Hanwha completes Australia plant for howitzers, armored vehicles

South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co. has completed building its first overseas plant — producing howitzers and ammunition carriers in Australia — as it advances into the defense market surrounding the security alliance of the Pacific Rim nation, Britain and the US.

Dubbed H-ACE, the new plant in the state of Victoria operates facilities for production, assembly, test driving and firing. The defense unit of Korea’s No. 7 conglomerate Hanwha Group will launch mass-production of AS9 self-propelled howitzers and AS10 ammunition resupply vehicles at the factory later this year.

The AS9 and AS10 are modified versions of the Hanwha Group unit’s K9 self-propelled howitzer and K10 automated ammunition carriers, respectively, for use in Australia. Hanwha Aerospace plans to supply 30 units of the AS9 and 15 units of the AS10 to the Australian army by 2027.

Hanwha Aerospace also aims to provide the Australian government with prototypes of Redback infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) by the first half of 2026 and begin mass production.

This follows a deal signed in December between the Australian government and Hanwha Defense Australia PTY Ltd. for the delivery of 129 Redback IFV units to the Australian army. 

Hanwha Aerospace will use H-ACE as its defense products manufacturing base for Australia and its key allies amid growing demand for such products in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of global geopolitical risks, a company official said.

The defense system maker will expand its presence to encompass Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the US, the official added.

Located in the port city of Geelong, the new plant is 47 miles from Melbourne and 12 miles from the Avalon airport in the state of Victoria. 

Hanwha Aerospace anticipates that the new plant will boost the local Australian economy by creating hundreds of jobs while ramping up Korean exports of engines and drivetrains to Australia.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, Korea’s Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration Seok Jong Gun and Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il were among those attending the factory’s opening ceremony on Friday.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.