The Australian Sovereign Missile Alliance (SMA) wants to work with the German armaments company Diehl Defense in the field of guided missiles. The cooperation will "provide the opportunity for further applications of Diehl Defense's guided missile capabilities" while the Australian defense industry benefits from the transfer of proven technology, Diehl writes in a statement. This makes Diehl a "strong contributor" to SMA and the Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise.
According to the information, SMA is a joint venture between the medium-sized Australian companies Electro Optic Systems Pty Ltd (EOS) and Nova Systems. The Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise was launched in 2021 with the aim of increasing Australia's independence in guided weapons and supply chain security, according to the announcement by the Australian Prime Minister. In the long term, national manufacturing capacities for guided missiles are to be built up.
According to Diehl, SMA will act as a strategic industrial partner for the Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise. SMA can draw on the expertise of more than 1,000 Australian employees and annual sales of around 500 million Australian dollars. Diehl Defense has been working with EOS in the area of land-based weapon stations for some time. With the Iris-T series, among other things, the German company has guided missile expertise in the areas of air-to-air and surface-to-air.
According to the announcement, Diehl Defense is interested in merging with SMA on a non-exclusive basis. In addition, this cooperation will strengthen the bond between Diehl Defense and the Australian defense industry - in particular through the already announced production contract with EOS.
According to EOS CEO Ben Greene, the cooperation with Diehl Defense will bring world-leading technology to Australia.
lah / editorial
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