Page 106 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22

106 MAJOR PROJECTS REVIEW
DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
delivered to Defence on 13 February. Up to 450 tracked IFVs and 17 Manoeuvre Support Vehicles will be acquired and a Risk Mitiga- tion Activity (RMA) phase subsequently con- cluded in October. Final bids were submitted on 22 October and the successful candidate is expected to be announced in 2022.
“THE ELEPHANT IN EVERYONE’S ROOM WAS WITHOUT DOUBT THE GOVERNMENT’S SCRAPPING OF THE ATTACK-CLASS FUTURE SUBMARINE PROGRAM FOR A NUCLEAR- POWERED SUBMARINE”
In September, subcontractor to Raythe- on Australia for Land 19/7B (Short-range Ground-Based Air Defence) Kongsberg De- fence Australia announced the successful completion of Factory Acceptance Tests of the first two Fire Distribution Centres (FDC) for the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems (NASAMS). The FDC is the Air De- fence Command, Control, Communications and Computing (C4) system that manages engagement operations through centralised control of NASAMS sensors, launchers, mis- siles, and communication systems.
The US Government approved the sale of
160 M1A1 Abrams main battle tank hulls
to Australia in April, for use in Army’s Land
907/2. The hulls will be used to upgrade
around 75 tanks to M1A2 SEPv3 standard
with the exact number to be decided by the
National Security Committee (NSC) at Gate 2 approval.
In ADM’s From the Source interview in the June issue, Head Army Capability, Major General Simon Stewart, said the focus of Land 19/7B in 2021 has been on test and integration and the project remained on track for IOC in the mid-2023.
One project expected to achieve Second Pass approval in mid-2021, but yet to be announced, is the $0.9-3 billion Land 8116 Phase 1 (Protected Mobile Fires), which will see 30 HDA AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers and 15 AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARV) built in the Geelong region from 2023. In mid-November a Defence spokesperson told ADM that the project will now be considered by Government for Second Pass consider- ation by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
ABOVE: An Army LARC during Operation Bushfire Assist
On 29 April the US also approved the sale of four additional Boeing CH-47F Chinook medium-lift helicopters to Australia, bringing the fleet to 14 units. The first pair arrived in Towns- ville in early July and a second pair will be delivered before the end of the current financial year. The new aircraft were ordered by the US Army but delivered to Australia as part of Defence’s requirement to address a shortfall in battlefield airlift capability.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton announced Thales Aus- tralia’s Hawkei Protected Military Vehicle – Light (PMV- L), being acquired under Land 125/4, achieved the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) milestone on 11 July. Up to 1,100 vehicles and 1,058 trailers are being acquired under the $2 billion program. “The Hawkei is expected to reach Final Operational Capability (FOC) in 2023 and is join- ing the existing Bushmaster and Protected Medium Heavy Capability trucks to create a suite of protected mobility ve- hicles,” Dutton said in a media release.
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