Metal Storm,
Brisbane, Australia: Defence technology company Metal Storm has announced that its US subsidiary, Metal Storm, has been awarded a two year contract worth approximately Au$1.32 million from the US Department of Defense for the research and development of a remotely operated weapon system.
Under the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, Metal Storm will develop, produce and evaluate an anti-personnel, unattended, weapon pod and controller using the company's proprietary electronically initiated munitions delivery systems.
“The objective of the contract is to validate the application of the unique Metal Storm weapon system with various unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs)” said Metal Storm Chief Executive Officer, David Smith.
Funding has been provided by the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and is a continuation of the Phase I Anti-RPG SBIR which was completed in January 2005.
“This contract also highlights the importance of our focus on having a range of certified munitions to use with our 40mm weapon systems”, Mr Smith said.
The weapon pod and controller will be integrated into a command and control system developed under the Network-integrated Remotely Operated Weapons system project, which is sponsored by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
An innovative weapon mount/aiming platform will also be developed, allowing the weapon to be mounted on various types of UGV.
The contract is the latest in a series of agreements announced by Metal Storm which are aimed at commercialising its 40mm technology.
“These agreements demonstrate Metal Storm's continuing focus on achieving successful business development relationships,” Mr Smith said.
The company is also awaiting confirmation of a separate Phase II SBIR contract with the US Army for design and development of less-than-lethal munitions for Crowd Control applications. This contract award is expected to be confirmed shortly and is worth approximately Au$1.22 million.
