Australia names Hanwha 'preferred supplier' of 155 mm SPHs for army

摘要

Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) has been selected as the preferred supplier to the Australian Army (AA) of 30 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles (AARVs), Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announced on 3 September. The company has offered its K9 SPH and K10 AARV for the requirement. The minister said in a statement that a request for tender (RFT) will be issued later this month to HDA, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea's Hanwha Group, to progress the Protected Mobile Fires programme under Project Land8116 Phase 1. The future SPHs will be produced and maintained at Geelong near Melbourne, said Reynolds. According to Australia's 2020 Force Structure Plan, which was released in July, the cost of the initial phase of the project is estimated at between AUD900 million and AUD1.3 billion (USD658 million and USD950 million). Delivery of the first vehicles is expected around 2025.