The United States and Australian governments have jointly contributed AU$81 million in funding to an Australian-based ballistics technology company, for the research and development of Area Denial Weapons to replace landmines.

"Obviously this is significant to have the US jointly fund with the Australian government, it's very important for the potential [growth] of markets here," Metal Storm Limited Managing Director, Mike O'Dwyer said from Brisbane.

The funding will contribute to the development of an electronic gun system, which operates without any moving parts, "other than the bullets," O'Dwyer said.

"It's the only gun system in the world 100 percent electronically operated."

The electronic weapon system in development would enable a soldier to activate the weapon from a safe distance using a laptop. The mines would be contained in a mortar box instead of being scattered throughout an area.

Sensors would then be set up to detect movement and a soldier would determine whether to activate the device.

The undetected mines often cause civilian casualties after the event of war.

"It will provide a defensive screen of landmines without the explosives being on the ground," O'Dwyer said.

The Australian Defence Department and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have signed a research agreement to jointly evaluate Metal Storm technology for a range of military applications.

According to O'Dwyer, the technology has the potential to be used outside weaponry, in a variety of applications.

"The mortar box can hold a number of different items, enabling containers of fire fighting powder to be launched into a fire," O'Dwyer said.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.