Specialised Expertise
ISTEC has over 35 years of experience designing and manufacturing crew-served weapon mounting solutions for military use across land, sea and air platforms. Their product range includes small-arms and medium-calibre systems, tailored to enhance mission capabilities. This specialisation ensures customers receive cutting-edge, battle-proven solutions designed for high reliability and performance, even in the most challenging operational environments. Synonymous with Universal Gun Mounts (UGMs), Protected Weapon Stations (PWS) and Ringmount Systems, their integration solutions have been fitted to many of the more iconic vehicles used during more recent UK Land operations in Iraq and Afghanistan such as WMIK, Mastiff, Viking and Jackal and are in service internationally with countries including USA, Canada, UAE and other European and NATO partners.
Tailored Solutions
ISTEC are platform and weapon-agnostic, emphasising modularity in their systems allowing for easy adaptation to diverse mission requirements. This customisation enables forces to optimise equipment for specific tasks without extensive redesigns. For example, their weapon mounts are designed for compatibility with a large variety of platforms, reducing procurement and integration costs while enhancing mission flexibility. ISTEC work with the customer to rapidly meet their needs. In early 2024, ISTEC was approached by the UK MOD to upgrade the Viking platform with a new medium machine gun mount to enhance its protection capability. ISTEC designed, manufactured, delivered and fitted the required systems in just 12 weeks.
Certified Excellence
With ISO 9001:2015 certification and air safety compliance, ISTEC demonstrates commitment to quality, continuous improvement and rigorous compliance with the strictest regulations. This guarantees that their products meet stringent international standards for reliability and safety, providing customers with confidence in their equipment’s durability and operational readiness. For this reason, ISTEC was selected to design, qualify and deliver the unique externally fitted gun mounts for the new Boeing USAF Grey Wolf helicopter based on the Leonardo MH-139A platform.
Global Support
ISTEC offers worldwide deployment, training and after-sales services. Their focus on through life management ensures that customers receive comprehensive support, from initial platform assessments to installation to maintenance and upgrades. This global reach helps reduce downtime, keeps equipment mission-ready and extends product lifespan, reducing cost of ownership and maximising return on investment for defence organisations. Designed for the harshest of environments, ISTEC’s ringmounts, pedestals, swingarms, softmounts and armour protection systems are also fitted to large numbers of naval vessels deployed on operations globally and therefore ISTEC has always provided a reliable and effective global support service.
Legacy of Innovation
Since its founding in 1989, ISTEC has remained at the forefront of military systems innovation. Their designs focus on minimising maintenance while maximising performance, with an emphasis on user-friendly operation. For customers, this means reliable, efficient and cost-effective systems that can endure rigorous conditions without frequent repairs or replacements.
This commitment to innovative thinking in supporting user requirements is set to continue into 2025 and beyond.