The Australian Government has announced two major Department of Defence contracts signed with Victorian company, Aquaterro for arms and armour. The company will supply and refurbishment combat helmets for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
“Aquaterro’s work will play an important role in strengthening Australia’s sovereign domestic supply chains and supporting the sustainment of critical ADF capability," Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, said.
The two Soldier Systems contracts the Department of Defence has signed with Aquaterro are the Combat Helmet Contract and the Aquaterro Services Contract in support of Land 300.
The former has an investment of up to $160 million across seven years for the supply and support of the Combat Helmet and Combat Vehicle Crewman Enhanced Helmet, as well as enabling advancements in technology to be adopted throughout the contract term.
The company claims that it has supported the ADF for ten years, supplying over 75,000 Team Wendy Combat Helmets, a type of ballistic helmet, as well as Armor Source/Peacemaker CVC-E Combat Vehicle Crewman helmets, and conducted refurbishment maintenance services on over 30,000 helmets from the ADF fleet.
According to Aquaterro, it has also invested in the only Combat Ballistic Helmet Refurbishment Facility outside the United States, a multimillion-dollar sovereign capability which provides through-life complete refurbishment of the fleet to ensure protection and life-of-type value is maximised.
“The confidence and trust the Commonwealth has shown in Aquaterro, is incredibly rewarding for our team," Aquaterro Founder and CEO, Graeme Bulte, stated.
“These vital elements of the Integrated Soldier System, combining both Arms and Armour, with total integration, engineering, support and sustainment being provided by Australians, in Australia, is a great example of what can be accomplished with an Australian owned company delivering on major contract requirements for Australians in uniform.”
The contract includes the provision of 100 per cent Designed and Made in Australia camouflage helmet covers. Peacemaker camouflage helmet covers for Combat and CVC-E Helmets.
Aquaterro and its’ Peacemaker design and manufacturing enterprise, it claims, is one of the very few entities licensed to manufacture with AMCU (Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform). The first purchase order under the new contract for Peacemaker Helmet Covers has been published, with a cost of around $2.45 million.
Defence and Aquaterro have also signed a $1.16 million support services contract, increasing technical support for small arms capability used by Australian soldiers, sailors and aviators. This contract provides Defence with access to Aquaterro and SIG Sauer technical experience.
The contract will provide recurring services and direct support for SIG SAUER small-arms systems, as well as enable future provisions and next generations of technology and support.
The work will be centred at Aquaterro’s 4.5 acre, high security defence precinct, including, its armoury, range, secure warehouse, advanced manufacturing workshops, and integration facility. The contract includes the joint capabilities of Aquaterro and SIG Sauer working together collaboratively to directly support the ADF.
“The collaborative partnership Aquaterro and SIG have developed over many years, is best described in SIG’s stated mission: to be a reliable, long-term partner to our customers, recognized for the quality and value of our products and the reliability of our commitments. This newly executed contract will provide the Australian Defence Force with the direct benefit of that commitment, and the vertical capability SIG and Aquaterro can deliver," Bulte indicated.
Aquaterro's facility is located in Pakenham, within Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. The company supplies, integrates, supports, maintains, and manufactures products and systems for defence, law enforcement, first response, and rescue, for sea, land, and air domains.