Robert Nioa, CEO of the NIOA Group at the announcement of the acquisition of US rifle manufacturer Barrett Firearms © NIOA, 2023
An Interview with Robert Nioa, CEO of the NIOA Group
–> Interview by Murielle Delaporte
Having grown up in the “environment of a family SME specializing in shooting sports”, Robert Nioa has acquired over the years extensive multidisciplinary experience in the shooting, law enforcement, military, telecommunications and real estate sectors. He became Director of the NIOA Group in 1994, then CEO in 2002.
In this interview, he explains the evolution and vocation of a family business founded in the early sixties – and celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year – which has become not only the gateway to over fifty international partners, but also Australia’s largest private supplier of small arms, ammunition and related products to the Australian and New Zealand military, police and commercial markets.
As Australia has realized over the past three years that it no longer has the luxury of waiting ten years to prepare for full-scale warfare, the NIOA Group, under the leadership and vision of its CEO, reflects the current desire of the Australian defense and security community to cease being “a burden on the global supply chain, as one of the largest importers of munitions among [nos] twenty major defense allies”, to a leading role in the global supply chain.
Robert Nioa’s unwavering commitment to innovation and long-term partnerships is at the heart of this success story.
This is the fiftieth anniversary of the NIOA Group: how would you describe the history of this unique family success story and the key milestones that have led to its evolution since the early sixties?
Originally a small company founded in 1973 and specializing in the sale of firearms, the NIOA Group moved into wholesale in the 1980s, focusing exclusively on sport shooting until the mid-1990s, when a new impetus led the company to supply light firearms, ammunition and related products to law enforcement agencies in partnership with NICO Pyrotechnik (now part of the German Rheinmetall company). In 2007, it entered the defense market by winning its first major contract with the Australian Army for the supply of MK47 light automatic grenade launchers (LWAGL).
Since then, the military side of the business has grown steadily, and NIOA achieved prime contractor status in 2015 by participating in phase 2 of the army’s Land 40 program with the LWAGL 222 Grenade L, which has been followed over the years by major government contracts and projects, including the Land 17-1C.2 155 mm projectile program in 2017, or more recently, in 2022, tranche 1 of the Land 159 lethality project to provide sniper and close-combat capabilities for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
At the same time, the NIOA Group’s international footprint has been strengthened by the creation in 2021 of a new subsidiary, the ” Australian Missile Corporation “(AMC), in response to the government’s request to develop a national missile manufacturing capability through the ” Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise “(GWEO). One year later, in 2022, a joint venture was commissioned with Rheinmetall for the production of artillery shells, crowning a particularly balanced twenty-seven-year partnership initiated with Nico Pyrotechnik in 1996. Joint investments and initial technology transfers from Rheinmetall have helped establish the essential production capacities on which the NIOA Group can rely today for part of its export business. In 2023, the acquisition of US company Barett Firearms was another key milestone.
With AMC and within the NIOA group in general, you place a lot of emphasis on developing skills and targeted technologies: from your point of view, what are the changes in your field with regard to mobility (weights and 3D printing, for example), robotization (both as a means of production and as drones to be armed), target acquisition/connectivity, firearms maintenance, new test facilities, simulation, AI, etc.?
While the sports market now accounts for around twenty-five percent of NIOA’s business, it remains a stable base for financing defense activities, whose acquisition cycle can last up to five years. It also remains the key factor driving innovation in the small arms and ammunition market, as millions of people explore new technologies in a very flexible way, unlike in the military sector where decades of development are sometimes needed to make leaps forward. However, the military market is in the vanguard when it comes to the electronics that soldiers need, because it involves unique military applications, as well as very specific technologies, such as hypersonics. In my opinion, hypersonics is the military technology we should be focusing on, as it has the potential to be a game-changer with promising civilian applications. In fact, the newly-formed AMC intends to tackle the government’s objectives in this area with the cooperation of American companies and within the framework of AUKUS.
The focus should be on developing the technology itself, but also on how to counter the effects of incoming hypersonic missiles, taking into account the lessons learned by Ukraine. This is also the case for floating munitions, drones and autonomous ground-based systems. While these developments are not new in themselves, what is new is their actual deployment on the battlefield. While designers have understood these technologies and imagined their future use, concrete applications in the field are proving to be different. So there’s a gap between theory and reality that we need to take into account.
While Australia’s defense forces have always been focused on high technology, the Ukraine, but before that, the evolving threat in the Indo-Pacific region, convinced military planners that a process of industrialization had to be put in place to promote domestic production capacity, as well as war stocks, in all these areas.
Building new capacity to increase both domestic production and stockpiling is indeed a major challenge for the Australian government, which must match the right level of investment with very high ambitions for military readiness. Emphasizing that Australia is a “very mature country when it comes to contract management”, Robert Nioa is convinced that building on what already exists – namely long-term visibility contracts (often 5+5+5) and the appointment of specific prime contractors as part of lifecycle support – will deliver results as long as investment continues at a sufficient level. The NIOA Group for artillery and ammunition, and AMC for missiles, are leading systems integrators, helping to create the robust long-term supply chain Australia needs to meet the growing risks facing the region.
To conclude, a final word on your forthcoming participation in Eurosatory?
The NIOA Group has been exhibiting at Eurosatory for over twenty years. The reason for this is that Eurosatory offers an unrivalled opportunity to access the European armaments supply chain and market. Being able to hold meetings with international suppliers in one place is particularly valuable for us from Australia, and a unique opportunity in that sense.
We’ve been coming to Eurosatory for years, and we’re constantly expanding our presence. In 2022, we had twelve high-level participants, so we could cover the full spectrum of technological and commercial activities offered by the Show, as well as identifying new prospects in terms of capabilities.
We intend to do the same for the 2024 edition and can’t wait to be part of it!