[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Korean Armored Vehicle Defeats Germany... Australia Finalizes Hanwha 'Redback' Selection

Hanwha Aerospace Armored Vehicles 129 Units
Australia Chooses Korea Over German Tanks for IFV Procurement Project

The Australian government has made the final decision to introduce Hanwha Aerospace's armored vehicle 'Redback.' In the next-generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) procurement project, it has surpassed the German Rheinmetall Defense's 'Lynx,' and the ranking of tank powers in the global defense market is expected to change.

Patrick Conroy, Australian Minister for Defence Industry, officially announced the introduction of Hanwha Aerospace's Redback through local media.

Patrick Conroy, Australian Minister for Defence Industry, appeared on local broadcast on the 26th (local time) and said, "Hanwha Aerospace has been selected as the final contractor for Australia's IFV procurement project," adding, "The Australian Army will acquire 129 Redback vehicles."

Hanwha Aerospace's Redback was already shortlisted as a final candidate for the IFV project alongside Germany's Rheinmetall Defense's 'Lynx' in September 2019. The selection of the preferred bidder was scheduled for the end of last year but was delayed as the Australian government postponed the decision. At the time of the 2018 bidding, the Australian government planned to procure 450 armored vehicles through the LAND 400 Phase 3 project, but in the new defense strategy report released at the end of April this year, the IFV procurement scale was reduced to 129 units. Accordingly, the project scale, initially expected to be AUD 18 billion to 27 billion (approximately KRW 15 trillion to 23 trillion), has been significantly reduced.

Earlier, the Australian daily The Australian reported that this contract is worth about AUD 2.4 billion (approximately KRW 2.067 trillion). Although Rheinmetall's bid price was lower, the contract background was explained by the fact that Hanwha's Redback armored vehicle outperformed Rheinmetall's Lynx in terms of performance.

The Redback is a newly proposed model tailored to meet the performance levels required by the Australian military to win the IFV project. The name 'Redback' is derived from the redback spider, known to inhabit the Australian region and reputed to have the world's most potent venom. A significant portion of the Redback units is expected to be produced locally in Australia.

Inside and outside the military, there is an assessment that the natural exposure of our weapon systems during various joint training exercises has created a new turning point for defense industry exports. This year, the multinational joint exercise '2023 Talisman Sabre,' co-hosted by the United States and Australia, is being conducted in the northeastern region of Australia until August 4. Since 2011, Korea has also participated in the multinational missile defense exercise 'Nimble Titan 24,' hosted by the Australian Department of Defence.

Through these exercises, security cooperation between Korea and Australia is strengthening. The two countries are also considering holding a '2+2' meeting this fall, involving both foreign and defense ministers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.