Page 52 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

52 LAND WARFARE SOLDIER SYSTEMS
SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
TRANCHE 1 OF LAND 159 SCHEDULE
■ 27 Jul 2020: Expression of Interest released (3 week response period)
■ 23 Sep 2020: Requests for Tenders released (6 week response period)
■ Samples delivered with RFT response or by 13 Dec 2020
■ Oct 2020 - Feb 2021: Evaluations, System Integration, Safety and Performance Testing
■ Feb – Apr 2021: Commonwealth Preview Test and Evaluation Activity
■ Apr – May 2021 Draft of Final Report
■ Jun 2021: Final Report to Defence
■ Jan 2022: Planned Government Gate 2 Approval
■ Q1 2022: Stage 2 (acquisition) commences
weapon systems and is due for Government consideration in FY2026/27.
Based in Brisbane, NIOA’s Australian base for research and development, engineering, testing and maintenance at its 8,000 sqm Eagle Farm headquarters will be the central point of the efforts from the company. The company will be running an industry portal through AWARD for SMEs and other companies looking to partner with them. Timings of the programs can be seen in the breakout box.
bourne and Canberra.
Munitions and small arms re-
search, design, development and manufacture have been identified as one of the government’s top 10 Sover- eign Industrial Capability Priorities.
“For NIOA, the Land 159 pro- gram is all about the next genera- tion in every way,” NIOA Chief Executive Officer Robert Nioa said. “The next generation of weapon systems, the next generation of Australia’s defence industry and, most
importantly, the next generation of the ADF.
“Central to the successful NIOA bid was the engagement
of Australian businesses in the supply chain underpinned by a longer-term vision to become a global exporter to allied defence forces around the world.
“The benefits of this program are expected to reverberate through the whole economy for decades to come,” he said. “Australian industry participation and collaboration is em-
Subject to business case approval, some of the ammuni- tion for the program will be manufactured at the Common- wealth Government-owned Bena- lla plant in regional Victoria where NIOA has a co-tenancy, while proj- ect offices have been set up in Mel-
“MUNITIONS AND SMALL ARMS RESEARCH, DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE ARE A SOVEREIGN INDUSTRIAL CAPABILITY PRIORITY.”
bedded in our strategy. What that means is that for the life of the program the ownership, the intellectual property, the jobs, the skills, the investment, the profits and the control will remain within Australia.”
Earlier that month, NIOA took up a 10-year co-tenancy at the Benalla munitions plant, producing medium and large calibre rounds for the ADF.
The Benalla project is part of a $130 million capi- tal investment in domestic munitions and explosives manufacturing by NIOA over the next five years, in- cluding a $60 million artillery shell forging plant in Maryborough (with joint-venture partner Rheinmetall Waffe Munitions), that will create 100 jobs when it is operational in 2022.
ARMY PROJECTS AND FLEETS AT A GLANCE
Note that the Commonwealth does not release details about companies supplying to Special Forces.
Major Projects
■ Land 53 Phase 1BR Night Fighting Equipment
Replacement (NINOX) – in contract with L-3
Communications Oceania
■ Land 125 Phase 3C Enhanced F88 Steyr – in contract
with Thales
■ Land 2110 Phase 1B Chemical, Biological, Radiological,
Nuclear(CBRN) – In contract negotiations with Leidos
led consortium
■ Land 3025 Phase 1 Deployable Special Operations
Engineer Capability – In contract
■ Land 3025 Phase 2 Deployable Special Operations
Engineer Capability – In contract with
Babcock Australia
■ Joint 2060 Phase 3 – Deployable Health Capability –
negotiations underway
■ Land 125 Phase 4 – Integrated Soldier System –
pre second pass
■ Land 159 – Lethality program – in contract with NIOA for Tranche 1
Emerging Projects
■ AMP 58.10 High Altitude Parachutist’s Oxygen System (HAPO) – Pre Second Pass
■ Land 4108 Direct Fire Support Weapon replacement – Pre First Pass
■ Land 1508 Phase1 Special Operations Capability Enhancements and Continuous Development (Greyfin) – Pre Second Pass
Sustainment Fleets
■ CA08 ADF Small Arms
■ CA10 Direct Fire Support Weapons
■ CA26 CBRNE
■ CA27 Field & Aerial Delivery Equipment ■ CA29 Surveillance Systems
■ CA30 Simulation
■ CA39 ADF clothing
■ CA50 Combat Ration Packs
■ CA52 Combat Protective Equipment