I absolutely agree with your assessment CJS - "MST tech is...

I absolutely agree with your assessment CJS - "MST tech is proven and has a number of potential volume customers - finance is the gating factor".

The preliminary 2011 Report (calendar year period) provides an excellent one-pager summary of the current position with MST's product development. This is 'on the cusp' stuff, bigtime, and deserves tremendous respect in the face of the underlying financial difficulties. The cheap shots we are now seeing some post on this forum are ill-conceived IMHO. I have copied the products position below for convenience, and added some numbers to assist clarity.

Product Development
1. One of the highlights of the year was the successful completion of the US Marines Mission Payload Module – Non Lethal Weapon System Technology Demonstration Contract (MPM-NLWS TD). The Group is expecting to participate in the next phase of the programme (Engineering and Manufacturing Development) which will be awarded in 2012. The bid requirements include 312 multi-barrel weapon systems plus associated non-lethal ammunition.
2. The Group extended its product offerings with the launch of FireStorm FURY™, a flexible multi-barrel force escalation product for the broader US and international market.
3. The Company advanced further with the MAUL weapon, its marketing and its planned production program. Particular highlights were an agreement for Colt Defence to perform a detailed manufacturing assessment of MAUL to determine Colt’s ability and cost to manufacture the weapon in volume. Additionally, the agreement with TASER to collaborate on the TASER XREP ammunition for MAUL has added depth and capability to the MAUL ammunition line-up.
4. Further progress was also made on other MAUL ammunition including buckshot and a kinetic anti-material/ anti- personnel round.
5. The market for MAUL continued to gather momentum as more law enforcement agencies signed up to trial the weapon. In addition to more than 40 US agencies expressing interest, 4 of the 8 Police Forces in Australia have committed to trials as soon as the weapons can be provided.
Due to political instability and two changes of Government in Papua New Guinea, the deposit for the 500-weapon
order for PNG Correctional Services has yet to be received. However, with the latest change to government the Group believes the contract is still on foot, and the weapons are still needed.
6. The 3GL program progressed through 2011 to the completion of all designs and drawing packages for the next
generation weapon.
7. In early 2011 the Australian Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO) approached the Company to
collaborate on commercialising a new weapon system – the Managed Lethality Grenade Launcher System (MLGLS). The MLGLS had been developed by the DSTO to attach to existing grenade launchers, and enable them to fire 40mm non-lethal impact grenades with different muzzle velocities depending on the distance to the target.
8. Metal Storm and US company, Airtronics USA Inc., collaborated with DSTO to conduct additional safety and
performance testing, before completing a series of successful demonstrations of the system at an international
non-lethal conference in Ottawa Canada, and for the US Special Operations Command at Camp Roberts in California. Response to these demonstrations has been very positive. The MLGLS will incorporate the 3GL fire control unit as the core “brains” of the system, minimizing additional R&D. The collaboration team is seeking additional US Military funding to further this promising system.
9. Major advances in 2011 include Metal Storm’s participation in the Defence Research Department Canada’s
soldier weapon modernisation program, and the subsequent order of a 3GL plus 200 rounds of 40mm ammunition - plus additional MAUL 18mm lethal and non-lethal ammunition.
10. In addition, Metal Storm engineering expertise and launching technology was selected by 7 major US Defense
Contractors to bid on the US$997 million US Military Force Protection Program. Our prime contractors won a total of 9 of the 21 contracts awarded for the total $997 million program. The Group is waiting for Task Orders to be allocated to our prime contractors from the government Program Office, at which point the scale of the Group’s awards will become known.