NIOA has appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Australian Army’s successful live-fire exercise of the Assegai 155mm munition, marking a milestone in advancing battlefield lethality.
“It is longer, it is extreme range for us – over 30km which adds at least 30 per cent to our current in-service ammunition range,” 4th Regiment Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Frewin told Channel 7 News.
Soldiers from the Townsville-based 4th Artillery Regiment (4REG) have become the first to send the new projectile down the range during Exercise Shot Start.
“The Assegai munition offers significant improvements in range, lethality and adaptability over current 155mm munition inventories, with various warhead configuration, including precision guided variants, smoke, and illumination rounds," NIOA Australia-New Zealand CEO Ben James said.
NIOA and supply partners JUNGHANS Microtec GmbH, Nitrochemie Aschau GmbH and Rheinmetall Denel Munitions have collaborated with Defence to deliver and integrate Assegai round into the Army’s M777A2 howitzers under the LAND 17-1 C.2 Future Artillery Ammunition program.