Defence taps XTEK for SUAS delivery
2 December 2022
The Commonwealth government has placed an order for a new tranche of unmanned aerial systems from the ASX-listed company.
The Department of Defence has awarded a $26.9 million contract to XTEK Limited for the delivery of new small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS).
XTEK has been tasked with supplying a mixed fleet of advanced AeroVironment drones over the second half of the 2023 financial year (FY23).
Scott Basham, XTEK’s group chief executive officer, welcomed the new contract, which he said would further build on the company’s growing project pipeline.
“XTEK is very pleased to be able to continue to provide Defence with high-end SUAS technology, and this new order for a mixed fleet of advanced AeroVironment drones will deliver significantly enhanced tactical reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities for Defence,” he said.
“This order, combined with the current backlog of technology division work that we expect to progressively deliver over the course of the next seven months, will already see XTEK achieve record turnover in excess of $82 million for FY23.
“And, on top of that, should we win even just a portion of the many large-scale ballistic armour opportunities we are currently pursuing around the world, then that could see the second half of FY23 become very exciting indeed.”
The announcement of this latest award comes just days after XTEK’s HighCom Armor Solutions Inc (HighCom) business completed and shipped the $3.5 million order from a US federal government agency for more than 20,000 individual items of specialist ballistic protection equipment.
HighCom’s products, billed as “ultra-lightweight” and “high performance”, are manufactured with the support of the patented XTclave capability in Adelaide, South Australia.
In 2019, XTEK acquired HighCom in a bid to enhance its focus on proprietary products, accelerating XTclave commercialisation through ballistic protection products.
HighCom also provides XTEK with access to an expanded distribution network in the United States.
Source: Defence Connect