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The global defence contractor has been awarded an $84 million US sole source IDIQ contract for the delivery of next-generation advanced bomb suits for the US Army.
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As part of the contract, QinetiQ will deliver 700 units of the suit in partnership with the US Army’s Project Manager Soldier Protective Equipment product team, replacing the Advanced Bomb Suit which has been in use for 20 years.
They are expected to provide additional protection to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal soldier, enabling them to safely dispose of IEDs and other threats.
The suit is designed to provide 360-degree ballistic protection and improve situational awareness through its modular sensor suite (MSS) and heads-up display (HUD).
Shawn Purvis, president and chief executive officer of QinetiQ US, welcomed the opportunity to provide the advanced protective equipment to the United States military.
“NGABS is a great program for us to partner with the US Army on as it embodies the type of mission readiness that we are enthusiastic about helping our customers be equipped with,” Purvis said.
“Enabling the PM SPE team to be equipped with what it needs to provide enhanced protection for various situations globally, that ultimately leads to increased survivability of the force, is an honour and we are proud to do it.”
The suits will improve safety for soldiers working in one of the military’s most dangerous roles, Steve Iwicki, executive vice-president over QinetiQ US’ space initiatives and defence technologies and solutions portfolio, added.
“The EOD soldiers have one of the most life-threatening jobs in the military and we are honoured to partner with the US Army PM SPE to provide the technology and hardware that will protect these soldiers so they can complete their missions safely and securely,” Iwicki explained.
“Our team has worked diligently to enhance the NGABS soldier experience through increased mobility and survivability in the construction of the suit.”
In September, the company announced the launch of Jackdaw UAS for use in swarming and collaborative autonomous operations, crewed-uncrewed teaming, as well as to accomplish missions involving reconnaissance, electronic warfare, airborne decoy, and threat representation.
Jackdaw is expected to provide affordable combat mass and battlespace capabilities to reduce operational risk and dependence on expensive crewed aerial platforms.
Mick Andrae, QinetiQ robotics and autonomous systems global campaign director, said Jackdaw can team up with other UAS and crewed platforms to provide enhanced mission effectiveness, reduce threat to human lives, and reduce the cost of conducting operations.
“The Jackdaw concept leverages QinetiQ’s expertise in very low-cost, high-performance aerial targets, such as the Banshee family, and is enhanced with autonomous mission management and human-machine teaming capabilities,” he said.
“Critically, Jackdaw’s autonomous goal-based mission management system is intended to integrate with NATO and allied open architectures, ensuring interoperability with existing and future crewed and uncrewed systems.
“This, combined with the very low-cost aerial target design philosophy, makes Jackdaw highly suitable for use as a disposable UAS in air, maritime, and land domain applications.”
