Julian Kerr, Sydney – IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will begin taking delivery in 2016 of about 30,000 new EF88 Austeyr 5.56 mm rifles under an AUD100 million (USD75 million) contract to be signed later this month, a Department of Defence (DoD) spokesman confirmed to IHS Jane’s on 7 July.
The contract, to be signed with Thales Australia, follows second pass approval announced on 6 July by Defence Minister Kevin Andrews for expenditure of AUD467 million under Project Land 125 Phase 5C.
The EF88 (E for Enhanced) will replace the Austeyr F88 which, with various modifications, has been in service with the ADF since 1988.
Andrews said in a statement that the rifles would cost an estimated AUD100 million and would be manufactured by Thales Australia at its small arms facility in Lithgow, New South Wales.
They would improve the ADF’s close combat and general combat capability by upgrading the ergonomics of the current weapon and increasing the mounting options for ancillary devices.
The DoD spokesman said the Thales contract would be signed before the end of July for «about» 30,000 EF88s.
First deliveries under the new contract would take place in 2016, although some EF88s from low-rate initial production approved by the government in September 2014 had already been received for derisking activities.
The balance of the approved expenditure would be applied to the acquisition of a broad range of targeting and surveillance ancillaries for the EF88, solicitation for which was already under way.
Fuente: http://www.janes.com
