Eurosatory 2016: Qioptiq KITE In-Line Selected for Land 125 Austeyr F88 Rifle

Qioptiq, an Excelitas Technologies company, has secured a significant multi-million pound (£) contract for the supply of KITE In-Line Weapon Sights and maintenance items to the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence (DoD) in support of the Australia Defence Forces (ADF) LAND125 3C project.

Qioptiq recently secured a significant multi-million British pound contract for the supply of KITE In-Line Weapon Sights and maintenance items to the Australia Defence Forces LAND125 3C project. (All photos via Qioptiq)

The LAND125 3C project is concerned with equipping Australian soldiers with a new Austeyr F88 rifle and rifle accessories (which include advanced sighting systems that improve the soldier’s effectiveness during night-time close combat military operations).

The ADF is recognised as a very diligent purchaser of military equipment and the items they select are tested rigorously, prior to a selection where equipment performance is considered as a high priority. “It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to again supply our weapon sights to the ADF, particularly knowing that their robust testing regime and procurement processes allow only a selection of the best equipment from reputable suppliers world-wide,”  Dave W Evans, Head of Export Sales, Land Business Group, said. “It’s also pleasing to see that our KITE family of weapon sights continue to attract a positive reputation for performance and reliability. This success with the ADF, a highly respected military user, will hopefully allow us to increase our sales to this region. The team at Qioptiq have always been confident that our KITE In-Line product is world-class and the best available, the selection by the ADF now confirms this. We’re very happy with this award and our focus is now directed towards making sure that this special customer remains satisfied with the product and our performance.”

KITE In-line excels in the night vision clip-on market due to its high optical performance and lightweight compact size to provide dependable performance. KITE In-line is designed to attach in front of the shooter day sight with the sight being aligned at the factory to provide guaranteed lifetime repeatability accuracy of 0.5mrad or better.

“We should take pride in the fact that to win this business, we have developed world beating products and are delighted to have been chosen by the ADF to supply equipment of this type,”  Qioptiq Managing Director, Steve Shaw, commented. “We have competed effectively with all other credible weapon sight suppliers from around the world. This is a major success for Qioptiq and demonstrates that our capability in terms of product development, manufacture and supply is world class. We look forward to building on this success and securing further business in Australia, in the surrounding countries and with other military customer who demand the best product of its type on the market.”

KITE In-line provides a flexible Night Vision capability that can be installed and removed without the need for re-zeroing and provides the user with a 24 hour capability.

The KITE In-Line compact night sighting system is mounted on a weapon in front of a magnified day sight. KITE In-Line uses image intensification (I2) technology to amplify the small amount of light energy available at night time, to present the soldier with a clear bright image of the night scene. It is possible to see a person at distances beyond 1,000m in night time conditions were the naked eye would struggle to see very short distances. This capability allows the soldier the ability to observe and engage any threats, providing the soldier with additional protection against an enemy using a lesser performing night sighting system.

KITE In-line can be fitted with a wide range of standard and auto gating image intensifier tube variants from US and European manufacturers to meet customer requirements.