Page 12 - Defence Industry Guide #57

12 DEFENCE NEWS
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2023 | Edition 57 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
REDBACK TURRET TO BE BUILT LOCALLY
HANWHA Defense Australia (HDA) and Elbit Systems of Israel have agreed to support the Redback turret, built in Australia, for the global market.
Based on the proven and tested MT30 turret, the Redback turret was developed and modernised as part of HDA’s offering as part of Australia’s Land 400 Phase 3 project for up to 450 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs).
The evolved variant of the turret will be built in Australia and integrat- ed 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 significant test and evaluation process as part of the Australian Common- wealth’s Risk Mitigation Activity, was successfully trialled by the Republic of Korea Army earlier this year and is currently being trialled by the Polish Defence force.
“This agreement will see the Red- back turret assembled and inte- grated at the H-ACE for the Austra-
lian Land 400 Phase 3 project, if we are successful, and then for export for global Redback customers,” Richard Cho, Managing Director of HDA ex- plained. “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 configuration,” Yehuda (Udi) Vered, CEO of Elbit Systems Land said. “The MT30 Redback turret is the latest gen-
LEFT: HDA’s Redback IFV is one of two tenders currently under consideration for Land 400 Phase 3.
eration in our fam- ily of manned and unmanned turrets leveraging the high performance, ad- vanced, lethality, protection and situ-
ational awareness capabilities tested and fielded worldwide.”
According to HDA, the Redback turret was designed from the very out- set to integrate advanced technologies such as Iron Fist Active Protection Systems, Iron Vision Head Mounted Display Situational Awareness System and the Spike LR2 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. The turret is designed to eas- ily integrate these advanced systems to achieve optimum performance for the vehicle rather than bolt on aftermar- ket solutions.
FIRST AUSTRALIAN MQ-4C TRITON UNVEILED
NORTHROP Grumman Corporation un- veiled Australia’s first MQ-4C Triton autonomous aircraft during a ceremo- ny at its high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft production site in California.
The event was attended by Austra- lian and US government and defence officials.
LEFT: Australia’s first MQ- 4C Triton on the runway in Palmdale, California.
“Today marks a signifi- cant milestone for Austra- lia and the MQ-4C Triton program,” said Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grum- man Aeronautics Systems. “As we get ready for final
system integration and flight test, we are one step closer to delivering this extraordinary maritime awareness ca- pability to Australia.”
Australia is a cooperative program partner in the Triton program and was critical in helping shape the require- ments for the system. US and Australian defence forces will be able to share data
collected by their respective Tritons. “Triton will provide the Royal Aus- tralian Air Force with an unprecedent- ed capability to monitor and protect our maritime approaches,” said Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chip- man. “Triton will work alongside the P-8A Poseidon and this unmanned aircraft system will allow us to cover significant areas, at longer ranges and has the ability to stay airborne longer
than a traditional aircraft.”
Northrop Grumman initiated the
build of the first Australian Triton in October 2020 at its production facil- ity in Moss Point, Mississippi, and met another major production milestone in December 2021 when the fuselage and one-piece wing were mated in Califor- nia. The aircraft is scheduled for pro- duction completion in 2023 and deliv- ery to Australia in 2024.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
HANWHA DEFENSE AUSTRALIA