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The Australian Army has requested experimental prototypes from Australian defence manufacturers Electro Optic Systems and Ichor Autonomy.
The EOS conventional war weapon prototype, worth $396,000, is intended for limited trial, research, experiment and study, according to the Army Headquarters contract published to the Australian government’s AusTender on 21 March. The contract period extends from February this year to 30 June next year.
The Australian Army is integrating the in-service R400 EOS Remote Weapon Station onto its fleet of optionally crewed combat vehicles based on the M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers. Army will test fire the weapon system this year.
EOS Australia currently manufactures general-purpose land and marine remote weapons systems, as well as high-energy laser systems used in counter-UAV roles. The EOS Australia team declined to comment on the contract.
In addition, Ichor Autonomy (IA) has been contracted for a conventional war weapon prototype of the company’s “Autonomous Airborne Battle Buddy” for limited trial, research, experiment, study or development worth $483,780.
IA has been contracted to provide their proprietary autonomy stack incorporated into small uncrewed aerial system, providing surveillance and reconnaissance capability for use by the Australian Army in land applications. It's envisioned to provide GPS-free, fully autonomous flight for conducting surveillance in urban areas and underground locations.
IA currently offers hardware development and sensor integration for secure deployment of autonomy in remote locations.
The contract period extends from February this year to June 30 next year, according to information published on 21 March.
*Additional information was added to this article on March 28 regarding applications with the Australian Army.
Robert Dougherty
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