Page 25 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2022

NOVEMBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE BUSINESS
LAND FORCES 2022 25
BELOW LEFT: Saab’s RBS 70 has been in ADF service since 1987
ABOVE RIGHT: Boeing Defence Australia has modified 18 ADF Bushmasters with a Headquarters
On The Move capability under Project Currawong
BELOW RIGHT: Polaris Vice-President for Government and Defence Nick Francis (left) and Michael Cannell, Polaris Industries Australia and New Zealand Sales Manager with a Polaris MRZR at Land Forces 2022
most,” Francis said. “They don’t need high speed or high horsepower or high-performance vehicles.”
Polaris’ military vehicles feature aircraft tiedown points, helicopter lift points and diesel engines also able to run on aviation fuel.
Polaris vehicles have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other theatres with US Forces.
“They were widely used in Afghanistan with some use in Iraq,” he said.
Polaris local subsidiary is Polaris Sales Australia is based in Melbourne, with 80 dealers in Australian and 20 in New Zealand. Though the ADF has acquired Polaris ATVs, the company’s biggest customer remains the agriculture sector. The company produced its first ATV in 1985 and all its defence vehicles are manufactured in the in Roseau, Minnesota, the original factory.
ATVs are typically small, but the larger variants such as the MRZR are near small vehicle size and can be driven on public roads in Europe.
“We are still working through that process in Australia,” said Michael Cannell, Sales Manager for Australia.
BOEING ACHIEVES CURRAWONG ACCEPTANCE MILESTONE
The final deliverables of Boeing Defence Australia’s locally-developed Currawong integrated battlefield telecommunications system have been completed, after an eight-year program to design, develop and deliver the system to the Commonwealth under JP2072 Phase 2B.
The final tranche of capability was the Headquarters on the Move concept, which integrates elements of the Currawong system into 18 of Defence’s Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, allowing commanders to remain connected even when travelling through remote areas at speed. Acceptance of this capability occurred in August.
The Currawong capability has been delivered over three major releases, in 2017, 2020 and 2021. The Headquarters on the Move capability had originally been included in Release Three, but was delayed at the request of the Commonwealth while more features were added.
“We have added an External Network Access Point (ENAP), which allows you to use untrusted networks – so, any kind of unclassified bearer that you might have,” Boeing Defence Australia’s Project Currawong Project Manager Tom Minge explained.
“While it already has an on the move satellite communications capability, you might want to add a third-
party terminal and it (ENAP) will allow you to communicate securely over that platform. We’ve also added extra computing power with our tactical edge servers, which are a classified computing device, and application hosting, and hosting of the new (Systematic) Integrated Battle Management System and mission partner environment developed by Army’s Land Network Integration Centre.”
Boeing is also now in the second year of a six-year Capability Enhancement Program (CEP) of the Currawong system. “We are delivering a technology refresh, new capability and responding to new technology,” Minge added. “It might be as simple as upgrading the CPU and RAM in the computers we provide, or it might even be utilising augmented and virtual reality into the training we are providing.”
LOCKHEED MARTIN PITCHES HIMARS/
LRASM FOR LAND 4100 PHASE 2
Lockheed Martin unveiled its proposal for Defence’s Land 4100 Phase 2 (Deployable Land-Based Anti-Ship System) at Land Forces 2022.
The company’s Business Lead for the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) Dom DeScisciolo said Lockheed Martin is proposing a solution based on the successful M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
POLARIS NIGEL PITTAWAY