Page 10 - Defence Industry Guide #55

10 DEFENCE NEWS
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2022 | Edition 55 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
PENSKE TO ASSEMBLE ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS FOR REDBACK
PENSKE Australia will assemble MTU engines and Allison transmissions and integrate them locally into complete powerpacks for the Hanwha Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle, should it be selected for service in the ADF.
Penske Australia will also embed a team of specialist technicians within Hanwha’s manufacturing facility to support the assembly and integration of the powerpack into the Redback ve- hicles during production.
At the time of writing, the Redback is under consideration by the Com- monwealth under an ongoing tender process for Project Land 400 Phase 3.
The 1000hp eight-cylinder MTU MT881Ka-500 diesel engines will be built and tested locally enabling the in-country sustainment by Penske Australia under a technology transfer agreement with STX Engine of South Korea. The MTU engine variant for the Redback is a high speed, water-
cooled, twin-turbo, four- stroke, direct injection, intercooled diesel, the same as that used in Hanwha’s K9 self-pro- pelled howitzer.
STX Engine, under licence from MTU, have localised and modified the engine over several decades and will be directly involved in knowledge and skills transfer.
In a similar arrangement, Penske Australia will also conduct local as- sembly and testing of the Allison X1100 series cross drive transmission under
licence using kits supplied by SNT Dy- namics, a South Korean company and long-term supply partner of Allison.
The Allison variant selected for the Redback is a cross-drive transmission, operational in Hanwha’s K9 self-pro- pelled howitzers fleets around the globe as well as the X1100 series transmis- sion fitted to the Abrams M1A1 main battle tank which has been in-service with the ADF since 2007. It is capable of handling the Redback’s 40-plus ton combat weight and 3030 Nm of torque generated by the MTU engine.
Penske Australia’s assembly of the Redback’s X1100 transmission will also expedite the establishment of a viable local deep-maintenance hub for other X1100 Allison cross-drive units users locally and internationally. ■
ABOVE: The 1000hp eight-cylinder MTU MT881Ka-500 diesel engines will be built and tested locally.
EPE BUILDS AUSTRALIAN-FIRST ROBOTICS FACILITY WITH CSIRO
AN Australian-first facility to provide standardised testing of robotics is now open for business in Queensland.
The purpose-built centre is part of a research and development partner- ship between EPE and Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, based at CSIRO’s site in Pullenvale, outside Brisbane.
The MILTECS (Military Test, Evalu- ation, Certification and Systems Assur- ance) facility was developed in response to industry calls for a proving ground for field robotics and will carry out standardised testing across industries including defence, law enforcement, ag- riculture, manufacturing and mining.
The project is funded by EPE and the Defence Sovereign Industrial Capabil- ity Priority (SICP) Pro- gram, with partnership
support from CSIRO.
LEFT: The MILTECS facility was developed in response to industry calls for a proving ground for field robotics.
EPE Managing Director Warwick Penrose said the collaborative partner- ship will enable advanced R&D into human-robot teaming in dynamic un- structured environments and provide the essential validation to ensure the capabilities provided to Defence today also meet future threats.
“The facility is a genuine example of how a joint investment by Government and industry combined with collabora- tive partnership with the research sec- tor delivers critical Defence capability outcomes,” Penrose said.
The facility incorporates two prov- ing grounds: a robotics terrain park and a NIST (US National Institute of Standards and Technology) certified obstacle course; and Counter IED De- tection and training lanes for mounted and dismounted search. ■
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