Hanwha Defense starts building its K9 howitzer plant in Australia

Hanwha Defense started the construction of its Hanwha Armored Vehicle Center of Excellence (H-ACE) plant in Australia late last week. A ceremony to celebrate the construction was held on Friday, April 8, in Geelong, located in the state of Victoria.

According to The Korea Times, the groundbreaking event was attended by important people, including 200 politicians, defense industry insiders, and government officials from both Australia and South Korea. The event was led by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Hanhwa Defense Australia's managing director Richard Cho, and Kang Eun Ho, the Korean Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The company said that its H-ACE facility will be constructed on 150,000 square meters of land space at Avalon Airport by 2024. Hanhwa Defense will also build a manufacturing plant on 32,000 square meters of land on the site, complete with a 1.5-kilometer running track which will be designed as a testing ground for river crossing equipment, a research and development center, a shooting range, and facilities for Australian subcontractors.

Based on the agreement with the Australian government that was signed in December 2021, Hanhwa Defense's 1 trillion won or $813 million deal, the new plant will produce 30 units of AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers and 15 units of AS10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles by the year 2027. These howitzers are for the Australian army.

It was explained that the AS9 Huntsman is actually the Australian version of the Korean company's K9 Thunder model while the AS10 is the Aussie's version of Hanhwa Defense's K10. the company may also produce a Redback armored vehicle, but the decision will be based on the result of the bidding for Australia's LAND 400 Phase 3 infantry fighting vehicle project.

"Based on the geopolitical position and strategic cooperation between Korea and Australia, the production center will serve as a secondary supply chain for Korean defense products in the future," Richard Cho said.

Finally, Australia is expecting Hanhwa Defense's H-ACE to bolster its regional economy in the mid to long term. It is also happy that around 300 new jobs are set to open in Geelong once the facility is completed in 2024, as per The Korea Economic Daily.