Fresh from its success in supplying the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with 75 of its MRN-4-1 Gravity Refuelling Nozzle Kits, Sydney company Chief Fluid Systems is now eyeing the US market for its innovative product.
This is a compact multi-fitting kit designed for refuelling of helicopters, with the four nozzles compatible with a variety of different helicopter types including those from Airbus, Bell, Boeing and Sikorsky.
“We’ve been told the kit is something the US Marines would likely be interested in for their Forward Arming and Refuelling Points (FARP) due to its compact size,” Chief marketing coordinator Alice Haddon told ADM.
“The kit has caught the eye of a few procurement companies from the US that we are currently in discussions with. We are feeling good about suitability for the market.”
Chief Fluid Systems, based in Chipping Norton, is a family-owned business, currently with 14 employees and founded in 2010 to supply specialised fluid hoses and couplings to the ADF and industry.
“Our main customer is the Royal Australian Navy. We do a lot of shipboard work,” Haddon said.
“We have aviation refuelling hoses but there are also all of the hoses throughout all of the systems on the ship.”
The refuelling kit is the product of two and a half years of research and development. The different nozzles have been successfully trialled on ADF helicopters including MH-60R Seahawk, S-70A-9 Blackhawk, MRH 90 Taipan, Tiger ARH, Airbus Helicopters EC-135T2 and CH-47 Chinook.
The 75 refuelling kits acquired by the ADF will be distributed across the Navy and to the Army’s Aviation Regiments.
“What our kit does is it cuts three nozzles down into one in a case. It is really portable and easily stored. It’s also about a third of the cost,” Haddon added.