Defence and space company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has opened its new R150 Remote Weapon System (RWS) production line at its manufacturing facility in Canberra.
In a news release, the company said the launch of the new line is in response to growing international demand for lightweight systems that can be fitted to a wide range of protected and utility vehicles.
The company’s RWS concept, which enables soldiers to find, aim, and fire guns, canons, and missiles from inside the protection of an armoured vehicle, is available in a lighter variant called the RWS.
In particular, the R150 was conceived and developed in Australia with an emphasis on countering current and upcoming threats based on lessons learnt from recent wars such as Ukraine.
The United States will get an initial batch of 14 R150 gimbals, with US President Biden saying that these systems will be supplied to Ukraine as part of the US’ military support package.
With a shared user interface, the R150 and the bigger RWS currently in operation in Ukraine, operators may transition between the two systems without further training, EOS said.
Matt Jones, executive vice president of EOS Defence Systems, expressed his delight about the technology that local employees in the Canberra area have created, which has attracted attention on a global scale and is backed by an Australian supply chain.
“This remote weapon system will save Ukrainian lives, meeting an urgent operational need, allowing them to defeat the drone threat from within the safety of their vehicles,” Jones explained.
When compared to competing systems, the EOS Remote Weapon System (RWS) portfolio is specially created to give maximum firepower at the lightest possible weight.
Currently, numerous military forces in Australia, North America, Europe, and South-East Asia have purchased more than 2,500 units and are using them.
