HLS Specialist XTEK to Use for Evaluation and Demonstration
Estonia’s Milrem Robotics has established a distribution and maintenance agreement with XTEL Ltd, an Australian homeland security specialist and has delivered a THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to the Symonston (Canberra)-based company, to be used for trial, evaluation and demonstration purposes.
Including Australia, THeMIS has now been acquired by eleven countries, of which seven are NATO members: Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US. XTEK will act as the exclusive distributor for THeMIS and for Milrem’s Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle and Intelligent Functions Integration Kit (MIFIK) in Australia and New Zealand.
“In collaboration with XTEK, we can be close to our customer and secure continuous high-quality support,” commented Milrem CEO, Kuldar Väärsi. XTEK Managing Director, Philippe Odouard, added “The delivery of our first Milrem Robotics THeMIS is a major milestone for XTEK. The THeMIS platform is ideally suited for a broad range of applications within the Australian Defence Force, particularly the Australian Army. It is also the perfect platform for us to further showcase our ‘AirWolf’ sensor-to-shooter software, which distributes targeting information from UAVs to advanced combat-configured UGVs such as THeMIS.”
XTEK has extensive experience and expertise in unmanned vehicle distribution, maintenance, and value-added services. Its established maintenance facilities include a Logistics Engineering Business Unit based in Canberra, where a pool of technicians and trainers with extensive Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robot maintenance experience can provide maintenance for Milrem Robotics’ UGVs and RCVs. The company plans to leverage its Adelaide Manufacturing Centre and unique XTclave technology for novel ballistic protection design, and other engineering and manufacturing services for Milrem Robotics’ UGV systems.