In November 2017, the Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) raised a Request for Information (RFI), through which it sought to understand Industry’s ability to generate the capability outcomes for the Lethality System project under strategic and innovative contractual arrangements. NIOA responded to the RFI with a detailed Concept Statement and Project Considerations for capability delivery.
In January 2019, the CoA released a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking innovative Supplier Engagement Model solutions for the delivery and support of capability under the Lethality System project. NIOA responded to the RFP as a Managing Contractor with detailed capability solutions. In June 2019, NIOA was down-selected as one of three Industry partners to potentially deliver Tranche 1 of the Lethality System project.
NIOA submitted a comprehensive response to the CoA’s Limited Request for Tender (LRFT) on 12 March 2020, which resulted in the CoA appointing NIOA as the Prime Contractor for delivering the first stage of Tranche 1 in July 2020.
In October 2022, after Gate 2 Government Approval, Defence announced NIOA as Prime Contractor for delivery of the second stage of Tranche 1, to supply new sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns, personal defence weapons, fighting knives, and an assault breaching system to the Australian Defence Force.
The Lethality System Project has adopted an acquisition strategy for Tranche 1 based on an enduring industry partnership backed by robust Governance and Capability Assurance arrangements to enable confidence in the delivery of ‘best of breed’ weapon systems to the Australian Defence Force.
