Nammo and Thales Australia signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) at Eurosatory today for a planned cooperation on the next generation aircraft ammunition.
This is driven by Norway and Australia’s involvement in the F-35 fighter program and the need for a new ammunition round capable of meeting all requirements and ensuring lethality against both soft and hard targets. This will include cooperation on the Norwegian ammunition concept, APEX, and a special training round as well as Thales’ frangible ammunition round called APFI. The APEX development and qualification effort is now fully funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and Nammo.
“This cooperation will create a new platform for ammunition business between two industry leaders. Nammo’s APEX concept is based on more than 20 years of heritage in the aircraft ammunition business with presence on nearly all fighter aircraft of NATO and in the western world. This will give the air forces superior performance both in the air combat role and in the close air support role” said Kjell Kringsjå, the Executive Vice president of Nammo’s Medium and Large Caliber Division.
Chris Jenkins, CEO of Thales Australia, said: “I have high expectations for this cooperation. Not only will this create a broader basis for further business development, but it will also pave the way for industrial participation related to the F-35 programme and entry into the aircraft ammunition area.”
“Our significant expertise in ordnance, combined with our world-class propellant technology, is the basis of what will be a highly productive partnership with Nammo and a product offering that will appeal to a wide range of international customers.”
The Nammo Group is an international defense group specializing in design and production of ammunition products, shoulder fired weapon systems, missile and space propulsion systems and demilitarization services. The Nammo Group employs 1900 people in 7 countries.
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace and Space, Defence, Security and Transportation markets. In 2009, the company generated revenues of 12.9 billion euros (equivalent of AUD 22.7 billion) with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
