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Five Australian companies have signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with a European arms manufacturer as part of its missile systems bids for the LAND 400 Phase 2 program.
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MBDA announced its partnerships with the five companies at the PACIFIC 2017 exposition in Sydney, along with the establishment of MBDA Australia Pty Ltd.
South Australian companies Airspeed and Codan, Victorian companies Pennant Australasia and Pelican Trimcast, and West Australian based Hofmann Engineering are the latest additions to the MBDA Australia partnering network, which already includes Queensland's Ferra Engineering.
MBDA Australia'a managing director Andy Watson said the MoUs are a result of many years of engagement.
"These companies are truly representative of Australia's world-class engineering capability, and I am delighted that we will have the opportunity to work together on such an important program," Watson said.
"We have been engaged with some of these companies for more than four years and LAND 400 is now providing the catalyst to allow us to take these relationships to the next stage."
MBDA is putting forward MMP for the LAND 400 Phase 2 project, a fifth generation anti-tank guided weapon (AGW).
Watson said, in addressing the government's calls for Australian industry content (AIC), MBDA hopes to see its MMP be the first missile built and further developed in Australia.
"MBDA's approach to Australian industrial content is based on two principles: ensuring the Commonwealth has the highest level of operational independence and sovereignty in its use of the missile and generating real opportunities for Australian industry," Watson said.
"Our vision is for MMP to become the first missile that is built, maintained and evolved in Australia. This means that the missile will be assembled in Australia, with key components and vehicle integration kits built by world-class Australian companies. We hope that these companies will become part of MBDA's global supply chain for MMP and, in the future, for other MBDA systems."
