Page 86 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

86 LAND WARFARE PROTECTED MOBILE FIRES
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
“They further provide a potent counter-battery fire capa- bility, supressing and destroying enemy artillery before it can be used effectively against friendly troops,” the spokes- person said. “Protected Mobile Fires is a key capability in the ADF’s Protected Manoeuvre System, which is charac- terised by highly lethal, tactically manoeuvrable, and heavily armoured and protected land systems. The Protected Ma- noeuvre System has the firepower, protection and mobility necessary to fight and win in mid to high-intensity warfare.
HUNTSMAN DESCRIPTION AND TIMELINE
The AS9 is based on the latest variant of the K9, the VI- DAR (Versatile InDirect Artillery) system developed for Norway, but with some important changes to meet Army’s requirements.
These changes include an increase in armour to meet the latest standards for protection, strengthened suspension to cope with the subsequent weight increase and integration with Army’s C4 systems. This latter work is being under- taken by Kongsberg Defence Australia and also involves the integration of tactical communications systems and BMS into the company’s Cortex Integrated Combat Solutions (ICS) architecture and Odin Fire Control System (FCS).
“We’ve taken the best of breed in the K9 and K10 and we’re not looking to significantly change a lot of the design requirements,” explained HDA’s Land 8116 Project Manager Alicia Millard. “Two of the biggest changes are to the protec- tion and survivability system and the C4 system. For the pro- tection system we’re really bringing that up to an increased protection level for our Australian warfighters, and the C4 system is integrating the next generation of C4 capability.”
The AS9/AS10 system is being acquired under Defence’s preferred supplier mechanism, which saw a sole-source Request For Tender (RFT) issued to HDA in September 2020 and a subsequent contract signature on 13 December 2021. HDA and the Commonwealth were due to complete the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in August and will then undertake a Detailed Design Review (DDR) up until August 2023.
“That design process is really just making sure we’re still undertaking all the systems reviews that need to go on, integrating new systems into already established capabil- ity. But it is a compressed timeframe and one year between PDR and DDR is a sporty schedule, but that accounts for
“LAND 8116 WILL TRANSFORM ARMY’S
“Protected Mobile Fires will be the ADF’s primary 155mm artillery system, complemented by the cur- rent M777A2 Lightweight Towed Howitzer, significantly enhancing
LONG RANGE FIRES the ADF’s indirect fires capability.
CAPABILITY, BUT IT ALSO PROMISES TO TRANSFORM
The system seeks to address a known capability gap that has existed since the cancellation of Land 17 Phase 1C in 2012.”
AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE Indeed, the ability to accurately
INDUSTRY”
strike an enemy at range was one of the priorities listed by the former Acting Head Land Capability, Briga- dier Ian Langford recently. Speaking
at ADM’s Congress in Canberra in June, BRIG Langford told delegates that “real-world” events such as the war in Ukraine are informing Army’s future investments in capa- bilities which include long range offensive fires, a resilient digital Battle Management System (BMS), a “world-class” aviation system and a credible close combat system.
ABOVE: K9 Thunder self propelled howitzers conducting a live fire exercise
HANWHA