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Saab Receives Additional Mobile Air Defence Order from Lithuania

Sunday, October 6th, 2024

Saab has received an additional order from Lithuania for the Mobile Short-Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) solution. The order value is SEK 1.2 billion and deliveries are scheduled 2026-2029.

Saab announced the initial MSHORAD order from Lithuania in July 2024. With this additional order, a second battery within the Lithuanian armed forces will be provided with Saab’s mobile air defence capability.  

“We are proud to continue supporting the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ short-range air defence capability. MSHORAD is a highly mobile solution which enables the user to quickly and effectively identify and counteract air threats,” says Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.

“The acquisition of the Mobile Short-Range Air Defense System (MSHORAD) will enhance the Lithuanian military’s capability to counter potential enemy air attacks. The advantage of this system is its mobility, making it a highly necessary system for Lithuania,” said Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kas?i?nas.

The order includes Mobile Firing Units, Mobile Radar Units and a Command- and Control (C2) system. Saab will integrate MSHORAD into JLTV vehicles manufactured by the U.S. company Oshkosh before delivery to the customer.

MSHORAD is Saab’s mobile air defence solution. The system consists of the Mobile Radar Unit based on the Giraffe 1X radar, the Mobile Firing Unit based on the RBS 70 NG, all connected with GBAD C2, which is Saab’s command and control system for ground-based air defence.

Rheinmetall and Honeywell Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Develop New Technology

Friday, October 4th, 2024

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.

NP Aerospace Receives Contract from BeMOD to Deliver Remaining Light Tactical Transport Vehicles

Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

NP Aerospace, the global vehicle integrator and armour manufacturer, has today announced the award of a contract by the Belgium MOD (BeMOD) to deliver the remaining 87 Light Tactical Transport Vehicles (LTTV). The original LTTV programme was to deliver 199 of the Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG based vehicles to the BeMOD. The contract to deliver the remaining vehicles has been novated following NP Aerospace’s acquisition of the assets of Jankel Armouring Limited, announced on 10 June 2024.

As well as the production of new LTTV vehicles, this contract also includes lifetime in-service support to the LTTV vehicle fleet for which NP Aerospace will use its proven Vehicle Systems, Services and Spares business unit to deliver. In addition to the LTTV contract, NP Aerospace has also signed an in-service support contract with BeMoD for their Rapid Reaction Vehicles (RRV) fleet, a product for which NP Aerospace also now owns the intellectual property.

NP Aerospace will commence the ramp up of the production plan adopting a fresh approach, with operations being established in their Coventry facilities. As already agreed with the customer, a particular emphasis will be placed upon working to the required quality standards and timescales.

NP Aerospace has a fully established vehicle related, UK-based supply chain in place and will be employing proven best practices to deliver a production programme that meets and where possible, exceeds customer expectations, bringing delivery back on track.

The LTTV vehicle is designed to provide a modular and configurable tactical support vehicle that benefits from unique, removable mission modules that enable the vehicle to be re-roled rapidly for operational platform versatility. With a payload of over 3 tonnes, dependent on the final vehicle specification, the LTTV has 3 core variants for Special Operations support, including an ambulance variant. Alongside a user-configurable, fully integrated suite of military sub-systems that includes a removable ballistic protection kit, a Roll-Over-Protection-System (ROPS), weapon mounts and communications fit.

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-François Gennotte from BeMoD said: “We are very pleased with the acquisition of the assets of Jankel Armouring Limited by NP Aerospace, which allowed us to novateour existing contracts and to keep our fleet supported. The long record of experience in this sector of NP Aerospace looks very promising and we are looking forward to a long lasting and hopefully fruitful cooperation.”

James Kempston, NP Aerospace CEO, commented: “following on from our recent announcement regarding the acquisition of Jankel Armouring Limited’s assets, we’re very pleased indeed to announce the award of this major contract, having been novated to us by the BeMoD customer.” He added: “We’re now putting everything in place to get the LTTV programme up and running and delivering to the customer’s expectations. This is great news for NP Aerospace, for our UK supply chain and for Coventry as we continue to create and/or sustain high skilled jobs in the region and across our supplier partnerships.”

Catch Up with Ocean State Innovations at Upcoming Future Forces Forum in Prague

Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

OSI / Ocean State Innovations will be attending the FFF / Future Forces Forum in Prague – October 16-18th, 2024

NIOA New Zealand Open New Headquarters in Christchurch

Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

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.

Major Order from Denmark: Rheinmetall to Supply Skyranger 30 for Mobile Air Defence

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

Rheinmetall has once again won a major order in the field of mobile air defence. The Kingdom of Denmark has contracted with Rheinmetall Air Defence to supply sixteen Skyranger 30 air defence turrets and additional vehicle equipment for an 8×8 wheeled platform for use by the Danish armed forces. The order is worth a figure in the low three-digit million euro range. In addition, the customer has ordered ammunition in the low double-digit million euro range. Deliveries of the serial turrets are scheduled for 2027 and 2028, while a prototype is expected to be delivered in late 2026.

Lieutenant General Per Pugholm Olsen, head of the Danish procurement agency FMI, stated: “The signing of this contract is an important step toward establishing the brigade’s air defence, which is an essential part of making the brigade fully operational. The selection of the Skyranger turret and its machine cannon was made in close cooperation with our colleagues at the Defence Command.”

Oliver Duerr, CEO Rheinmetall Electronic Solutions: “We are grateful that Denmark, another major NATO customer, now trusts our Skyranger 30. We are pleased to be able to integrate Skyranger into another vehicle platform. This demonstrates the modularity and adaptability of our system.”

The Skyranger 30 offers an optimal combination of mobility, protection, flexibility and precision to meet the growing demands of challenging threat scenarios at close and very close range. As a hybrid solution, its turret combines the powerful 30mm x 173 KCE revolver cannon, surface-to-air guided missiles and the necessary sensors on a single platform. The well-thought-out design of the various weapons, high dynamics and a large elevation range, as well as state-of-the-art sensors, enable both autonomous and networked operations. The system’s airburst ammunition with a programmable airburst point of detonation is particularly suitable for countering drones.

The order that has now been placed once again underscores Rheinmetall’s role as a world market leader in cannon-based air defence. At the same time, it continues the success of the Skyranger 30. The Republic of Austria has placed an order for the procurement of 36 Skyranger 30 systems as the first customer. Other NATO and EU member states are also planning to procure the system or have already initiated the process.

In December 2023, Hungary commissioned Rheinmetall to carry out the conceptual development of the Skyranger 30 turret for the future anti-aircraft variant of the Lynx KF41 tracked vehicle. As recently as January 2024, Rheinmetall and a number of industrial partners were awarded a contract to develop the Close and Very Short Range Air Defence System (Nah- und Naechstbereichsschutzsystem, NNbS) for the Bundeswehr, in which the Skyranger 30 will be integrated as an important component in the future. In February 2024, the Bundeswehr placed a further order for the Skyranger 30 mobile air defence system. The prototype is to be delivered as early as the end of 2024, and 18 series-produced vehicles have also already been ordered.

Victorian Government Grants to Support Hanwha Defence Australia’s Local Supply Chain

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

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.

Meprolight Unveils the MMX3/MMX4 – Micro Magnifiers for Assault Rifles, Providing Target Magnification of up to 4 Times for Any Red Dot Sight

Tuesday, October 1st, 2024

Enhancing Precision: The MEPRO MMX3/MMX4 Provides Soldiers with Improved Long-Range Capabilities and Short-Range Precision
Israel, October 01, 2024 – Meprolight (1990) Ltd., a member of the SK Group and a leading manufacturer of electro-optical systems, thermal and night vision equipment, as well as self-illuminated sights for military, law enforcement, and civilian applications, unveils the MMX3/MMX4 micro magnifiers for assault rifles. These compact and lightweight magnifiers provide up to 4x magnification for any red dot sight, significantly enhancing soldiers’ accuracy, range, and observation capabilities, thereby equipping them with marksman-like abilities.

In today’s conflict scenarios, the perception of assault rifles has shifted. Military forces, police forces, fast-response teams, and other security agencies use assault rifles equipped with red-dotsights. Meprolight’s magnifiers enable those users to achieve faster target identification and extremely high shooting precision at a lower cost compared with constant or variable magnification optical sights.

The MMX3/MMX4 micro magnifiers provide versatility for different setups and enhance operational flexibility. With no need for zeroing, they allow users to quickly attach them to the Picatinny rail only when needed and benefit from enhanced magnification without time-consuming adjustments.

With a quick-release Picatinny adapter and a side flip mechanismwhere agility and speed are of the utmost importance, it enables users rapid target acquisition with both eyes open maintaining afull field-of-view; only when mission requires the magnifier can be quickly engaged.

Compact and weighing less than 200g they reduce the footprint, saving rail space and weight for the user. Elevation and windage adjusters provide precise alignment of FOV with sight’s reticle.

The Mepro MMX3 and Mepro MMX4 micro magnifiers attach to any MIL-STD-1913 rail directly behind the optic.

“The Mepro MMX3/MMX4 were developed to meet the growing need for improved shooting capabilities in the field,” says Golan Kalimi, SVP Marketing at Meprolight. “We are proud that these magnifiers have already been operationally proven and are being used by the IDF, Israel Police, and other forces around the world. By enhancing long-range target acquisition and short-range precision all at a reasonable cost, capabilities that were previously reserved for specialized marksmen are now available for every soldier and user, significantly contributing to force mission success.”