Elbit Systems of Australia joins Australian Missile Corporation
Elbit Systems of Australia (ELSA) has signed a strategic alliance with the Australian Missile Corporation (AMC), a subsidiary of Brisbane-based NIOA.
The AMC was established to facilitate collaboration between industry partners, academia, State Governments and Defence in response to the Australian Government’s call earlier this year to establish a sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. Defence’s Request for Information from potential participants closed on 2 August.
ELSA, which is a subsidiary of Israeli firm Elbit Systems, joins a portfolio of international and Australian partners in AMC, including MBDA, Saab, L3 Harris, ROMAR Engineering, Austal, Titomic, TAE Aerospace, Accenture and SME Gateway. It has established a strong reputation for its decade-long work with Defence and is diversifying into homeland security and emergency management, the company says
A globally respected technology company, Elbit Systems is highly active in C4ISR, EW & SIGINT and communications and is a trusted supplier to NATO and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. ELSA’s national portfolio includes the Australian Army’s Battle Management Systems (BMS), Network Management Systems (NMS) and crucial interfaces with airborne platforms (rotary and fixed wing), naval platforms, unmanned systems, EW systems and electro-optical targeting systems.
ELSA’s Melbourne engineering hub will be the portal through which the company and AMC can access leading-edge technology from Elbit’s global network and adapt it for Australian customers. Earlier this year it established also in Melbourne a Centre of Excellence in Human and Machine Teaming.
Robert Nioa, CEO of NIOA and the AMC, welcomed ELSA to the list of strategic alliances that continue to grow the AMC’s network. “We are excited that ELSA has become a part of the AMC vision. Their broad range of capabilities will be invaluable at all stages of the Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise process,” Mr Nioa said.
Elbit Systems of Australia Managing Director, Major General Paul McLachlan AO, CSC (Retd) said: “We are proud to provide innovative development and customisation to AMC. We would look forward to playing a role in transferring technology from global product lines to local industry partners for manufacture, assembly, integration, and support outcomes”.
NIOA was founded in regional Queensland in 1973 and is the largest Australian-owned weapons and munitions Prime Contractor. The company is investing $130m in domestic munitions and explosives manufacturing over the next five years, including a $60m artillery shell forging plant in Maryborough, Queensland, with joint-venture partner Rheinmetall Waffe Munitions; an upgrade of the Commonwealth’s Government-owned Benalla munitions plant in Victoria; and an $11m expansion of its Brisbane warehouse and distribution facility.
ELSA has been involved in the development of Australian sovereign capability since 2010 and employs more than 200 professionals, including 80 veterans and nearly 100 engineers.