Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) was happy to host both the Korean and Australian Defence Ministers at their future factory site in Victoria and meet with R&D partner Deakin University this week. “The opportunity to showcase our facilities and platforms to support the strong regional engagement between Australia and Korea this week was exciting,” Mr Richard Cho, Managing Director of Hanwha Defense Australia said. “The chance for both South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook 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.
“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 will also help Hanwha fulfil contracts in other parts of the world and deliver capacity to engage with Five Eyes nations,” Mr Cho said. “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.”
Hanwha is building a state-of-the-art specialist armoured vehicle production facility on a 15-hectare site at Avalon Airport in the Greater Geelong precinct some 60km west of Melbourne’s CBD. Known as H-ACE (Hanwha vehicle Centre of Excellence), building is scheduled to start in Q3 2022. Hanwha Defense Australia has been contracted by the Australian Government for project Land 8116, a more than $1 billion project to acquire self-propelled artillery systems. The company is also one of two shortlisted contenders for another multi-billion-dollar project where the Commonwealth is seeking to acquire up to 450 Infantry Fighting Vehicles for the Australian Defence Force. Construction of a state-of-the-art specialist armoured vehicle manufacturing plant is scheduled to take 24 months to complete. It is estimated that over 100 jobs will be created during construction of the $170 million Hanwha facility, which will ultimately support a large, long-term set of advanced manufacturing jobs when completed.
The 32,000 square metre state-of-the-art facility will initially be focused on the production of Hanwha’s AS9 self-propelled howitzer and AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply
vehicles, but has also been designed to take into account other major programs being pursued and to allow for significant growth.
In addition to the potential for multiple assembly lines, the plant will feature a 1,500-metre test track, a deep-water test facility and an obstacle course to ensure the Hanwha vehicles function as intended prior to delivery. It will also incorporate an EMI/EMC chamber, SIL and facilities to enable both training and R&D to occur.
Ample provision has been made for Hanwha’s Australian industry partners to co-locate on the new site as necessary to streamline the manufacturing process and add maximum versatility as Hanwha’s Australian interests expand.
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