Sydney based Australian SME Owen International and UK manufacturer Chess Dynamics have announced the signing of a partnership agreement, and the establishment of an Australian supply and support facility for the company’s advanced sensor systems.
The agreement will involve the transfer of IP and training of Australian personnel to be able to commission, repair and upgrade systems and continue development of domestic support capabilities for the Sea Eagle family of Fire Control Electro Optical (FCEO) systems.
This latest agreement formalises the association of the two companies started four years ago, with the aim of supporting advanced electro optical systems upgrades for RAN ship classes. The relationship grew substantially with the selection of the Type 26 for the Hunter Class program in 2018.
Early export wins for Australian Industry as a result of the Hunter Class Frigate AIC plan have already been realised, including the use of Australian cameras and thermal imagers from EOS (Symonston, ACT) and Laser rangefinder from Laserdyne (Molendinar, QLD) in international naval programs.
The EOS cameras and thermal images are being employed within the UK Type 26 Frigates and the Laserdyne Laser Range Finders in a contract Chess have just secured to supply 24 x FCEO directors to the Belgian and Netherlands MCMV program.
Deliveries will take place from 2021 through to 2028.
We are pleased to announce this exciting development for Owen International and Chess Dynamics," Les Goodridge, Managing Director at Owen International said. "We are encouraged that the Department of Defence and Government have shown support for this initiative, allowing Owen International to provide greater efficiencies in sustainment while also undertaking activities in new build and modification programs."