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International experts boost Thales Soldier Systems development and design capability

30 October 2008

Thales Australia has secured two renowned international experts to work in Australia in the Thales Soldier Systems Development and Support Centre on the design of the next generation Austeyr rifle under the Defence Materiel Organisation's LAND 125 - Lethality project.

Otto Repa from Germany is one of the world's most respected weapons designers, having worked with Mauser, Carl Walther and Steyr Mannlicher. Repa also designed the highlyregarded Otto Repa SOC (Special Operations Command) semi-automatic sniper rifle. He will act as a part-time consultant to Thales.

Deon Coetzee from South Africa has almost 30 years' experience in small arms design with Denel Land Systems, with additional proficiency in manufacturing processes and industrialisation. He joins Thales as a permanent employee early in the new year. Repa and Coetzee will work under the leadership of the Thales weapon design manager Peter Carter as part of the Enhanced F88 Rifle design team in the Development Centre. The design team builds on the long history of manufacturing at the Small Arms Factory in Lithgow, NSW, which has been in operation since 1912. Among the factory's specialist capabilities are a cold forging machine for making the Steyr's precision barrel, rapid prototyping equipment, and testing facilities for design validation processes.

In addition to these local resources, Thales Australia is partnering with Cranfield University in the UK, experts from which will act as review consultants in the design process. "We are committed to building on our already extensive experience in small arms by enhancing our weapon design expertise," said Thales Australia managing director Chris Jenkins.

"We are working on this significant project in close collaboration with our customer, and are looking forward to designing a world-class assault rifle."

About Thales

Thales is a leading international group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales's expertise in its core markets spans the entire value chain, providing all the capabilities its customers require, from equipment and systems to comprehensive support services, and including prime contracting on large-scale programs. Thales's leading edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with revenues in 2007 of AUD21.5 billion.

Thales Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air traffic management to security systems and services. Employing 3,700 people in over 35 sites around the country, Thales Australia recorded revenues in 2007 amounting to over AUD1 billion.

Press contact

Libby Noble
Thales Australia
+61 2 9562 3150/+61 (0)434 155 881