Page 49 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 21

FEBRUARY – MARCH 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
MILITARY VEHICLES LAND 400 49
HANWHA Defense Australia and Team Redback have offi- cially launched the Redback Infantry Fighting vehicle, de- livering three Redback vehicles to compete in the test and evaluation trials being conducted as part of the Risk Miti- gation Activity for project Land 400 Phase 3. Rheinmetall’s Lynx 41 is up against the Korean offering, having already secured the Boxer under Phase 2 of the program.
Land 400 Phase 3 will acquire a fleet of tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicles that will replace the M113AS4 fleet. This is the first time that the ADF will have a dedicated Infantry Fighting Vehicle and will be the cornerstone of the Army Close Combat Capability.
The RMA trials will incorporate a range of tests including lethality, mobility and protection. The vehicle unveiled will be the focus of blast testing at a dedicated Commonwealth facility in coming months. Involving detailed test and eval- uation of the vehicles, it will be undertaken throughout
2021 with the aim of providing objective quality evidence to support a Government decision on the preferred tenderer.
Team Redback is the group of companies led by Hanwha Defense Australia that currently includes Electro Optic Systems, Elbit, ECLIPS, Milspec, Bisalloy, Soucy, Marand and CBG Systems and continues to expand.
The aim of Team Redback is to "deliver an Infantry Fight- ing Vehicle capability to the Commonwealth that integrates the best of Korean manufacturing expertise and armoured vehicle design with Australian production, supply and inte- gration know-how."
BELOW: Rheinmetall’s Lynx IFV. BELOW LEFT: Hanwha’s Redback IFV.