Within Australia, Nioa as prime contractor is helping deliver the ADF’s Project Land 159 Tranche 1, which is a multi-faceted programme promising a bevy of new small arms to soldiers.
Brisbane-based Nioa had been selected in July 2020 to approach the market and to subsequently evaluate and select eleven categories of weapons and accessories under this AUD527.2 million (USD380.6 million) Lethality Systems project.
Commencement of the acquisition phase of Land 159 Tranche 1 was announced by Major General Andrew Bottrell, Head Land Systems, on 30 September 2022. ‘This is a bold step into modern weaponry to quickly improve Australia’s defence preparedness … The collaboration between Defence and industry means we will acquire the best available weapon systems for our troops,’ he explained.
So what does Land 159 encompass? First off the rank are sniper, surveillance, target acquisition, assault breaching and close-combat weapons. These will serve the ADF beyond 2030.
Already selected are SIG Sauer P320 XCarry Pro 9mm pistols, which will supersede incumbent Browning Mk3 pistols. The P320s have reflex sights and a white-light illuminator. SIG Sauer will also supply its modular MCX in .300 Blackout calibre as a personal defence weapon for specialist roles.
The Australian Army will get new combat shotguns in the shape of the Benelli M3A1 too. Useable in semiautomatic or pump-action modes, the shotguns have red dot sights and white-light illuminators.
Snipers have not been left out either. The Accuracy International AX-SR will act as a long-range sniper rifle, these multi-calibre rifles able to fire .338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum or 7.62mm calibre bullets.
Heavier yet is the Barrett M107A1 anti-material sniper rifle, complete with optics, night vision, range-finding devices and suppressors. Incidentally, the M107A1 had been selected before Nioa acquired Barrett Firearms in early 2023. Also being procured for snipers is Safran’s JIM Compact multispectral surveillance device and Steiner laser range-finding binoculars.
Finally, ZU Bladeworx is providing double-edged fighting knives with a 100mm blade.
While no information is available on the quantity of each weapon type being acquired for the ADF, first deliveries could occur midyear. Nioa will acquire, verify, validate, certify, introduce into service and provide through-life support for each of the aforementioned weapons.
Before making its recommendations for each weapon/accessory type to government, via a final evaluation report submitted on 4 November 2021, Nioa’s ‘best-of-breed’ selection process saw it sampling 649 different products in conjunction with the ADF. More than 31,000 rounds were fired in testing.
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