Global munitions company NIOA Group has secured another five-year term with the Australian Defence to deliver advanced artillery rounds to the Australian Army.
NIOA’s partnership extension with Defence will “future-proof” supply surety of the Assegai suite of munitions under the LAND 17-C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition program at a time of unprecedented demand for 155mm ammunition worldwide, the company said in a media release.
The modular Assegai ammunition system of projectiles, propelling charges, fuzes, and primers are designed to be configured in many ways to increase lethality and range for training and operational purposes.
Over the past five years, NIOA has worked with supply partners Junghans Microtyec, Nitrochemie Aschau, and Rheinmetall Denel Munitions to integrate the artillery system into the Australian Army’s howitzers. NIOA and the companies are currently working on the system’s integration into K9 Protected Mobile platforms.
A recent Defence Strategic Review (DSR) has recommended accelerating and shoring up the supply of critical munitions and projectiles, which have been included in a $2.5 billion investment in Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance.
Reliable sources like the joint venture Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions shell forging factory in Maryborough, Queensland, are likely to become more critical NIOA said.
Bern James, chief executive officer of NIOA Australia and New Zealand, said the extended partnership would capitalise on a highly successful LAND 17 Program and a key period for ADF capability.
“The LAND 17 FAA program will deliver a step change in reach, coverage and flexibility for the ADF’s artillery capability,” he said. “This LAND 17 deed extension provides the opportunity for NIOA to deliver on both of these objectives for Government and for the ADF.”
