Düsseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall and the U.S. industrials company Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish strategic cooperation in various fields of technology. The two companies intend to cooperate on new visual systems and auxiliary power units for vehicles, among other things.

Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, said: “From auxiliary power units and visual devices to building automation, the list of potential areas of cooperation for our two companies is long. We are grateful to have gained Honeywell as a strategic partner given their long history of innovation and broad technological portfolio.”

Matt Milas, President of Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace, said: “We are excited to collaborate with Rheinmetall AG to bring our cutting-edge technology to support the missions of our allies across the world. New and existing programs will benefit from our joint development, production and sustainment efforts across an extensive list of global defense platforms.”

Together, the companies intend to develop new visual systems that leverage the existing capabilities of the Honeywell 360 Display, a driver vision system that includes a variety of thermal imaging and daylight cameras distributed around the vehicle. With the system, a pair of glasses mounted on a driver’s helmet uses augmented and mixed reality technologies to deliver advanced levels of situational awareness and provide a 360-degree view – even without direct vision through windows or periscopes. The Honeywell 360 Display would provide an immense capability boost for existing fleets of tactical vehicles, such as the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, as well as for new builds of modern weapons systems.

Honeywell and Rheinmetall also intend to collaborate on auxiliary power units that are used in tactical wheeled and tracked vehicles when they are in a position and not moving under their own power. With auxiliary power units, the operating time and operational readiness of a turret system can be significantly increased while still maintaining a low thermal and acoustic signature. Auxiliary power units are a supplement to battery storage and can also be of great interest for stationary tasks, including in the protection of critical infrastructure or properties.

The planned strategic cooperation also aims to explore other areas of collaboration between the two companies, including localized maintenance and support for other Honeywell products installed on strategic platforms utilized by the Bundeswehr.

By leveraging their collective resources, Rheinmetall and Honeywell intend to pursue joint approaches in the field of industrial high-energy applications, specifically in building automation (e.g. air conditioning and ventilation, lighting, access control) and overarching thermal management. The companies will explore how a compact solution consisting of a high-performance battery coupled with an auxiliary power unit and a cooling system could supply the necessary electrical primary energy, including the dissipation of heat, for future weapon systems.

Rheinmetall and Honeywell are also in talks about closer cooperation with regard to capabilities in the areas of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (cUAS) and electronic warfare. As the cooperation progresses, the implementation of the individual measures will be specified in the coming weeks and months.

NIOA New Zealand has officially opened its new Christchurch headquarters, marking a significant expansion after relocating from Auckland.

The new office, warehouse and distribution centre located in Rolleston will serve as the central hub for the company’s New Zealand operations offering enhanced capabilities for its sporting, defence and law enforcement customers throughout the country.

The decision to move the headquarters from Auckland to Christchurch was made last November and is part of NIOA New Zealand’s long-term growth strategy after acquiring the former Sportways wholesaling business in 2022.

NIOA has had a strong presence in New Zealand for many years through its support of the New Zealand Defence Force and New Zealand Police.

The new 1130 square metre facility will house administrative offices, distribution services and a high-tech warehouse and stock management system designed to streamline operations.

Today’s ceremony was attended by NZPOL Capability Manager Inspector Scott McGill, Royal NZ Police College Tactical Training Program Manager Derek Sarney as well as business leaders from the sporting, hunting and outdoor sectors.

NIOA New Zealand General Manager Fraser Winskill emphasised Christchurch’s strategic importance to the company’s New Zealand growth plans.

“The new NIOA facility in Christchurch positions us to better serve the entire New Zealand sporting, law enforcement and military markets,” he said.

“We are grateful for the continued support of our loyal customers and key partners and pleased to see such a strong turnout for this milestone. As always, our primary focus is to exceed the high standards they have come to expect from us.”

NIOA Group CEO Rob Nioa said the opening of the new headquarters reflected the company’s confidence in New Zealand.

“We are excited about the future and what this new chapter means for our New Zealand customers,” he said.

“It is not only a great new facility for Fraser and his team who are committed to driving forward our promise of setting the industry standard for exemplary service, products and outcomes.

“It’s also an investment in the Christchurch local economy and symbolises our confidence in the future of our New Zealand business and the opportunities it presents.”

About the NIOA Group…

• The NIOA Group includes NIOA Australia, NIOA New Zealand, the Australian Missile Corporation, NIOA Inc [USA], Barrett Firearms [USA], NIOA UK and joint venture company Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions.
• Established in 1973, NIOA Group is a global firearms, weapons and munitions company with operations in the USA, Australia and New Zealand with a distribution network covering 75 US State department approved countries.
• NIOA is a major tenant at the Australian government owned, contractor operated (GOCO) munitions facility at Benalla in Victoria where it is currently manufacturing 120mm munitions for the Abrams tank along with 30mm and 35mm cannon ammunition.
• The company is a joint venture partner with Rheinmetall of Germany in the Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions 155mm artillery forging facility in Maryborough, Queensland, delivering key munitions for allied nations.
• NIOA has a strategic agreement with Aerojet Rocketdyne, a L3Harris Technologies company, to explore the manufacturing of key munitions and components within Australia’s sovereign guided weapons enterprise.

Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins visited the Hanwha Defence Australia stand at the 2024 Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition to announce the successful recipients of rounds 3 and 4 of the Supply Chain Uplift Program (SCUP).

Funding of $827,000 has been awarded to 13* Victorian businesses to help them better compete for and win projects as part of the supply chain for Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) and other major defence businesses – creating new jobs, export opportunities, and attracting investment to Victoria.

The successful companies in these two rounds includes:

1. Amiga Engineering P/L

2. Anywise Consulting

3. Brockman Engineering

4. Copamate

5. Corvus Technology Solutions

6. Diamond Defence

7. Electric Motor Power

8. NanoCube

9. Parish Engineering

10. Secure Bits

11. Sutton Tools

12. Tickford Racing

“The Supply Chain Uplift Program is giving our local manufacturers the best shot at securing new contracts – creating new jobs for Victorians and boosting our economy,” Minister Hutchins said.

The matched co-funded grants of up to $100,000 will support manufacturers to undertake business improvement projects, such as systems or facility upgrades, obtaining necessary industry accreditations, and further research and product development programs.

“Working with the Victorian Government to support our two key defence programs means that these SMEs are able to work with us and also on other defence programs, truly uplifting the capabilities and capacities of the sector to complete both here and in Australia,” HDA Acting Managing Director Dean Michie said.

Since 2021, the Victorian Government’s $10 million Victorian Land Systems Fund and Supply Chain Uplift Program have funded business improvement projects at 22 small and medium sized Victorian businesses.

“The support provided by the Victorian Government through SCUP has enabled Diamond Defence to establish a world leading capability in Australia for the Australian defence industry,” Dr Steven Trpkovski Managing Director, Diamond Defence, said.

So far, over $1.3 million has been awarded to enable companies to engage in activities such as modernising manufacturing processes, purchasing equipment and gaining certifications and accreditations to work in the defence sector.

Victoria’s capabilities in advanced manufacturing, workforce talent and defence-related research and development contributes around $8.4 billion annually to the Victorian economy and employs over 24,300 workers.

“The support from the Victorian Government to help uplift its Defence industry has been a massive help to our efforts here in Australia,” Mr Michie said. “The opening of the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) in August this year demonstrates our commitment to Victoria, the Department of Defence and our supply chain partners.”

For more information on the SCUP grant program, head to business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs/victorian-land-systems-fund-supply-chain-uplift-program.

* one company has requested not to be named.

Rheinmetall, one of the largest Defence prime contractors in Australia, is building on the success of the existing Maintenance and Support Partnership established with RGM Maintenance Townsville for the Medium Heavy Capability by joining with Defence prime contractor, Supacat, to ensure a maintenance footprint across Australia.

Nathan Poyner, Managing Director, Rheinmetall Defence Australia, said the signing of the deed of agreement in 2022 was the first step in providing original equipment manufacturer supported maintenance in regions where the vehicles are located.

“These new strategic partnerships aim to reduce total cost of ownership to the Commonwealth and bring ongoing secure jobs, training and sovereign industrial capability to the regions.” 

“The deed brings together both organisations of working in region on the Medium Heavy Capability services for logistic vehicles as part of the Australian Defence Force’s Land 121 program, at RGM premises in Townsville.”

“Recently, Rheinmetall has added two additional partners, RGM Maintenance Darwin and Supacat Perth, a world leading design and technology organisation specialising in high mobility defence vehicles.” 

“These partnerships grow Rheinmetall’s ability to support the Commonwealth of Australia and allied nations, in regions where HX logistic vehicles are located with specialist expertise through the deployment of Field Service Representatives (FSRs) and assistance from technical experts.”

“The agreements allow our partners to provide value-for-money light and medium grade repairs and FSR supported heavy grade repair where the vehicles are located with OEM support.”

“Rheinmetall also gains valuable insights in to how vehicles are performing by utilising these existing trade repair relationships,” Mr Poyner added.

Mr Poyner said that representatives from both organisations participated in a course delivered by Rheinmetall trainers at facilities in regional Victoria on the HX platform focussing on systems, documentation and the associated diagnostic tools across all vehicle variants from the 40M to the 45M Heavy Recovery.

Bruce Tait, Supacat Managing Director, said, “We are delighted to continue to expand our relationship with Rheinmetall to include supporting the HX logistics vehicles from our Support Centre in Perth.” 

“Rheinmetall’s training and support program means that we are confident of being able to support the Rheinmetall vehicles with the same responsiveness and competency that we apply to our own vehicles.  Our focus remains on continuously evolving the capability and availability of Army’s vehicle fleets as it transitions to a literal and amphibious force,” Mr Tait said.

RGM Maintenance Business Development Manager, Mick Ferguson, said RGM had heavy vehicle operations throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory and has a 20+ year history of service provision to the ADF.

“RGM’s support to Rheinmetall reduces maintenance lead times for the ADF’s Land 121 fleet in region, putting vehicles back in the hands of ADF operators sooner,” Mr Ferguson said.