Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence
VIPs gathered at the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) for the formal opening of the $170 million facility at the Avalon Airport Precinct.
Joined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence The Hon Richard Marles MP,Mr Jae-il SON Hanwha Aerospace CEO, South Korea’s DAPA Minister Mr Jong-gun SEOK, and Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart plus dignitaries from around the world, the ceremony marked a significant milestone for Hanwha Defence Australia’s (HDA) business.
“The opening of the H-ACE is the culmination of years of work by HDA and all our partners,”Acting HDA Managing Director Mr Dean Michie said. “I would also like to acknowledge the support from the Victorian Government in establishing this world class facility. This investment into the Geelong region brings back high technology vehicle manufacturing with both the Huntsman and Redback families of vehicles with our diverse supply chain”.
“This facility represents Hanwha's commitment to Geelong, Victoria, and Australia,demonstrating that the company is focused on the future of programs in this region, including howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles and other technological advancements beyond our current initiatives,” Hanwha Aerospace CEO Mr Jae-il Son said.
“H-ACE is a significant part of our global Defence supply chain, further strengthening the relationship between Australia and Korea. We will continue to collaborate with Australian companies and work towards integrating more of them into our global supply networks.”
The H-ACE was handed over 2.5 months early from HDA’s construction partners Built. who were supported by HDA’s Managing Contractor Conscia.
Vehicles for LAND 8116 Phase 1 and LAND 400 Phase 3 will be manufactured at the facility.These include the Huntsman family of vehicles, the AS9 Self Propelled Howitzer(SPH), AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (AARV) and the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) respectively.
Stage 1 of the facility is now open and is geared towards the Huntsman vehicles with Stage2 of the facility, due to start construction in 2025, which will see the addition of a second production line to support the Redbacks along with additional elements including a firing tunnel and EMC/EMI chamber. This EMI/EMC chamber will create an expanded capability that will benefit the wider Defence and Defence Industry community in providing more capacity in this important space.
The H-ACE also provides space for HDA’s supply chain partners to work alongside the company,with co-location providing a streamlined approach to both manufacturing lines.
