Geelong company Universal Motion Simulator Pty Ltd has been awarded a $21.4 million support contract for the sustainment of training simulators for the new Boxer 8X8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles. In addition to supporting Boxer training, the simulators can be reconfigured to train Army drivers on other types of armoured vehicles including the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank and the future Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said this milestone was another step towards modernising Australia’s armoured vehicle fleet through the $5 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability project.
The new Boxer vehicle fleet is part of the Government’s $200 billion investment in our defence capability to deliver a more potent, agile and capable Australian Defence Force. The new vehicles will provide a world-class capability to the Australian Army with their high levels of protection, firepower and mobility. This seven-year contract will provide long-term employment opportunities for Universal Motion Simulator Pty Ltd and its Australian workforce. The potential for growth for this Geelong-based company is indicative of this Government’s commitment to further strengthen Australia’s defence industry. Defence’s acquisition of six driver training simulators was announced in February 2019, with the first simulators expected to be delivered in 2022.
Universal Motion Simulator is focused on the design and manufacture of reconfigurable, high-fidelity motion simulators for driver, pilot and sailor training. The Reconfigurable Driver Simulator (RDS) commercialises the Deakin University-developed technology, led by researchers in the University’s Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI). The Reconfigurable Driver Simulator (RDS) is marketed by Universal Motion Simulation Pty Ltd (UMS) which is based at Deakin’s advanced manufacturing business incubator, ManuFutures. The RDS is a highly dynamic motion platform consisting of a six degree of freedom robotic arm, interchangeable replica vehicle cabins, haptically-enabled control devices and immersive simulation environments featuring detailed vehicle dynamics and terrain modelling.
