Thales has secured a Department of Defence contract to enter Low Rate Initial Production for the company’s innovative F90 assault rifle.

“This is a major milestone in the F90 story,” said Kevin Wall, Vice President Armaments at Thales Australia.

The engineering and development of Australia’s F90 has created a light, versatile weapon that has met the highest standards of performance and reliability.

“Backed by over a century of military weapons experience, Thales’s Lithgow facility will now begin manufacturing F90 rifles as part of a derisking exercise designed to smooth the transition in production from the existing in-service weapon to the F90.”

The F90 recently achieved Provisional Design Acceptance following an extensive testing period that saw over one million rounds fired. It includes an integrated side loading 40 mm grenade launcher that can be attached in just a few seconds by the soldier – a potentially decisive capability advantage facilitating speed and flexibility on operations.

(Thales)