ELECTRO OPTIC SYSTEMS HOLDINGS LIMITED 
By
A.C.N. 092 708 364
Suite 2, Level 12, 75 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Tel +61 2 9233 3915 Fax +61 2 9232 3411 http://www.eos-aus.com
ELECTRO OPTIC SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS AND COLLABORATION WITH ST KINETICS ON NEW REMOTE WEAPON SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE CENTRE
Canberra, 30 October 2013Electro Optic Systems Pty Ltd (ASX: EOS) has completed development of two new weapon systems aimed at the emerging market for increasing the firepower of armored infantry fighting vehicles. The company also announced the completion of a full support depot for remote weapon systems in Singapore.
Weapon Systems
The two new weapon systems, first announced at the Army USA Show in Washington DC [21-23 October 2013] are:
1. Remote Turret for 30 mm cannon. The remote turret is a new category of product, intended to deploy the 30mm ATK Mk44 cannon in a 1.3 tonne turret. The turret allows precision engagement from a moving vehicle to a moving target.
2. "R-400S" Remote Weapon System. EOS has upgraded its R-400 [CROWS] RWS to deploy the 30mm ATK M230 LF cannon in a 0.4 tonne system. The new R-400S allows precision engagement up to 2 km from a moving vehicle to a moving target with 30 mm lethality.
Both systems address a rapidly emerging requirement for increased firepower across the entire range of combat vehicles, whether tracked or wheeled, and including lightweight platforms previously equipped with small arms and crew operated weapons such as the M2
12.7mm heavy machine gun.
Armored vehicles have been equipped for more than 80 years with turrets that allow a weapon to be aimed independently of the vehicle's orientation. These turrets have included accommodation for operators in a cylindrical "cage" that is slung under the exposed parts of the turret and rotates with the turret inside the vehicle.
A conventional (traditional) turret requires a large hole in the top armor of the vehicle to insert the cage into the vehicle as the turret is added on top. This creates a weak point in the vehicle's armor and is the most common point of attack. Conventional turrets are heavy and occupy a large amount of space inside the armored vehicle for the operator cage. This requires a large vehicle that is more vulnerable to enemy detection and engagement.
In figure 1 a conventional tank turret is shown. Tank turrets typically deploy 120 mm cannon and weigh more than 25 tonnes. Similar concepts apply for infantry fighting vehicle turrets which deploy 20-40 mm cannon and weigh 3-5 tonnes.
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EOS has leveraged its remote weapon technology base to develop lightweight [1-2 tonne] remote turrets for lighter vehicles which require cannon. A 30 mm cannon provides double the effective range and armor penetration of the smaller 20/25mm gun. The range and lethality of 30 mm cannon represents a new standard for infantry combat vehicle weaponry.
A remote turret does not require a cage. Operators can be located remotely from the turret itself, either completely below armor or even remote from the vehicle.
A remote turret has the following advantages over a conventional manned turret:
