Our Projects
Advanced manufacturing of lightweight carbon fibre body composite armour
Project description and overview:
Current training armour available as widely used by police, security and defence personnel, do not allow the personnel to “Train as You Fight” during close-quarter combat training e.g.
- Does not allow realistic full-force and high-speed strikes to vital targets
- Is bulky, slow, and cumbersome
- Does not allow ‘force continuum escalation’ i.e. combining hand-to-hand and blunt force trauma combat together with man-marking munitions (MMM) training, including firing MMM well within the standard 5 metre safety distance
- Leads to unrealistic training risks, serious injuries and casualties during training and serious injuries and loss of life on active duty.
Chiron Global Technologies (CGT) have developed a lightweight carbon fibre body composite armour that provides very high levels of protection and extended mobility, allowing unparalleled levels of realism in training. Chiron’s armour is unique in design and functionality and has been identified as world-leading by industry experts.
The Chiron technology was validated with extensive testing undertaken to demonstrate the safety and degree of movement that is possible when wearing the armour. CGT received positive feedback from all of these trials, including that the current armour provides more protection than much of their operational armour.
In this project CGT will develop and validate, at commercial scale, the Chiron-X1 body armour – building on the Gen 1 prototype armour that they have developed and trialled with multiple defence and law enforcement users over the last 12 months.
The CGT business model includes close collaboration with global distributors to scale exports of the body armour to allied defence forces, law enforcement agencies, security companies and corrections facilities globally. Once these vital steps are achieved, CGT’s IP will become a commercial reality in terms of manufacturing.
Following successful development of the Chiron-X1 armour, the product development pathway includes the development of armour with embedded biometric and impact sensors that record the force and location of strikes for training and operational use (‘Chiron-X2’) and ballistic operational armour (‘Chiron-X3’).
EXPECTED IMPACT
- Increased spending on R&D
- Increased collaboration with research institutions
- Larger geographical reach
- Higher trade intensity
EXPECTED GROWTH
Chiron Global Technologies estimate to generate $144M in revenue over 5 years from 2020 as follows:
- 2020 – $1.3M
- 2021 – $4.9M
- 2022 – $28.2M
- 2023 – $50M
- 2024 – $60M
EXPECTED JOBS
The project will generate the following increase in employment:
- Approximately 6 staff will be engaged directly by Chiron Global Technologies
- 1-2 additional staff may be engaged by The Smart Think
After the project it is anticipated that new staff opportunities will occur as follows:
- 30-40 skilled jobs at Chiron Global Technologies
- 1-2 skilled jobs at The Smart Think
- Up to 20 jobs across domestic project partners and prospective future partners
Contributions:
Government Funds: $362,045 | Industry: $362,045 | In-Kind: $74,000