Sydney-based Advanced Navigation has secured a major contract with military vehicle developer Rheinmetall Defence Australia to supply its fibre-optic gyroscope inertial navigation systems for the company’s Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles, positioning the group as a key partner in the single largest defence export agreement in Australia’s history.
The agreement comes three years after Advanced Navigation, whose technologies are being used for exploring the ocean floor and in space missions, was engaged by Rheinmetall to supply more than 200 of these systems for the Boxer CRV which is currently in use by the Australian Army.
The latest “multimillion-dollar deal” is part of an export agreement that will see 100 of the Queensland-manufactured vehicles sold to the German Army which is said to be worth more than $1 billion to the domestic economy and branded by the federal government as Australia's largest ever defence export agreement.
“Precise navigation is paramount to the survivability of armoured vehicles,” says Advanced Navigation CEO and co-founder Chris Shaw.
“It provides the situational awareness and ability to coordinate with other units needed to stay operational in challenging environments, where GPS signals are unavailable or unreliable.”
Rheinmetall's Boxer CRV, which is manufactured in Ipswich, is a new-age armoured vehicle developed for Australia's $5.7 billion Land 400 Phase 2 program. It is replacing the army’s existing Australian Light Armoured Vehicle which was brought into service almost 30 years ago.
The Boxer CRV, which is in service with defence forces globally, offers enhanced troop safety, security and protection, coupled with high levels of firepower and mobility for sustained operations ranging from peacekeeping to high-intensity combat.
The vehicle is equipped with a reconnaissance mission module including the two-person digital Lance turret which is the first crewed medium-calibre turret to be put into service on the Boxer platform.
“In Australia, Rheinmetall is the largest supplier of military vehicles to the country's armed forces,” says Shaw.
“Our PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) solution equips the Boxer CRVs with accurate and robust navigation independent of satellite signals, ensuring they maintain tactical advantage in all conditions, even in electronic warfare scenarios. It is a huge honour to be selected as their partner, in a time of rising geopolitical conflicts.”
In GPS-contested environments, the FOG INS will provide the vehicles with the independent control, situational awareness and positioning critical to staying operational.
Advanced Navigation’s FOG INS is powered by the company’s breakthrough algorithmic technology that delivers navigation data superior to outputs based on traditional filter methods, while hosting a small form factor.
The built-in optical gyroscope technology has no moving parts, which makes it less susceptible to shock and vibration-induced errors, which the company says is critical when the vehicle is travelling through rough terrains.
The collaboration with Rheinmetall builds on the Department of Defence's Global Supply Chain Program which is seeking to boost the number of Australian suppliers participating in major defence export opportunities and re-enforce sovereign capability.
Advanced Navigation, which is chaired by former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull, is said to be among only four companies in the world to manufacture strategic-grade FOG components.
The company’s high-tech PNT facility adopts a vertical integration framework, covering all phases of photonics and FOG development, from design and quality testing to automated manufacturing.
Rheinmetall Defence Australia, a division of German technology giant Rheinmetall Ag, is headquartered at Redbank in Ipswich with operations in Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Townsville and Wellington, and works with the Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force.
Advanced Navigation was founded in Perth where it has a Subsea Research Centre that was opened last year, although it is now headquartered in Sydney where it operates a high-tech robotics manufacturing facility based at UTS Tech Lab
The company last year secured a $5.2 million grant to advance development of its breakthrough Light Detection, Altimetry and Velocimetry (LiDAV) technology.
The space-qualified LiDAV sensor called LUNA is being delivered to Intuitive Machines in the US as part of a NASA program, with its technology expected to be on board a mission to the Moon in 2025-26.
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