Curtiss-Wright completes requirements for Australian turret drive stabilisation

Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions Division  announced that it has successfully completed all Australian Industry Capability (AIC) program requirements for delivery of cost-effective, scalable turret drive stabilization systems (TDSS) to Rheinmetall Defence Australia in support of the Australian Army’s Project Land 400 Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) program. Curtiss-Wright, with the local support of IntelliDesign, its preferred Australian Supplier Partner, completed on schedule the manufacture, qualification and testing of 130 TDSS and associated hand controllers. The success of the local partnership program, in addition to supporting the expansion of Australian industry capability by creating new highly skilled technical jobs, fully met the program requirements for 50% Australian Industrial Content (AIC). “We are very proud to announce that as a result of the success of our Australian Supplier Partner program, Curtiss-Wright was able to support Rheinmetall’s Boxer 8×8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle ‘Boxer CRV’ production schedule,” said Brian Perry, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “We want to thank Rheinmetall for its confidence in Curtiss-Wright, and for recognising us as a trusted, proven leader for TDSS solutions. What’s more, we have been able to further leverage our relationship and successful production program with IntelliDesign to fulfill production requirements for additional Rheinmetall defence programs.” The selection, in 2021, of IntelliDesign as its preferred Australian Supplier Partner, enabled Curtiss-Wright to provide local manufacturing of the TDSS motor controllers and gyroscopes, beginning at the end of 2022. IntelliDesign’s production and testing of the TDSS motor controllers and gyroscopes was completed in August 2024. Curtiss-Wright and IntelliDesign engineering teams worked closely together to source alternative parts and suppliers to prevent the production timeline from being impacted by supply chain challenges. Curtiss-Wright provided IntelliDesign with test benches so that every step of production, including functional and power testing, could be performed seamlessly and without delay locally in Australia. IntelliDesign was able to fully qualify components locally and perform advanced tasks, including the application of special coatings, which was historically undertaken at Curtiss-Wright’s facility in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland. Additionally, the teams collaborated on fit, form, and function design changes, resulting in a more robust TDSS solution. Curtiss-Wright’s TDSS delivers unmatched target location accuracy and turret stabilisation while providing system integrators with an unprecedented level of freedom to define and deploy the exact solution they require. It uniquely enables system designers to upgrade and add stabilisation functionality as their mission requirements change. The TDSS uses standard system configurations, which speeds system development and enables programs to reach demonstration and production phases more rapidly. The use of preconfigured TDSS system components also reduces the time and costs associated with the requirements definition process. TDSS enables system integrators to select the exact aiming and stabilisation solution that their platform requires – from a manually operated drive all the way up to a highly sophisticated, stabilised drive system – while streamlining enhancements and/or system modification for use on different platforms. The TDSS approach is significantly more cost-effective and flexible than traditional bespoke aiming and stabilisation system alternatives. TDSS is designed to make it easy for system integrators to configure only the system that they require now, and later add increasing levels of stabilisation as their mission evolves. TDSS system components can be easily adapted for use on different ground vehicle turrets to meet dynamic program requirements including performance and precision. The TDSS and hand controller products covered by the Project Land 400 Phase 2 CRV program contract were designed at Curtiss-Wright’s Drive Technology facility in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland. The final assembly of the products covered by this agreement will take place at Rheinmetall’s new Military Vehicle Center of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) facility in Redbank, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Group Sales Director Simon Hadfield at [email protected]