Hanwha Defense Australia has signed a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia for the supply of its Huntsman AS9 self-propelled artillery system to Australia, a South Korean K9 Thunder 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzer tailored for the Australian army. The contract signature was announced on December 13 by the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and the President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in at a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra. This is the first major defence acquisition by Australia from an Asian defence prime contractor.
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AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzer (Picture source: Hanwha Defense)

Also present for the ceremony were Mr Jaeil Son, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanwha Defense, and Mr Richard Cho, Managing Director of Hanwha Defense Australia: "I am enormously proud for Hanwha to be part of such a significant occasion. To see the Korean President side-by-side with the Australian Prime Minister makes the growing depth of the relationship between Australia and Korea clear to me," Mr Son said. "Both countries have much to gain from each other economically, but benefits are especially significant in terms of regional security. The long-standing trust and friendship between Australia and the Republic of Korea is a great asset".

"The team at Hanwha Defense Australia has worked hard for this day. It is an honour to be contracted to supply equipment to the Australian Defence Force," Mr Cho said. "The Hanwha team is now highly focussed on the seamless delivery of what will be a transformative capability to the Australian Army. We will be working closely with our Australian industry partners to ensure that we deliver on our promise to establish sovereign capability here in Australia".

The procurement is part of Defence project Land 8116 phase 1 which will see the acquisition of 30 AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers and 15 AS10 armoured resupply vehicles. This highly advanced new equipment will bring a genuine transformation to the Australian Army's artillery capability.

The vehicles will be manufactured in Australia at a new Hanwha facility to be constructed in the Greater Geelong area of Victoria. "With Australia's close proximity to 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 South Korea. The Australian operation also helps Hanwha fulfill contracts in other parts of the world and deliver capacity to engage with Five Eyes nations," Mr Cho said.

Hanwha has taken a broad and inclusive approach to Australian industry and is intent on delivering a flawless capability to the Australian Defence Force and significant economic benefits and technology transfer to the Australian economy.

Australian companies involved with Hanwha on local manufacture and support of the new Howitzers include Kongsberg Defence Australia, ElmTek, Penske Australia, HIFraser, CBG Systems, TAE Aerospace, Bisalloy Steels, Thales Australia, Sigma Bravo and Elphinstone Pty Ltd.

The Hanwha AS9 Huntsman was specially developed for Australia to incorporate learnings and experience from the global fleet of over 2400 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. With the AS9 Huntsman, Hanwha is offering a proven 52-caliber 155mm gun system that is in service with multiple nations around the world including the NATO alliance.

The AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle is a highly protected and maneuverable ammunition resupply vehicle with a unique loading system that reduces the risk to soldiers from enemy fire.

The Republic of Korea's Army has offered to work with the Australian Army to share their experience to help expedite the development and growth of local expertise in the self-propelled howitzer capability. Local production of the AS9 and AS10 Huntsman vehicles will see Australia enter the global supply chain for the entire fleet with the ongoing development of Australian Manufacturing and Supply Chain to the global K9 user community. There will be full engineering support in Australia with reach-back to all original equipment manufacturers.

The AS9 Huntsman features the highest levels of protection and survivability for this class of vehicle. Its mission and fire control systems provide fully automated support for planning, coordinating, controlling and executing fire missions. Huntsman is a mature protected mobile fires platform that is low risk with proven ability to deliver.

Construction of the new Hanwha manufacturing facility is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2022 and take 24 months to complete. Production of the AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2024.

AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (Picture source: Hanwha Defense)