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The defence company’s future manufacturing site has hosted the defence ministers of Australia and South Korea ahead of the commencement of construction.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup have visited the future site of Hanwha Defense Australia’s (HDA) armoured vehicle production facility at Avalon Airport in the Greater Geelong precinct in Victoria.
Richard Cho, managing director of Hanwha Defense Australia, welcomed the opportunity to showcase the company’s local manufacturing potential.
“The chance for both South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles to see regional cooperation in action at the industry level is testament to the strong nature of the growing relationship,” Cho said.
He said HDA’s local expansion plans would help strengthen bilateral defence ties between Australia and South Korea, while also supporting the company’s global operations.
“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,” Cho added.
“The Australian operation will also help Hanwha fulfil contracts in other parts of the world and deliver capacity to engage with Five Eyes nations,” Cho said.
HDA also recently welcomed representatives from Deakin University, with Cho stressing the importance of stronger R&D collaboration.
“Our work with Deakin University is an important relationship to us on the R&D front. We will be working with a world-class research institution on a number of programs both now and into the future,” Cho said.
Construction of the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE), scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2022, with a view to supporting key Commonwealth government project, including LAND 8116 — the $900 million-$1.3 billion procurement of 30 self-propelled artillery systems and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles.
This is expected to involve the development of HDA’s AS9 self-propelled howitzer and AS10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles.
The $170-million H-ACE could also support the production of up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Army if selected for the $18-21 billion LAND 400 Phase 3 project.
The 32,000-square-metre facility’s construction is expected to take approximately two years, generating an estimated 100 jobs.
Other facility features are set to include a 1,500-metre test track, a deep-water test facility, an obstacle course, an EMI/EMC chamber, SIL and facilities to support training and R&D.
