The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and Thales Australia’s Australian Munitions (AM) business have signed an agreement to continue the supply of Small Arms Ammunition and Explosive Ordnance to the NZDF to 2037.

The new agreement includes the design and manufacture of bespoke small arms munitions including the 5.56mm training round F262T, a new product designed by AM in collaboration with the NZDF as a low cost training cartridge tuned for optimal performance, and the NZDF Lewis Machine Tool MARS-L platform.

The 5.56mm training cartridge and others have been designed by AM to meet the NZDF’s evolving capability requirements, suitable to meet littoral and amphibious needs for a full range of training situations.

“I am delighted that the NZDF has chosen to continue our decade long partnership. We will continue working to deliver high quality products for the NZDF well into the future,” Dion Haber, Managing Director AM, said.