Page 24 - Australian Defence Magazine Oct 2020
P. 24

                    24 SUPPLY CHAIN   LAND 400
OCTOBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
  LAND 400 PHASE 3
The preference for a manned turret proved controversial at the time the Request for Tender was released to industry in late 2018. PSM, the company managing the Puma In- fantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) joint venture project between Rheinmetall and Kraus-Maffei Wegmann, announced that the vehicle will not contend for the project due to the manned turret preference.
TEAMING
Then, in September last year, the Lynx and Redback were shortlisted over competitors from General Dynamics Land Systems Australia and BAE Systems Hägglunds. The pro- gram is now in the Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) stage, which involves Defence working alongside Hanwha and Rheinmetall to test and evaluate the vehicles and refine their offers. This is scheduled to finish in the fourth calen- dar quarter next year.
As part of the RMA stage, Rheinmetall Defence Austra- lia (RDA) and Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) conducted a roadshow between March and May this year, just as the pandemic was starting to hit. 400 companies from across Australia presented their capabilities, and the two compa- nies continue to engage with industry across the continent.
TEAM REDBACK
At the end of July, Hanwha rolled out two prototypes of the Redback infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) at a factory in Changwon. The prototypes were loaded onto a ship at Pyeongtaek and sent to Melbourne in August, where they were met by the company’s test support team for the begin- ning of integration activities.
The company has engaged with over 400 Australian com- panies through multiple roadshows and engagements, and is approaching the market through an industry portal host- ed by local company BenchOn.
“HDA is in talks with a number of Australian compa- nies to partner with for Land 400 Phase 3 and is also in
A steady stream of news over the past few months is evidence that Land 400 Phase 3 continues to rumble along.
EWEN LEVICK | SYDNEY
PHASE 3, for those few not in the know, aims to acquire up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and a manoeuvre support capability of up to 17 vehicles to replace the M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers, which are approaching their sixth decade of service.
Defence has specified a vehicle with ‘high levels of pro- tection, mobility and lethality’ that is capable of carrying six soldiers in addition to a crew of three. Importantly, it has also specified a preference for a tracked vehicle with a manned turret, the ability to be deployed by the RAN’s two Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibi- ous ships, and to be carried by RAAF C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifters.
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