Source: Radio New Zealand
From left: Associate Minister of Defence Chris Penk, Sir Nick Hine, CEO Marine at Babcock International, and Lance Bauerfeind, Head of Training and Simulation at Company-X, pictured at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney. Supplied
A Hamilton company has done a deal to supply its virtual reality (VR) training systems to a multi-billion-dollar defence contractor.
The deal between Company-X and UK-based Babcock follows on from the New Zealand Navy using the systems.
Company-X’s head of training and simulation, Lance Bauerfeind, would not put dollars or jobs figures on the deal as it had just been done, but said it was the biggest they had done in the VR training space.
“That’s going to enable us to take our VR simulation training to the world.”
It was in line with the government’s push to develop a local defence export industry.
“They are supporting and encouraging you know these large multinational contractors to work with us local businesses here in New Zealand, and that’s great for the economy and it’s great for us … and also it’s great for the defence and tech sector.”
Without the Defence Capability Plan that bankrolls tech developments, the deal would probably have taken “a lot longer” to secure, Bauerfeind said.
The 13-year-old company’s VR headgear and software is used to train for chopper landings on ships and rescuing divers from the seafloor.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
