Canberra firm misses on US defence deal AAP August 20, 2012...

Canberra firm misses on US defence deal


AAP
August 20, 2012 11:25AM



CANBERRA defence and electronics company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has missed out on a multi-billion contract to supply remote weapons systems (RWS) to the United States military.

EOS chief executive Dr Ben Greene said on Monday the company had been told its tender to take part in the US Army CROWS 3 program was not successful.

"The CROWS 3 decision is disappointing but is a contingency always addressed in EOS plans and has no impact on EOS financial performance over the next six quarters," he said in a statement.

"It will not reduce our pursuit of other remote weapon system programs in the US market."

The contract went to the incumbent CROWS 2 contractor, Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS.

The initial contract for the CROWS 3 program was worth $US970 million ($A934 million), while the full contract to equip next generation US military vehicles with RWS was worth as much as $US8 billion.

A remote weapons system allows a soldier inside an armoured vehicle to operate an externally-mounted machine gun, sighting by way of a small TV screen and aiming with a computer joystick.

EOS, which pioneered much of the RWS technology, had won the initial contract to supply RWS to the US Army but lost out on round two and now round three.

The company had gone to considerable efforts to boost its US operations for the CROWS 3 contract, including relocating production facilities and signing an agreement with major US defence and aerospace firm Northrop Grumman Corporation.

EOS' head office is in Canberra and the company operates a factory at Queanbeyan, NSW.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/canberra-firm-misses-on-us-defence-deal/story-e6frfku9-1226454016810#ixzz242ulU5BG