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Australia’s next-generation automated turret system, Vantage ATS, has successfully completed live-fire trials in Slovenia, demonstrating precision accuracy and validating its readiness for integration with autonomous land combat platforms.
The Vantage Automated Turret System (ATS), developed by BAE Systems Australia in collaboration with Valhalla Turrets of Slovenia, achieved tight shot groupings and successful target engagement at distances of up to 750 metres during recent testing. The trials were conducted as part of the Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) process and were supported by the Slovenian Military.
According to Kisa Christensen, director of Integrated Defence and Autonomy Systems at BAE Systems Australia, the results exceeded expectations.
“We’ve come away from this test firing knowing that the Vantage ATS fires accurately and performs exceedingly well,” Christensen said.
“This performance offers our customers a highly capable turret that can be integrated with a range of crewed and autonomous platforms, while also delivering lower acquisition costs through the adaptive re-use of legacy cannons already in service.”
The live-fire trials capped off a staged testing process that began following Vantage’s global debut at the Land Forces 2024 exhibition in Brisbane, where it was showcased alongside the ATLAS Combat Capability Vehicle (CCV).
The trials were conducted on a Slovenian Army Patria AMV, demonstrating the system’s platform-agnostic design and suitability for both traditional and uncrewed vehicles.
The Vantage ATS has been specifically optimised for operation on autonomous systems, featuring high levels of automation to align with advanced capabilities found in next-generation land platforms like ATLAS CCV.
It employs the 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun, allowing reuse of cannons from legacy vehicles such as the ASLAV and Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, significantly reducing costs and training burdens.
The turret also incorporates BAE Systems Australia’s Multi-Spectral Automatic Target Detection, Tracking and Classification System (ATTCS) a passive system designed to reduce operator cognitive load, speed up engagement timelines and support one-operator-to-multiple-platform control concepts.
“We’ve also seen the performance of Vantage successfully verified throughout the factory acceptance testing period,” Christensen added.
Following the completion of FAT in May 2025, the turret is set to return to Australia for re-integration with the ATLAS CCV. Further dynamic vehicle testing and subsystem integration will support development of an increasingly autonomous and combat-ready system capable of taking on high-risk battlefield roles, such as direct fire support, combat reconnaissance, obstacle clearance and very short-range air defence.
With its modular design, scalable architecture and cutting-edge automation, the Vantage ATS represents a significant step in Australia’s defence innovation efforts to equip future forces with intelligent, low-risk combat solutions particularly in the increasingly critical field of autonomous land systems.
