advantage required by the ADF and is seeking innovative solutions for delivery of supplies under the respondents’ proposed SEM.
“Following this RFP process, the Com- monwealth may conduct a Request For Tender (RFT) process, or multiple separate RFT pro- cesses with shortlisted respondents,” he said.
From an Australian Industry Capability (AIC) viewpoint, it was noted that Muni- tions and Small Arms Research, Design, Development and Manufacture has been identified in the government’s Defence In- dustry Capability Plan (DICP) as a Sover- eign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP). As a result, SMEs bidding for the Lethality program may be eligible to share in the $17 million per annum SICP Grant.
“Land 159/4108 will be a major contribu- tor/influencer into the development of the SICP implementation plans,” representa- tives were told. “SICP will be part of the AIC plan (and) you will need to address it, you need to consider how you are going to engage with industry.”
The first briefing session was held in No- vember 2017 with the primary objective on gaining industry feedback on Smart Buyer initiatives for acquisition and sustainment of capability. Secondly, it provided an op- portunity for industry to propose solutions and options and to consider the forming of teams to reduce delivery risk.
In the resultant Request For Informa- tion (RFI), Defence says approximately 730 responses from a diverse range of re- spondents’ were received, in which nine companies indicated a willingness to act as Prime Contractor for some or all of the capabilities, while up to four indicated a willingness to act as a systems integrator. The results also indicated that more than half said they were willing to collaborate or enter into partnering arrangements with other companies.
During the RFI process, Defence also engaged pro- fessional services company KPMG to conduct market analysis and the results were merged with those of the RFI to inform the current RFP.
The RFP is therefore structured on the Commonwealth’s SEM requirements for acquisition and sustain- ment and products, which are grouped into
capability streams.
“Respondents should clearly articulate
the scope of their proposed SEMs and/or Capability Stream(s),” Defence says. “The Commonwealth may shortlist respondents for inclusion in one or more subsequent procurement process or processes.”
Future timeline
Once the RFP closes on March 13, the eval- uations will be tabled before the Defence Investment Committee in mid-2019. The importance of the Lethality program can arguably be gauged by the fact that the com- mittee has adjusted its meeting schedule to suit the post-RFP timeline.
Defence says respondents will be noti- fied sometime in mid-2019, followed by Gate 1 consideration later in the year. A subsequent RFT process is not expected to commence before late 2019, with Gate 2 consideration following in early 2022. Tranche 1 product delivery will then begin in the 2023 timeframe.
44 | March 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au