Rheinmetall Defence Australia officials visited Bisalloy Steel Group on Tuesday to update the 70 employees about their involvement in its bid for the biggest and most expensive acquisition program in the Australian Army’s history.
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Rheinmetall Defence Australia managing director Gary Stewart led the delegation and signed a teaming agreement that will see the Bisalloy develop and produce the highest performance armour steel ever manufactured in Australia. Mr Stewart expects a decision to be made by next April after Rheinmetall lodged a bid for the Commonwealth of Australia’s Land 400 Phase 2 program. It involves Bisalloy developing two new grades of high performance steel at Unanderra to meet the protection levels required on the Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle that has just undergone 12 months of evaluation. Bisalloy and Rheinmetall have carried out testing on the BOXER CRV. as part of a two-yer certification and qualification process to meet stringent performance standards of armoured steel.
Only two European steel companies are qualified to supply steel to meet Rheinmetall’s standard. Bisalloy is presently going through the qualification process which could provide more defence opportunities for the Unanderra workforce.
Mr Stewart said Rheinmetall was planning to deliver the only offer for Land 400 Phase 2 that protected Australian soldiers with high performance steel designed, developed and manufactured by an Australian company in Australia.
“The development of this new steel underscores the commitment shown by Rheinmetall and Bisalloy to protect Australian soldiers,” he said.
“It also highlights our focus on mentoring Australian companies to deliver the best possible outcome for the Australian Defence Force through research, development and advance manufacturing. Rheinmetall is focused on working with Australian companies to build a sovereign military vehicle capability in Australia the supports the ADF through multiple programs including Phase 2 and 3 of Land 400.”
Mr Stewart revealed the latest development with the bid to 70 Bisalloy employees at Unanderra in the presence of a BOXER CRV.
Rheinmetal will transfer technology, research and development opportunities to Australian small to help medium sized enterprises from Germany to help them deliver the new capability to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Bisalloy is one of a dozen companies as part of its Land 400 team to help manufacture the BOXER CRV in Australia using Bisalloy armoured steel from Unanderra.
Bisalloy Steel Group chief executive officer and managing director Greg Albert said the armour steel made in the Illawarra was already recognised as a leading product for defence applications in Australia having already been used in the Collins Class Submarines and armoured vehicles such as the Hawkei and Bushmaster.
Bisalloy is the only Australian manufacturer of high tensile and abrasion resistant quenched and tempered steel plate used for armour, structural and wear-resistant steel applications.
Rheinmetall is the largest supplier of military vehicles to the ADF and is presently delivering more than 2500 logistics trucks to the Australian Army under the LAND 121 Phase 3B program.
Read more: Illawarra steel ‘an option’ for Navy ships
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
