Australia has signed a contract worth A$1 billion with Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA), a local subsidiary of South Korean defense giant Hanwha Group, for the supply of 30 155mm/52 caliber crawler self-propelled howitzers (SPH) and 15 AS10s Armoring On December 13, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Ammunition Supply Vehicle (AARV).
Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in witnessed the signing ceremony of Australia’s largest contract ever awarded to Asian countries in Canberra. HDA was selected as the preferred supplier as early as September 2020.
HDA said it will build a new factory in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, from the second quarter of 2022 to produce these vehicles locally. These vehicles were purchased in the first phase of Project Land 8116 and will be called AS9 Huntsman.
The new car derived from the Hanwha K9 Thunder SPH platform is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Australia will become the seventh K9 international operator after Turkey, Poland, India, Finland, Norway and Estonia. AS9 Huntsman is also based on the Norwegian K9 VIDAR variant, but with improved armor and suspension.
The second phase of Land 8116 will deliver another batch of AS9 and AS10 worth 150-2.3 million Australian dollars in the late 2020s, while the mid-term upgrade under the third phase of Land 8116 is expected to be carried out around the 2030s at a cost of approximately 210-32 million Australian dollars. .
HDA also stated that if the company is selected in the ongoing Project Land 400 Phase 3, the Geelong plant can easily be expanded to produce up to 450 tracked Redback infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). Redback is currently competing with Rheinmetall Defense’s Lynx IFV for a contract valued at A$1.8-270 billion, and a decision is expected to be made in 2022.
HDA said earlier that the project is expected to create up to 350 jobs in Geelong and create opportunities in other areas, including parts manufacturing and maintenance, transportation and warehousing.
Xiao Wu
