Page 8 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec-Jan 2023

8 NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE
DECEMBER 2022-JANUARY 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LEFT: The Redback turret is based on the MT30
rently being trialled by the Polish Defence Force.
“This agreement will see the Redback turret assembled and integrated at the H- ACE for the Australian Land 400 Phase 3 project, if we are successful, and then for export for global Redback customers,” Richard Cho, Managing Director of HDA explained. “We will be working with a range of Australian suppliers to bring this important capability to market.”
“Elbit is fully committed to establish- ing sovereign engineering, production and support capabilities of its proven and tested MT30 turret in the Redback con- figuration,” Yehuda (Udi) Vered, CEO of Elbit Systems Land said. “The MT30 Redback turret is the latest generation in our family of manned and unmanned turrets leveraging the high performance, advanced, lethality, protection and situ- ational awareness capabilities tested and fielded worldwide.”
According to HDA, the Redback tur- ret was designed from the outset to inte- grate advanced technologies such as Iron Fist Active Protection Systems, Iron Vi- sion Head Mounted Display Situational Awareness System and the Spike LR2 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles.
REDBACK TURRET TO BE MANUFACTURED IN AUSTRALIA
HANWHA Defense Australia (HDA) and Elbit Systems of Israel have agreed to sup- port the Redback turret to be built in Aus- tralia for the global market.
Based on the MT30 turret, the Redback turret was developed and modernised as part of HDA’s offering as part of Land 400 Phase 3.
The evolved variant of the turret will be built in Australia and integrated with
the Redback vehicle at HDA’s Hanwha Armoured vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE). Construction of the H-ACE is underway at the Avalon Airport precinct in Geelong.
The Redback turret underwent a signif- icant test and evaluation process as part of the program’s Risk Mitigation Activity, was successfully trialled by the Republic of Korea Army earlier in 2022 and is cur-
PENSKE AUSTRALIA TO POWER BOXERS
PENSKE Australia has signed a deed of agreement with Rheinmetall Defence Australia for the assembly of power- packs for Boxer Combat Reconnais- sance Vehicles.
In a deal worth approximately $40 mil- lion, more than 100 power packs for the Land 400 Phase 2 Boxer vehicles will comprise of Rolls-Royce Power Systems MTU 8V199 engines and Allison 4800SP transmissions.
In addition to the assembly of the pow- erpacks, the agreement also includes the establishmentoflocalassemblyandtest- ing capability, training, and the provision of compliance documentation.
Penske Australia’s team of specialist technicians will conduct local assembly and acceptance testing with production to be conducted at Penske Australia’s Wa- col, QLD facility.
“This important agreement builds upon our long-standing history in supporting the
RIGHT: Penske Australia anticipates delivering the first powerpacks in late 2023
ADF’s platforms, both land and sea,” said Hamish Chris- tie-Johnston, Managing Di- rector of Penske Australia.
“It’s also a welcome ex-
tension of our relationship
with Rheinmetall Defence
Australia as a key industry capabilityproviderandamemberofRhe- inmetall’s global supply chain.
“The combination of the highly reli- able and powerful mtu engine and Allison transmission will deliver a robust power- pack solution that will serve the ADF well for decades to come.”
Upon completion, Penske Australia will deliver the power packs for integration into the vehicles to Rheinmetall Defence
Australia’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) at Redbank, South-East Queensland.
“Rheinmetall is delighted to sign this agreement with Penske Australia to de- liver the Australian Army’s stated opera- tional needs,” Rheinmetall Managing Di- rector, Gary Stewart, said.
Penske Australia anticipates delivering the first powerpacks in late 2023.
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