QinetiQ awarded Waterhen MCM contract extension

QinetiQ Australia have successfully had their contract extended to provide mine warfare equipment and support services to the ADF at HMAS Waterhen.

The five-year extension to the Mine Warfare Maintenance Facility (MWMF) Support Contract covers the maintenance, sustainment and engineering of complex mine warfare training aids on behalf of Maritime Explosive Ordnance System Program Office (MEOSPO).

The contract was initially awarded in 2017 to develop a robust, sovereign mine warfare training and threat representation capability.

“QinetiQ has worked closely with MEOSPO to support RAN and the Mine warfare training Capability. The ability of QinetiQ Team to change and adapt to meet new and demanding requirements required by the RAN has led to the extension of their current Contract,” said Director Maritime Explosive Ordnance SPO – East, Lawrence McDougall.

“As the capability has grown it has been great to see the user groups collaborating to challenge their crews against real world representative threats in challenging scenarios,” said QinetiQ Australia managing director Greg Barsby.

“What has already been achieved is really just the ‘catalyst’ for future capability and solidifying the RAN as a world leader in Mine Warfare training and threat representation so they can train as they mean to fight.”

QinetiQ has collaborated with the RAN Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving (MCD) community and Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving System Program Office (MCDSPO) since 2018, expanding training capabilities in response to an increasing number of real-world incidents involving naval mines and emerging threats.

The enhanced training capabilities were enabled through the rapid design and local manufacture of a number of batches of specialist training mines to replicate the threats that were being encountered.

QinetiQ’s engineers and specialist technicians are currently working with Navy stakeholders to design and manufacture a number of more complex training product lines, including an "innovative smart mine sensor package based on specific MCD community input and user needs to further bolster the robust capability."

The MWMF support contract forms part of QinetiQ’s significant engineering and threat representation capabilities.