In July, Lightforce Group announced the supply of 120 advanced, customisable night vision and thermal imaging systems to the ADF’s Dismounted Combat Program, along with ‘train-the-trainer’ instruction.
This development is just another in a series of contract wins for the Adelaide headquartered global business after it announced its intentions in 2017 to formally enter the defence manufacturing market.
The story of the Lightforce Group is an interesting and inspiring one. After three decades building arguably the best rifle scopes and lighting systems for militaries and hunters all around the world, the Lightforce Group brought together four of its leading brands, Nightforce Optics, Horus, Gunforce and Lightforce Australia, to create its defence manufacturing arm, Force Ordnance. This story begins much further back in the early 1980s in the South Australian country town of Cleve when the company was founded by local dentist Dr Ray Dennis.
After searching the retail market for a high quality and robust spotlight for to eliminate feral pests and finding nothing suitable, Ray decided to build one himself…and the rest, as they say, is history. Being a man of vision and foresight, Dr. Dennis recognised the potential demand for the lightweight, portable and handheld spotlight which lay before him. Enter Lightforce. It was a system powerful enough to use for professional purposes yet priced within the grasp of the enthusiast and sportsman. Ray soon produced his first commercially manufactured lighting system. Based on original designs, his lighting systems found such favour among professionals and sporting enthusiasts alike that production was increased, and improvements incorporated. This brought greater diversity to the range, ensuring the growing success and popularity of the brand. Fast forward a couple of decades, and whether it’s in the frozen Arctic tundra to the scorching heat of the Australian Outback, Lightforce’s products are trusted on all seven continents. Lightforce Group now exports to more than 50 countries and has manufacturing facilities in Adelaide, South Australia, and in Idaho in the USA. A large proportion of Lightforce Group’s production is exported worldwide to major markets in Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, Southeast Asia and North America.
Lightforce’s first foray into the formal defence manufacturing sector came in 2021 when it announced Force Ordnance as a “systems integrator’’ and developer of the QTD1 Long Range Rifle – a completely Australian designed and manufactured sniper rifle including patented technology which allows users to switch out barrels in seconds without compromising accuracy.
At the company’s Hindmarsh facility products are designed, built and tested, with ex-special forces and law enforcement staff – including expert long range precision shooters – on board to guide the design process. Its weapons manufacturing credentials reside substantially in Ace Precision Rifle Systems (APRS) which has been building premium rifles in Adelaide for the past 15 years. Using the finest components machined to exact tolerances, APRS produces the highest quality precision rifles and offers a full gunsmithing service.
In 2022, Lightforce Group grew its presence and influence in the local and international defence and law enforcement sectors with a series of wins that saw its world-renowned automotive and hunting lights being applied to illuminate the fields of battle and shine a light on crime. Locally, the Australian Defence Force’s trial of Australian Expedition Vehicles included Lightforce’s infrared and white light combination HTX2 lights, signalling the company’s first local win. Other clients included the Australian Customs & Border Protection which fitted their 41-foot MMI Interceptor boats with Lightforce ML240mm lights, as well as a number of state police agency vehicles that have been fitted with infrared Striker lights.
Internationally, Lightforce partnered with the armed forces of the Philippines for the provision of driving lights on military vehicles whilst in the US, several defence and police bodies are still shining a brighter light on suspects thanks to the Adelaide-based manufacturer. These include the Maryland Police, the US Marshall Service and the Georgia State Patrol who are all using Lightforce white and Infrared lights on their respective patrol and SWAT vehicles.
In perhaps its most significant defence contract win to date, Lightforce Group was selected in 2023 to provide 400 of its world-leading Nightforce precision rifle scopes to the ADF as part of the Sniper Systems component of Land 159 Lethality Systems Project (LAND 159) Tranche 1. The development has paved the way for Nightforce’s MIL-SPEC ATACR 7-35x56F1 scope to bring ADF sniper capability up to Five Eyes nation standards through Force Ordnance. Nightforce Optics are now the chosen optical instrument for superior weapon systems throughout the Five Eyes Special Operations communities, with multiple contracts won in New Zealand, United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Typical deployments of this optic will include support to patrols, operations, surveillance and other specified tasks as well as Anti-Materiel Sniper Capability (AMSC) for the purposes of providing precision fire against enemy materiel (such as vehicles and equipment) at ranges of up to 2500m in day and night conditions. The ADF is expected to take delivery of the scopes later this year and there are further exciting announcements expected in the not-too-distance future.
Australia’s recommitment to sovereign defence manufacturing capability has well and truly begun and is being driven by businesses like Lightforce Group that are putting home-grown innovation and manufacturing excellence back into the hands of service men and women.
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