MBDA is pleased to announce the signing of Memorandums of Understanding with five Australian companies as part of its strategy to transfer the manufacture of its MMP missile system to Australia if it is selected for the $20bn LAND 400 program.  MBDA’s commitment to Australia is further underpinned by the intention to create MBDA Australia Pty Ltd, which we are also pleased to announce today.

South Australian companies Airspeed and Codan, Victorian companies Pennant Australasia and Pelican Trimcast together with West Australian based Hofmann Engineering are the latest additions to the MBDA Australia Partnering Network, which already includes Queensland’s Ferra Engineering.

“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.” MBDA Australia Managing Director, Andy 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”.

“MMP is the only fifth generation anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) in production. It is the most advanced and lowest risk missile solution for Land 400 Phase 2 and offers unique technological and strategic benefits to Australia,” he said.

“MBDA’s approach to Australian Industrial Capability 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 through the transfer of production capability, high value skills and cutting edge technologies”.

“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.” Mr Watson said.

Dave Armstrong, MBDA’s Group Sales and Business Director, said “MBDA has had products in service in Australia continuously over the last 60 years with ASRAAM currently in service with the RAAF on the F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet.  We have a proven track record in working with Australia to support and develop its complex missile systems capability and we intend to build on this experience with Land 400 and future programs”.

“Today’s announcement is part of an ongoing program of Australian industrial engagement with further announcements to be made as our plans for missile build and longer term sustainment mature” Mr Armstrong said.

MBDA has a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA. In 2016 MBDA achieved a turnover of 3.0 billion euros with an order book of 15.9 billion euros. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).

Airspeed is an Australian company specialising in the application of composite materials for aerospace, maritime and energy-related projects. Design capabilities encompass all aspects of engineering pertaining to composite materials including Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics and 3D Computed Aided Design. Airspeed’s manufacturing capabilities include multi-axis filament winding, autoclave-cured, vacuum-bagged & oven-cured or resin-infused laminates using carbon, aramid and glass fibres.

Codan Defence Electronics, a subsidiary of Codan Limited (ASX:CDA), offers design and product development, advanced manufacturing and through-life support to the Australian defence industry.  Codan Ltd is a technology company that provides robust technology solutions that solve customers’ communications, safety, security and productivity problems in some of the harshest environments around the world. Codan customers include United Nations organisations, mining companies, security and military groups, government departments, major corporates as well as individual consumers and small-scale miners.

Pennant Australasia is a leading provider of professional integrated logistics support, specialised training solutions and information services for commercial and defence organisations throughout Australasia. Pennant is able to support demanding needs for training solutions through initial design through development, acquisition, and support. Pennant is partnered with several companies in Australia including BAE Systems Australia, Thales, Agusta-Westland (now Leonardo), Boeing Defence Australia, SAAB Australia, and the Australian Defence Force. Pennant Australasia Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pennant International Group.

 Trimcast is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pelican, the global leader in the provision of highperformance laboratory-engineered protective packaging systems for precision military equipment. With more than 40 Years of practical experience, active in-service performance and service to the defence industry, Pelican’s Australian design and production facility – known locally as Trimcast – produces bespoke, shock mitigating & vibration-attenuating systems inside the appropriately-sized outer protective case to protect the inner payload through virtually any journey. These solutions are specialized for weapons, weapons systems, deployable IT & medical equipment, rotable components & critical spares for any platform, and power units in any domain. This capability is unique in Australia, and is exported around the world to other NATO-aligned and ITAR-approved military customers, as well as Tier-1 commercial aviation organisations including Airbus, Boeing, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, Qantas, Virgin and Air New Zealand. For more information, visit www.pelican.com or www.behrmancap.com.

 Hofmann Engineering is one of Australia’s largest privately owned engineering facility operating 24 hours per day, 7 days per week with Facilities in Perth, Melbourne, Bendigo and Newcastle. Hofmann Engineering is able to offer an unparalleled range of machining and precision manufacturing services to its clients. Vertically integrated Hofmann Engineering is able to maintain the highest quality and leading delivery time frames from sourcing through to delivery. With its size and capability large customers with exacting and arduous requirements in military, mining, aerospace, rail continue to turn to Hofmann Engineering to deliver on critical projects.  Emergency repairs and rapid rebuilds can be conducted on a wide range of high volume production machinery, components and specialist tools, complete with compliance documentation to most international codes and standards. Hofmann’s commitment to continuous quality improvement touches every aspect of its products, services and customer support.

Fonte: Comunicato MBDA in lingua inglese

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