Metal Storm Part of Team to Deliver 'Thunder and Lightning' to US Navy
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - 11 May 2004 – Metal Storm Limited (ASX trading code: MST and NASDAQ Small Cap ticker symbol MTSX)
International ballistics company Metal Storm Limited will play a key role in the development of a new program designed to defend US naval ships from multiple airborne and surface threats.
As part of a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program award granted by the US Navy, Metal Storm will work with US engineering and technology company Foster-Miller Inc., (Foster-Miller) in a funded program designed to circumvent new and serious threats that are difficult to defeat with existing shipboard weapons and countermeasures.
Metal Storm Chief Executive Officer Charles Vehlow said the award would enable the company to develop its relationships with both Foster-Miller and the US military.
"Working with Foster-Miller in this SBIR program is a very exciting opportunity for Metal Storm to further demonstrate the broad applications of our technology," said Mr Vehlow.
"Foster-Miller has extensive experience in harnessing emerging science and technology in the development of capabilities for the US military. The company is a primary contributor to the US Army's Objective Force Warrior (OFW) program, and has developed remotely operated robots currently in service in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Termed the ‘Thunder and Lightning Shield' (TLS), the program proposes to employ both Metal Storm and Foster-Miller technology to protect US vessels from close range threats such as sea skimming cruise missiles and small, fast boats containing explosives.
Mike O'Dwyer, Director of Scientific Innovation at Metal Storm said, "The TLS program concept involves a two-pronged defensive approach. Metal Storm's multi-barrel pods would provide the ‘thunder' via concentrated bursts of fire against potential threats, while the ‘lightning' option would be provided by developing a combination of Metal Storm technology with Foster-Miller's Stingray incapacitating net technology."
Foster-Miller's President Dr William Ribich said he believed that Metal Storm's innovative technology would contribute to the development of a very responsive and defensive weapon system for US naval vessels.
"Given that both Metal Storm and Foster-Miller technology has already been demonstrated, I am very confident that our companies can combine to provide a greatly enhanced capability for the US Navy," said Dr Ribich.
About Metal Storm
Metal Storm Limited is a defence technology company engaged in the development of electronically initiated ballistics systems using its unique "stacked round" technology. The company is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia and incorporated in the US, with an office located in Washington DC and a defence engineering capability located in Seattle, operating as ProCam Machine LLC. The company has invented a ballistics technology that has no known conventional equivalent. Metal Storm is working with government agencies and departments, as well as industry, to develop a variety of systems utilising the Metal Storm nonmechanical,
electronically fired stacked ammunition system.
About Foster-Miller Inc.
Foster-Miller, Inc., is an independent, privately held engineering, development and manufacturing company located in suburban Boston, MA, with additional offices in Albany, NY and Washington, DC. The firm was founded almost 50 years ago by three graduates of MIT who believed there was a need for a company that could solve clients' difficult technical problems through first-class analysis and design. The company maintains a staff of more than 350 mechanical, electrical, thermal, chemical, nuclear, aerospace, software and materials engineers as well as metallurgists, physicists, mathematicians, chemists, biologists and support staff working in the areas of robotics, advanced materials, custom machinery, power systems, biotechnology, transportation and aerospace. Visit www.foster-miller.com for further details.
About SBIR Programs
The US Department of Defence SBIR programs fund early stage R&D projects that meet Defence needs and have the potential for commercialisation in private sector or military markets. SBIR proposals pass through three phases. A successful outcome from Phase I can result in an invitation to participate in a Phase II award of up to US$750,000 over two years for development of the proposal to prototype stage. A Phase III award would provide the funding required to fully commercialise the technology.
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