Page 89 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LAND WARFARE PROTECTED MOBILE FIRES 89
ments of the warfighter in terms of protection levels, but also ensuring they have the mobility they need,” Millard added.
“The K9 is a mature product, but there are always going to be challenges and they are being worked through. We are working towards achieving the schedule, making sure we’re delivering things to the right quality standards and at the right time; and balancing the changes that need to be made to meet the customer’s requirements with the requested schedule.”
H-ACE AND AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY
The first sod was turned on HDA’s H-ACE 15-hectare site in April and when complete the facility will represent Hanwha’s first major manufacturing facility outside the Republic of Korea. Marking the occasion, HDA’s Managing Director Richard Cho said that both countries have much to gain from each other in an economic sense, but the ben- efits were also significant in terms of regional security.
“The new facility to be built on this site will be a key addition to Australia’s sovereign defence capability. With Australia’s proximity to the Republic of Korea and the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, Hanwha’s Australian facility will also become a critical and important secondary line of supply back to Korea,” Cho commented.
“The Australian operation will also help Hanwha fulfil contracts in other parts of the world and deliver capacity to engage with Five Eyes nations.”
Work on the $170 million, 32,000 square metre ar- moured vehicle facility is expected to take two years to complete and will include a vehicle assembly line, a sys- tems integration laboratory and
electromagnetic interference/com- patibility (EMI/EMC) chamber. The H-ACE is a scalable design and HDA will also build the AS21 Redback IFV in the facility should it be successful in the Land 400 Phase 3 competition.
HDA has also incorporated sev- eral local companies into its supply chain and is looking for others to partner with as the H-ACE grows.
“PROTECTED MOBILE FIRES IS A KEY CAPABILITY IN THE ADF’S PROTECTED MANOEUVRE SYSTEM”
Significant among these are Kongsberg which, as noted earlier, is doing vehicle integration work; Tasmanian com- panies Elphinstone, CBG Systems and Penguin Compos- ites; Sigma Bravo; HI Fraser, and Bisalloy Steel.
Collectively, the Elphinstone, CBG and Penguin contracts represent Tasmania’s largest ever defence contract and will see the former producing the hull and turret structures,