ARLINGTON, VA -- Defence technology specialist Metal Storm Limited has announced that Metal Storm Incorporated (MSI) has completed a key contract for the United States Marine Corps.

After a full and open acquisition process, MSI was one of two companies selected to participate in a Market Research Demonstration (MRD) for the US Marine Corps System Command's Mission Payload Module - Non Lethal Weapon System program.

The purpose of the MRD was to determine the maturity level of technology in the marketplace. Following the MRD, the U.S. Government plans to solicit proposals for the System Development and Demonstration Phase. Following this phase, the Government anticipates requesting proposals for production contracts.

The demonstration, using Metal Storm's FireStorm lightweight multi-barrel 40mm electronic weapon, was conducted at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. To facilitate the assessment of the weapon, MSI was required to deliver the weapon system and ammunition to the US Navy in advance of the testing. MSI trained US Navy personnel to operate the FireStorm system, and the US Navy personnel carried out the demonstration firing.

During the MRD, the US Government collected performance data on the system accuracy and coverage area at ranges of 30 and 150 meters for two non-lethal munitions that were launched from Metal Storm's FireStorm weapons platform.

MSI General Manager, Peter D. Faulkner, said: "We are proud to have been selected to participate in the MRD and are looking forward to our continued involvement in the Mission Payload Module program as the Marine Corps acquisition process evolves. We believe our weapons platform will offer significant advantages in range, area coverage, precision, and scalability over current non-lethal weapon systems."

"The Mission Payload Module - Non-Lethal Weapons System will provide a non-lethal counter-personnel capability to support missions requiring crowd control and will deny, defend and control area access while allowing the user to engage threats at standoff ranges and protect non-combatants," Mr Faulkner said.

Follow-on increments will ultimately be integrated on other tactical vehicle platforms, unmanned ground vehicles, and Navy surface water vessels.

Metal Storm
14.11.2008