HUNTSMAN –AN EW WINNER FOR NEW ZEALAND

The past few years have been trying for many… both for the NZ Army and for the country. Covid-19 presented many challenges as the nation headed into multiple lockdowns. In efforts to keep busy and distracted, many people turned to baking, exercise or binge watching TV shows. However, within the barracks of Burnham a group of young soldiers got busy developing what is now known as HUNTSMAN.

HUNTSMAN is a geolocation device that can isolate and transmit an emitted radio signal within a given area. These New Zealand soldiers have travelled to Exercise Stormforce in the United States for the past three years. The exercise offers the opportunity for friendly collaboration with other developers, as well as to both define and test HUNTSMAN as a capability.

HUNTSMAN has produced the most accurate geolocation over the past two years at the exercise. It offers the most cost-effective solution for New Zealand to keep up with the coalition partners and introduces automation features to the geolocation space.

While engaging with other visitors at the exercise, it became very clear how impressive this capability really is. A US Navy Officer remarked, “New Zealand has done a lot with very little, what they have accomplished is inspirational”. One visitor highlighted how much money other militaries have poured into contractors and vendors to produce a capability that is not as good –some have spent over one billion dollars with its industry partners.

New Zealand is disproportionately represented in the electronic warfare space, and HUNTSMAN has propelled the country forward onto the international stage. This is an excellent example of the transformation that is occurring within the NZ Army as soldiers embrace existing technology and focus on future digitised capabilities.

New Zealand’s partners have expressed their desire to purchase this capability and focussed their interest on the minds of the New Zealand soldiers behind the capability.

HUNTSMAN is an innovative capability that beats others in both cost and effectiveness. This showcases everything the New Zealand Army stands for – leadership, ingenuity, and interoperability.