The VANTAGE ATS was mounted on a Slovenian Army Patria AMV for the testing, showcasing its compatibility with various platforms. The turret, developed in collaboration with Valhalla Turrets of Slovenia, is designed to integrate with both crewed and uncrewed vehicles.
Kisa Christensen, Director of Integrated Defence and Autonomy Systems at BAE Systems Australia, said the results exceeded expectations and pave the way for future testing once the system is re-integrated with ATLAS. “We’ve come away from this test firing knowing that the VANTAGE ATS fires accurately and performs exceedingly well, demonstrating excellent performance, offering our customers the ability to integrate VANTAGE with a range of crewed and uncrewed platforms, and offering a lower acquisition cost through the adaptive reuse of legacy cannons already in service,” she said.
“Also, we’ve seen the performance of VANTAGE successfully verified during the conduct of the Factory Acceptance Testing period,” Ms Christensen added. Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) was completed in May 2025 with support from Valhalla Turrets and the Slovenian Military.
VANTAGE ATS features a low-profile design and is equipped with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun, allowing for reuse of in-service cannons from ALSAV and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. This reduces acquisition costs and simplifies logistics by leveraging existing supply chains for ammunition, spares, and training.
The turret includes BAE Systems Australia’s passive Multi-Spectral Automatic Target Detection, Tracking and Classification System (ATTCS), supporting high levels of automation. This technology decreases operator workload, enables control of multiple systems by one user, and shortens target engagement times while lowering detection risk.
After its global debut at the Land Forces 2024 exhibition, the ATLAS CCV and VANTAGE ATS are being positioned for roles such as direct fire support, combat reconnaissance, obstacle clearance, and very short-range air defence. The turret will now return to Australia for re-integration with ATLAS CCV, where further dynamic and sub-system testing will continue.
