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The first AS9 and AS10 Huntsman vehicles have been unveiled in AusCam markings, as part of a Federal Government and industry photo shoot.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles was joined by Head of Land Capability Major General Richard Vagg, Head of Land Systems Major General Jason Blain and Korean Ambassador Admiral (retd) Seungseob Sim among other industry representatives.
The vehicles, manufactured overseas by Korean defence company Hanwha and arriving in Australia late last year, are the first LAND 8116 vehicles to feature Auscam markings.
"Today we are celebrating the handover of the first three of these vehicles- so the first two Huntsmans and the first of the armoured supply vehicle- you see two of them behind me now, to the Australian Army," according to the Deputy Prime Minister, speaking to media on February 27.
"These two, plus the other that will be handed over, were built in Korea, but today we are also celebrating, and acknowledging the commencement of production in Australia of these vehicles, which ultimately will see a run of 30 Huntsman and 15 supply vehicles, which will be done over the next three years with supply to the Australian Army during 2026 and 2027.
"This will replace the M777 howitzers, which date back to the 1990s- they've been a really important piece of kit for the Australian Army. But this really takes things to a completely different level.
"We will see far fewer people need to operate this arrangement of vehicles. Right now, it's about ten people who operate and supply a single Howitzer- across two, that's 20 over the same number of howitzers we'll have about 13 people being able to operate these three vehicles. But to put it in context right now, the 155 millimetre shells, which weigh about 50 kilos, are manually put inside an M777. This is all done in an automated way.
"It makes it much safer for the people who are doing the work- they are actually safer in terms of their occupational health and safety, safer in terms of their protection- they are able to do it in a much more protected environment. But in turn, the rate of fire is so much quicker. This enables us to fire off far more rounds at a much quicker pace, to deliver much more lethality onto the target in a much shorter period of time. We are about trying to build a much more lethal but importantly much more mobile army."
The AS9 Huntsman has been developed to incorporate learnings and experience from the global
fleet of over 2,400 K9s and K10s, the most popular self-propelled howitzer globally.
With the AS9 Huntsman, Hanwha has a proven 52-caliber 155mm gun system that is in-service with
multiple nations around the world, including the NATO alliance.
The AS10 is a highly protected and manoeuvrable Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (AARV)
with a unique loading system that reduces risk to soldiers from enemy fire.
The Deputy Prime Minister, speaking during a media conference on February 27, has also re-affirmed his commitment to cancel the second tranche of self-propelled artillery and supply vehicles.
"I am still comfortable with that decision. We have made clear that what we need is a mobile Army. Difficult decisions have to be made if what you want to do is build the capability of the Defence Force around your strategic objective, and our strategic objective is all about projection," he said.
"So when we think about what are the capabilities in the Army, we are intrinsically thinking about what capabilities we can move, we can transport. If we are only talking about a capability that will only ever exist on the Australian continent, you have to have a question about that.
"And so that's what has driven our decision making in relation to the capabilities that we're acquiring, in relation to Huntsman, and in fact, in relation to Redback as well. And I'm very comfortable with that, because what we are doing is aligning our procurement of this fantastic capability with our ability to transport it."
The vehicles are manufactured with supply chain partners such as Elphinstone, Kongsberg Defence Australia, CBG Systems, Penguin Composites, HIFraser, MMCLD, Bisalloy Steel, AME, Safran Electronics and Defence Australasia, Sigma Bravo, Thales Australia, Axalta and TEi.
"We are excited to have the first vehicles here in Australia as we prepare to deliver this capability to
the Australian Army," Acting HDA Managing Director Mr Dean Michie said.
"Production of the hulls and turrets is already taking place at Elphinstone in northern Tasmania, and our production line here at the H-ACE has also begun work.
"The technology transfer on the program between South Korea and Australia is an important part of this program, demonstrating the close ties between the two nations,” Mr Michie explained.
"Celebrating this milestone with our government, Defence and supply chain partners in our new
facility is an honour."
