(Updates with IAI collaboration)
The Australian Missile Corporation (AMC) announced the signing of the first partners to the AMC collaboration; Quickstep and Black Sky Aerospace. The expertise of leading Australian companies such as Quickstep and Black Sky Aerospace will be critical to support the Australian Government realise its vision for a sovereign guided weapons enterprise equipped and ready to support the Australian Defence Force. The Australian Missile Corporation is a subsidiary of NIOA, formed to facilitate collaboration between industry partners, academia, state governments and Defence in response to the Australian Government’s call to establish a sovereign guided weapons enterprise.
Robert Nioa, CEO of NIOA and the Australian Missile Corporation, welcomed the participants. “Highly capable organisations such as Quickstep and Black Sky Aerospace will be critical to the success of the Commonwealth’s sovereign guided weapons enterprise. We welcome any opportunity to partner through the Australian Missile Corporation collaborative platform and showcase and support the expertise of leading Australian companies”.
Mark Burgess, CEO of Quickstep, said, “Australian industry has broad capabilities, NIOA’s initiative represents an important collaborative framework to promote those capabilities and ensure the success of this sovereign enterprise. We look forward to working with like-minded companies on achieving the Commonwealth’s guided weapons strategy”.
Blake Nikolic, CEO of Black Sky Aerospace, said, “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be a part of building a sovereign capability that is critical in protecting our Australian way of life. Black Sky Aerospace is proud to partner with Nioa and other decorated and respected sovereign manufacturers and to contribute our expertise in the name of creating a truly Australian guided weapons capability.”
NIOA was founded in regional Queensland in 1973 and is the largest Australian owned weapons and munitions prime contractor. Committed to the development of Australian sovereign capability, NIOA is investing $130 million in domestic munitions and explosives manufacturing over the next five years, including a $60 million artillery shell forging plant in Maryborough Queensland with joint-venture partner Rheinmetall Waffe Munitions, an upgrade of the Commonwealth’s Government-owned Benalla munitions plant in Victoria and an $11 million expansion of its Brisbane warehouse and distribution facility.
Quickstep is the largest independent aerospace composites business in Australia, with facilities in Sydney, Geelong, Melbourne and Dallas. The group employs more than 280 people in Australia and internationally.
Black Sky Aerospace is Australia’s most experienced solid propellant and rocket platform manufacturer, launching Australia’s first commercial payloads in November of 2018. Through the commissioning of Australia’s only large-scale solid propellant production facility in December 2020, Black Sky Aerospace has gone on to fly the first completely sovereign designed, built, and powered launch vehicles in the country’s history in January of 2021. Looking ahead, Black Sky Aerospace is uniquely positioned to support the development of an Australian guided weapons capability by providing energetics manufacturing and test expertise.
IAI and Australian Missile Corporation Collaborating
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has confirmed its interest in cooperating with NIOA’s Australian Missile Corporation to fulfil the Australian governments vision of developing sovereign Australian defence capabilities. Both companies believe that the joint capabilities are synergetic and the joint effort will provide leading innovative local solutions for the benefit of Australian industries. IAI is a world-leading aerospace and defence company innovating and delivering state-of-the-art technology in space, air, land, naval, cyber and homeland security for defence and commercial markets. With decades of combat-proven experience, IAI provides customers with cutting-edge solutions, tailor-made to the unique challenges they face. These include satellites, UAVs, missiles, intelligence solutions, weapon systems, air defence systems, robotic systems, radars, business jets, aerostructures, and more.
Robert Nioa, CEO of NIOA and the Australian Missile Corporation welcomed the support from IAI. “Working with highly capable organisations such as IAI is critical to the success of the Commonwealth’s sovereign guided weapons enterprise. We welcome any opportunity to bring leading technologies to Australia to enhance the capability of the Australian Defence Force.”
IAI Australian-based managing director, Oded Sheshinski said, “IAI’s strategy to support Australian companies establish their own sovereign capability is based on the successful transfer of knowledge and knowhow to selected governments and companies worldwide, providing those countries with, and enabling real sovereign capability”.
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Its a great and important initiative.
The previous sovereign guided missile capability was killed off very effectively by the Federal Government
Lets hope there is sufficient private equity investment to ensure a long-lived, rejuvenated capability.