South Korea’s Redback Selected As Australia’s New Infantry Fighting Vehicle
South Korean defense contractor Hanwha has reportedly been selected to build the Australian Army’s new infantry fighting vehicle, winning a multi-billion Australian dollar deal to build 129 Redback infantry fighting vehicles.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the decision by the Australian government’s national security committee to select the Redback was made on Tuesday, with the Korean government and Hanwha notified on Wednesday. Also notified was the German government and German defense contractor Rheinmetall, which had been offering its Lynx.
The 129 infantry fighting vehicles are being built under the LAND 400 Phase 3 project, which aims to replace the Australian Army’s M113 armored personnel carriers. The project, originally valued at around $10 billion Australian dollars (~$6.75 billion), had been reduced in scope in April following the Labor government’s Defence Strategic Review, with the original prospective order for 450 IFVs reduced to 129.
Defence Minister Richard Marles had recused himself from the selection process, as Hanwha is currently building a factory in his Geelong constituency for the assembly of AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers. The Geelong facility’s long term prospects came under question after the Defence Strategic Review cut plans for a second regiment of AS9s, capping the amount of Huntsmans at 30. However, the Defence Strategic Review is said to have changed the LAND 400 Phase 3 criteria to permit assembly of the winning IFV in its home nation, reportedly as a cost-saving move.
The Financial Review’s report came a day after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Redback had been deemed superior to the Lynx during the Army’s 2021 “risk mitigation activity” that evaluated both contenders.
The Australian Lynx bid would have seen the German IFV assembled at Rheinmetall Defense Australia’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Redbank, Queensland, which currently assembles Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles for the Australian Army. The ABC reports that a recent offer by Rheinmetall to order over 100 Boxers assembled in Australia for the Bundeswehr was contingent on success with the IFV bid, raising questions about whether the order will proceed as pledged. Official confirmation of the selection is still pending at the time of publication.
Update 27 July 2023:
The Australian government have confirmed the selection of Redback with Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy saying: “The Albanese Government has selected Hanwha Defense Australia as the preferred tenderer to deliver 129 infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Army, as part of a major transformation of the Army in response to Australia’s changing strategic environment.”
Conroy also noted that the new vehicles will be built in Australia, at Hanwha’s facilities in the Geelong region. It was also confirmed that acquisition of the 129 vehicles would be accelerated with the first vehicle will be delivered in early 2027 and the last in late 2028.