Thales Australia announces successful live-fire testing of new Guardian Angel UGV in NSW

The 8x4 UGV prototype was reportedly designed, built and successfully completed a live-fire test within a speedy development period of six weeks. The UGV was developed in partnership with Chaos 1 and W&E Platt.

The UGV features payload integration with W&E Platt’s remote weapon system, a slim design allowing tactical agility, secure and resilient communications suite as well as containerised mission system allowing Medevac, scout, troop support, fire support and transport variants.

The project is evidence of Thales’ speed to capability and demonstrates the capability of Thales’ Lithgow facility in regional NSW for sovereign innovation and industrial capability in autonomous systems and solutions, according to Andrew Downes, vice-president, Land Thales Australia.

“Guardian Angel has been built leveraging Thales Australia’s expertise in manufacturing, cutting-edge technology and integration, protected mobility vehicle design and industry partnerships,” he said.

“The Thales team, in partnership with Chaos 1 and W&E Platt, have delivered this UGV in an extremely compressed time frame, which is a testament to the skill, dedication and expertise of the workforce at Lithgow.

“UGVs can preserve soldiers by operating in high-risk environments while providing a clear tactical advantage, assisting operations on the battlefield. They offer scalable, agile, cost-effective capability that can increase operational reach without increasing risk to personnel.

VIEW ALL

“Thales Australia is proud to continue strengthening sovereign industrial capability in this country.”

Operating in concert, these UGV platforms are envisioned to offer enhanced tactical flexibility and expanded mission options for the Australian Defence Force while placing technology in harm’s way rather than defence personnel.

The UGV prototype and capability test now paves the way for future UGV platforms and variants with industry collaborations, according to W&E Platt director Allan Platt.

“The Guardian Angel project demonstrated that coordinated Australian industry collaboration creates a seamless pipeline from rapid prototyping to sovereign manufacturing to deliver a defence-ready capability,” he said.

“For our team, the project went well beyond integrating a payload onto an uncrewed platform. It was a powerful demonstration that the Australian industry possesses the vision and momentum to meet emerging operational needs with speed, innovation and sovereign control.”

“Rapid prototyping in true form – little time, extremely chaotic, and high-risk. In just six weeks we moved from a concept graphic to live-fire demonstration and many said it couldn’t be done,” Chaos 1 founder and chief executive Benny Johanson said.

“What the Guardian Angel project proved is the sheer horsepower industry can generate for the warfighter at speed and a bright future for Lithgow.”

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.