Elbit in Australia battle-management deal

CANBERRA, Australia, March 18 (UPI) -- Elbit Systems has been awarded a $298 million contract for support services for the Australian army's LAND 75/125 battle management system capability program.

The contract, awarded by the Australian Department of Defense through a worldwide open tender, will extend over three years. It includes supply, integration, installation and support of a battle group and below command, control-and-communications system.

The tactical command-and-control system BGC3 incorporates a battle management system allowing constant communication among soldiers, vehicle-mounted commanders and command staff at a remote headquarters.

It will automate combat messaging and increase a commander's battle-space awareness. The capability allows army personnel to carry out missions more efficiently, safely and effectively and reduces the risk of casualties from friendly fire, a statement from Elbit said.

Elbit President Joseph Ackerman said Australia "is a very important market" for his company.

"The selection of our systems by the Australian army, considered among the world's most advanced and modern fighting forces, reflects the quality and maturity of our systems, resulting from the fact they are in operational use by more than 20 armed forces worldwide."

Elbit, based in Haifa, Israel, works in the areas of aerospace, land and naval operations. It products include intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics as well as early and airborne warning suites.

Australia's LAND 125 is a soldier modernization strategy being met through incremental technology upgrades to improve close-combat capability. This strategy is detailed in the Department of Defense document Spiral Development Action Plan V2.1, available on the department's Web site. It describes methodology and objectives and sets out procurement time lines for LAND 125.

Improvements to the lethality of weapons are part of LAND 125. It includes a contract award last October to Thales Australia to provide a special mount for a thermal sight to the in-service F88 Steyr Rifle. The sight is for use with the standard-issue gas-operated F88 assault rifle made by Australian Defense Industries in Lithgow, New South Wales.

Thales Australia bought 350 thermal weapon sights from a third party and designed and manufactured a mounting mechanism that attaches to the Picatinny rail of the F88 rifle. Thales is also responsible for life-cycle support of the thermal weapon sight.

Upgrades to body armor worn by Australian soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are under way. The recently fielded Modular Combat Body Armor made by Australian Defense Apparel is undergoing further development work to make it lighter and more modular, the army has said.