Page 38 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

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LAND WARFARE LAND 400 PHASE 3
SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LAND 400 PHASE 3 ON A ROCKY ROAD
With the crucial risk mitigation phase of Land 400 Phase 3 already under way, the multi-billion dollar undertaking has been rocked by the unexpected and abrupt replacement of long-time program head Brigadier Greg McGlone.
JULIAN KERR | SYDNEY
SOURCES said the Phase 3 contenders Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) and Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) each received an advisory telephone call from the head of CASG’s Armoured Vehicle Division, Major General David Coghlan, less than 24 hours prior to BRIG Mc- Glone’s 22 July departure. Replacement him on an acting basis is Sarah Myers, Assistant Secretary in CASG’s Land Vehicle Systems branch. Myers has a long history with the Land 400 program (working with then program lead Brigadier Nagy Sorial) alongside her work on the various phases of Land 121.
In the absence of any official statement and responding to ADM questions, a Defence spokesperson said Defence could confirm “that Brigadier Greg McGlone is no longer in the role of Director-General Armoured Fighting Vehicles and thanks him for his contribution to the program over a number of years.
“Any announcement of a replacement will be officially communicated with other Defence senior appointments at an appropriate time. A key consideration for any replace- ment will be to ensure long term continuity in the leader- ship of the Armoured Vehicle program in the years ahead.”
RHEINMETALL/HANWHA