NIOA to deliver first phase of Australia's ‘Lethality System' project

Accuracy International's AXSR has been selected to meet the ADF's requirement for a long-range sniper rifle. The Australian DoD said the rifle will be introduced into ADF service as a multicalibre system capable of delivering in .338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum, and 7.62 mm NATO calibres. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Australian government has signed an agreement with Queensland-based firm NIOA for the supply of a range of weapons and equipment to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as part of its Lethality System project (Land 159).

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 30 September that under the deal, which is worth more than AUD500 million (USD320 million), NIOA will engage with subcontractors to supply new sniper rifles, pistols, munitions, shotguns, personal defence weapons, fighting knives, and an assault breaching system to the ADF.

The contract – tranche one of the Land 159 programme – will run between 2023 and the mid-2020s, said the DoD. In the project, prime contractor NIOA will partner with local and international suppliers on the acquisition, integration, delivery, and support of the new systems.

NIOA said that in preparing for the contract, it evaluated 800 weapons and munitions at a new testing facility constructed for Land 159.

According to the DoD, tranche-one procurements include the SIG Sauer's P320 XCarry Pro pistol, and accompanying reflex sights, to replace the ADF's Browning Mk3 pistol; the Benelli M3A1 shotgun; and the SIG Sauer's MCX rifle, in .300 Blackout calibre.

Barrett Firearms' M107A1 rifle − with accompanying precision optics, night vision, and rangefinding devices − will be procured to meet the ADF's anti-materiel sniper capability, and Accuracy International's AXSR rifle will meet the ADF's long-range sniper requirement, said the DoD.