Page 40 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

40 DEFENCE BUSINESS HANWHA DEFENSE
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
program is already expected to use Bisalloy steel under an agreement announced earlier this year. These oppor- tunities, the company says, will be available regardless of whether it is successful in Land 400 Phase 3. If so, South Korea’s success on the global defence market will also prove a boon for the Commonwealth and Australian de- fence industry as the two countries form a deeper and more cooperative defence relationship.
OTHER LAND SYSTEMS
Outside of self-propelled howitzers and IFVs, Hanwha De- fense is also marketing the K239 Chunmoo rocket artil- lery system, a competitor to HIMARS (and without ITAR), to global cus-
It can transport munitions, wounded soldiers, and provide covering fire with a remote weapon station (RWS) fitted with an external 5.56mm or 7.62mm machine gun. The ROK Army is reportedly developing an operating concept of two vehicles per platoon, though this could not be confirmed.
It is able to operate autonomously or using a physical tether (a thin wire attached to a soldier in front of the ve- hicle). The RWS uses a high-fidelity microphone to locate the source of incoming rounds, which the company says is primarily designed to counter snipers (it hasn’t been tested against high-volume fire).
The Arion-SMET uses a combination of GPS, 3D and 2D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and an internal system called the SLAM to navigate. It is able to discern between objects that it cannot pass through (walls) and ob- jects it can (bushes). Interestingly, the software engineer responsible for the auto-stop function tested it himself by stepping in front of the two-ton vehicle as it rolled through an obstacle course.
The Marine Corps has reportedly shown interest in the Arion-SMET, whilst the ROK Army is acquiring a separate mine-disposal variant called the Arion-EOD (with produc- tion slated for 2025).
To unify all these ambitions, Hanwha Group is under- taking a major internal merger; combining Hanwha De- fense and Hanwha Corporation’s Defense division under Hanwha Aerospace into a single entity. In 2021, the three entities reached A$5 billion in sales and listed A$10.1 bil- lion in assets. This will bring the air, land, sea and space businesses together under one company.
Son Jae-il, CEO and President of Hanwha Defense, told Australian media of his ambition for the new entity: to be- come a top 10 global defence company and rival the largest global primes by the end of the decade. ■
Disclaimer: the writers travelled to South Korea as a guest of Hanwha Defense Australia.
LEFT:
Finland is one of several K9 users
“THE CURRENT TRANCHE OF SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZERS BEING ACQUIRED UNDER LAND 8116 PHASE 1 MAY WELL BE THE LAST CREWED ARTILLERY SYSTEMS IN ARMY’S HISTORY”
tomers.
The Chunmoo was designed for a
range of rockets, including 239mm bunker-busting rockets with an 80 kilometre range for the ROK Army to potentially use against North Korean bunkers along the DMZ. In June, the ROK Army outlined plans to extend the Chunmoo’s range to over 200 kilo- metres using ducted rocket propulsion technology to counter similarly long- range North Korean rocket systems.
The UAE recently purchased a num- ber of Chunmoo systems, and though the platform does not yet have further international users, Hanwha Defense leadership believes the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of long-range fires and
will add momentum to the Chunmoo’s export potential. Hanwha is also developing a number of uncrewed ground vehicles, including the Arion-SMET (which is currently under consideration for acquisition by the South Korean
government) and the Arion-L.
The Arion-SMET is designed to integrate at platoon level.
HANWHA DEFENSE