Page 123 - Australian Defence Magazine September 2018

based on local defence and law enforce- ment feedback to integrate into the ulti- mate small arms systems to our defence and law enforcement personnel”.
“Our point of discrimination is that the manufacture of these systems will occur in SA and will be achieved by drawing on our existing expertise and capabilities along with partnering with another well-known precision manufacturer already supplying to defence in Australia and internation- ally,” she explained. “The capacity to up- grade products with emerging technology and as requirements are redefined by the agency, along with the ability to provide a faster turn around on service items will be second to none.”
ForceOrdnance, launching at Landforc- es 2018, is looking at in excess of 48 vari- ants of small arms under its newly formed partnership with the US based company, with many of them to be on show at the trade show; primarily rifles, so AR-10/15 style platforms.
The conference will afford end-users an opportunity to assess which variations that would best suit their needs as future
small arms programs come together (see P84 for more on this).
ForceOrdnance currently supplies small arms to several Australian law enforcement agencies and weapon op- tics to ADF through it’s sister division, Nightforce Optics.
Exports
Given the current enthusiasm for Defence exports, RLD though its various business is well positioned to grow their SA base.
”Currently, we export to around 50 countries, for both our optics and lighting products,” Leniger-Sherratt said to ADM. We have proven success in the design and delivery of our weapons optics into mili- tary and law enforcement agencies and previous success in providing IR lighting solutions, also procured by military. Over- all, our current export volume is around 30 per cent of our product portfolio. Al- though Initially the ForceOrdnance divi- sion will be primarily focused on the Aus- tralia/NZ military and law enforcement agencies, our longer term strategy is to ex- pand into other countries to increase our
“We’re seeking acknowledgement and recognition from State and Federal Gov- ernment and associated agencies that we’re not a small operator,” she said. “We are strategically placing ourselves squarely in the defence space to help the govern- ment fulfil their sovereign capability strategy in terms of offering Australian manufactured solutions, with through life support in the small arms solutions, which will ultimately meet the objectives of the government’s Export Strategy.
“I understand that there are no other SME’s offering this type of capability, so we are hoping that, where possible, we are rec- ognised as a business making a significant investment into future projects and the rel- evant legislative pathways are designed to support smooth business flow. We feel that we are breaking some new ground here.”
The company is commencing manufac- turing this month under the guidance and mentorship of its international partner, with a view to refining the design and pro- cess over the next 24 months.
“So, we’ve got a fairly short timeframe to get a lot done!”
export focus across the group. “Depend- ing on market conditions, we will be then expanding out to offering those platforms in the Asia-Pacific region in particular. We are confident that Force Ordnance will provide a vehicle for the Group to focus on advanced manufacturing and technol- ogy will see our product offerings to de- fence and law enforcement significantly increase, domestically and globally”.
With this in mind, the company has already reached out the CDIC to look at what programs can help in these efforts. Leniger-Sherratt is acutely aware of the legal framework around Defence exports and has been making sure that the grow- ing company fulfils the stringent require- ments in this space.
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“ForceOrdnance, launching at Landforces 2018, is looking at in excess of 48 variants of small arms under its newly formed partnership with the US based company.”
FORCEORDNANCE