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The Brisbane-based munitions company has onboarded two new weapons engineers to help accelerate its push for the next tranche of the LAND 159 project.
NIOA has announced the additions of Jason Jonker and Carl Norton to its Lithgow-based engineering team.
Jonker joins NIOA from Thales, where he served for approximately 17 years across a number of senior design roles.
His work included supporting the delivery of the EF88/F90 rifle to the ADF under the LAND 125 Phase 3C program.
Norton also makes the switch to NIOA from Thales, where he most recently served as mechanical engineering technician.
He holds experiences across product design and development and has supported key defence innovation projects.
The new appointees join senior engineer Richard Basladynski, who since his appointment in 2020, has delivered small arms and weapons projects from design and testing through to manufacture.
“As well as their personal qualities, Richard, Jason and Carl bring extensive skills and knowledge in small arms development and will further strengthen our industry-leading engineering team,” NIOA general manager, engineering Rudi Bekker said.
The bolstered engineering team is expected to support NIOA’s bid for the next tranche of the LAND 159 Lethality Systems Program, which includes the delivery of a range of assault rifles and machine guns.
NIOA recently completed Stage 1 of Tranche 1 of the LAND 159 Program, which involved test, evaluation and recommendations of the latest sniper and close combat weapon systems.
The appointments follow NIOA’s purchase of Lithgow’s Lidsdale House, which is set to be used as a corporate base while the company explores alternative manufacturing options in the region.
Lithgow has been identified as one potential site, along with Brisbane and Benalla in Victoria.
Once a site is selected, it could host a new $50 million weapons factory specialising in the manufacture of small arms and weapons for the ADF, commercial markets and international export.
NIOA CEO Robert Nioa has committed to building the facility if the company is selected by the Commonwealth government to deliver Tranche 2 of LAND 159.
“These are key personnel appointments for NIOA, and it signals how committed we are to investing in and creating a strong foundation on which we can establish a manufacturing base,” Nioa said.
“NIOA has always placed the highest priority on attracting top talent to deliver the best solutions for our customers. We are thrilled to have Jason and Carl joining Richard on the team.”