Because their forge is established to manufacture the range of Rheinmetall 155mm shells, whereas we are looking at domestic production of the US M795 155mm round as our primary artillery round.
How this applies to the Assegai range of munitions which have been qualified on the M777A2 and are being qualified on the AS-9 / AS-10 Thunder and are to be operated alongside the M795 round is anybody’s guess and as usual, the ADF aren’t telling anyone…
They also haven’t told anyone why they went to the expense of buying and qualifying the Assegai rounds on our guns, but want to locally produce the M795 instead…
NIOA / Rheinmetall have talked up their ability to produce other varieties of 155mm ammunition (and even 81mm mortar and 127mm naval ammunition) from their facilities at Maryborough and their access to facilities at Benalla and Mulwala. Perhaps this “pivot” is that, given they specifically pointed to the desire to locally produce 127mm naval ammunition as well as 155mm artillery ammunition?
Personally I thought they were a shoe in for this contract accordingly and was rather surprised it went to Thales. Possibly there were probity issues with it…
NIOA has welcomed the Australian Army’s successful live-fire exercise of the Assegai 155mm munition, marking a significant milestone in advancing battlefield lethality. Soldiers from the Townsville-based 4 th Artillery Regiment (4REG) have become the first to send the new projectile down the range…
www.nioa.com.au