SIG Sauer and Australian tactical and safety equipment company Aquaterro have announced a strategic partnership which will see the Victoria-based company expand their factory and provide support to SIG Sauer in making offers on future Australian small arms tenders.

The two companies hope to manufacture, assemble, upgrade, and support small arms platforms for the Australian Defence Forces through Aquaterro’s new manufacturing facility due to open next year with the Australian company being SIG Sauer’s sole local provider of systems and support.

Here’s SIG Sauer and Aquaterro’s press release about the agreement:

SIG Sauer and Aquaterro of Melbourne, VIC, Australia; have introduced an settlement to fabricate, assemble, improve, and help of small arms platforms and functionality techniques all through the Functionality Life Cycle. This landmark settlement is an indication of dedication by each SIG SAUER and Aquaterro to the Australian Defence Drive. For the primary time, the Australian Defence Drive will be capable of entry one of the best, modular, built-in firearms options shortly, delivering small arms overmatch to Australia’s future troopers, sailors, and airmen.

SIG SAUER is synonymous with industry-leading high quality and innovation which has made it the model of selection amongst the U.S. Navy, the worldwide protection group, and legislation enforcement.

In 2017 SIG SAUER was chosen for the extremely coveted U.S. Military’s Modular Handgun System with the P320-based M17. This contract, value $580 million U.S. {Dollars} (AUD $800m) was awarded to the P320-M17 for its unequalled modularity, unmatched functionality, and indeniable high quality, and cemented the P320-M17 into the historic report of the world’s most revolutionary firearms. In 2018 the P320 X-Carry was chosen by the Danish Ministry of Defence as their customary service pistol masking the Military, Navy, Air Drive, and Particular Operations Command because it outperformed the competitors all through their rigorous and stringent testing course of.

The SIG MCX and MPX rifle platforms are essentially the most wanted, modular, shut quarters/PDW and concrete tactical rifles on the planet at the moment. In July 2018 the SIG MCX Virtus Rifle System was awarded the Suppressed Higher Receiver Group (SURG) award by the U.S. Division of Protection (DoD) for the present M4A1 Carbine. The MCX SURG System will improve, and optimize army weapons for steady, suppressed use on the battlefield. SIG SAUER is at present competing for the U.S. Military’s Subsequent Technology Squad Automated Rifle program that’s supposed to switch the M249 Minimi.

Aquaterro is the main supplier of operational, tactical, and security tools to authorities, army, and industrial finish customers in Australia and the Australasian Area. Aquaterro is a present contract holder and supplier to Land 125 and Land 53 and the unique supplier of techniques and lifecycle help for SIG SAUER small arms built-in weapons to all Australian businesses.

The strategic partnership between SIG SAUER and Aquaterro shall be additional enhanced by Aquaterro’s new purpose-built facility (attributable to open in Q1 2019), and expanded highly-skilled workforce in South Jap Melbourne. This enlargement allows Aquaterro to supply turn-key, vertically built-in functionality options for the Functionality Streams sought by Land 159 [Small Arms Replacement], Land 4108 [Direct Fire Support Weapons Replacement], and Land 1508 [Special Operations Capability], guaranteeing a qualitative edge to Australia’s warfighters.

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