EOS is a key company in the emerging market for autonomous military surveillance and combat systems. Market demand for these new technology systems is growing very rapidly.
The late twentieth century has seen significant developments in military technology. Driven by taxpayer expectations of a peace dividend from the end of the cold war, there have been large force and budget reductions in most advanced military organisations. The reductions have often been out of proportion to reductions in the tactical capacity actually required for threat deterrence or defeat, giving rise to a strong market pull for productivity enhancements for the military. These market forces are very significant and growing.
This market pull applies to all aspects of military activity, from software to enhance stores and inventory control, to enhanced weapon systems which do not require the presence of a soldier to engage the enemy. The latter device, long a feature of science fiction, has been under development by EOS over the past 7 years.
The key business considerations supporting this EOS activity were:
- Smart weapons
- Surveillance and sensors
- Mine replacement
- Upgrades
The Company’s military product family is a series of products, all based on a common module set. These modules include high resolution day/night cameras, thermal vision systems, image processing systems, computer systems, laser systems, sensor systems and power management systems, all qualified for the harsh military environment.
By selecting various modules, the product performance and price can be configured to the needs of many customers in the areas of tactical surveillance and/or enhancing combat effectiveness of existing ballistic systems. All configurations, whether for surveillance or weapons systems, result in a compact (shoe-box) device which is rugged and reliable.
The marketing cycle for military products is typically five years and EOS is only now beginning to make strong sales of this product family, after four years of active marketing. The EOS product typically finds application as the central element in the upgrade of a surveillance platform (e.g. cavalry vehicle) or a combat weapon system (e.g. armoured turret). It is a small but high value-added product which the Company believes is indispensable for the achievement of enhanced productivity. Product configurations sold have been for naval weapon systems (US Navy), armoured vehicle turrets (Australia, NATO, Singapore) and remote controlled highly mobile weapon systems.
Meanwhile the product has been marketed as a remote controlled system, and as such is achieving strong market acceptance. The Company’s existing customers represent the highest value sector of the market for advanced military products of this type, and each customer is prepared to work with the Company to achieve greater productivity through EOS product enhancements.
The Company believes that the role of autonomous ballistic weapons systems will increase very sharply over the next few years and that its advanced technology systems will continue to dominate this emerging field. It intends to build on its early program successes with US, NATO and other advanced western-aligned military organisations, to capture a significant share of this market.
Fire Control Systems
EOS Fire Control Systems Pty Limited (FCS) is the defence products subsidiary of Electro Optic Systems Pty Limited (EOS). FCS is positioned to meet the global market requirement for fire control and surveillance systems that are lightweight, stabilized, robust and integrated.
FCS products bring together the best in compact, low power and lightweight electro optic technology. This makes FCS products suitable for light and highly mobile vehicles as well as the extreme conditions found in tracked vehicle and marine environments.
The FCS fire control and surveillance system design architecture provides flexibility for tailoring systems to meet different mission profiles. Through the addition and/or deletion of specific components, the FCS system can be tailored to meet a customer’s requirement. The systems have been designed to achieve the lowest cost per capability.
FCS systems are designed using small common modules. This partitioning of the different technologies ensures that the whole system runs efficiently. The module approach also allows the overall product to remain in step with technological advancements without the need for major refit or refurbishment. This gives FCS the advantage of being able to bring new products to the market faster than competitors.
The system is durable and has been tested to endure extreme variations in temperature and the harshest environments. System components are housed in compact and rugged fixtures developed to withstand intense weapon firing shocks.
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