Adelaide-based Supashock Defense Technologies and Rheinmetall, the largest supplier of military vehicles to the Australian Defence Force, have signed a contract to export missile launch pods (MLPs) to NATO allies.
Oscar Fiorinotto, CEO of Supashock Defense Technologies, and Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, signed the contract to export 84 missile launchers under a new two-year contract.
Mr Fiorinotto said through the new contract, Supashock’s missile launcher production programme now exceeds $20 million, creating around 25 direct jobs within Supashock and supporting a further 85 roles through the local supply chain.
“The landmark technology development has brought a new and unique industry niche to South Australia.
“This contract from Rheinmetall will further boost Supashock’s export activities and strengthen the capabilities of our sovereign defence industry. Supashock is proud to play our role in intellectual property development and manufacturing in Australia,” Mr Fiorinotto said.
Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said a timely contract had been awarded for the first of 209 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles delivered to the Hungarian Armed Forces last week, with Australian-made Lance turrets to be included in the program.
“The missile launch pod is a fully modular design and will be integrated into the long gun turret. Integration reduces target capability and provides additional protection when equipped with armor plates.
“The modularity of the MLP provides the capability for multi-platform applications, and the architecture can be modified to suit many land and marine applications,” said Mr. Papperger.
Supashock developed the MLP with partners Rheinmetall Electronics and Rheinmetall Land Systems Germany. The design was achieved through Supashock’s expertise in kinematics, mechatronics, electronics, composite design, analysis and rapid prototyping. The advantage of using composite materials compared to metal alternatives is that a lightweight structure is achieved that maintains strength and stiffness.
MLP leads the global competition for SPIKE missiles with locking systems and damping structures. This combined capability protects the missile payload and subsystems housed in the turret to withstand the vibrations and shocks experienced when traveling in combat or performing extreme maneuvers. As a security mechanism, the locking system ensures that the MLP cannot be accidentally deployed or tampered with from the outside. The competitive advantage is the quick deployment and complete disengagement of the damping structure for firing, which improves strike accuracy.
Rheinmetall and Supashock formed a valuable partnership in 2017 and have seen many new technologies developed in South Australia integrated into the global Rheinmetall platform already integrated into its global supply chain, including the Rheinmetall LYNX vehicles are exported to advanced running gear in Europe.
