Hanwha Defense to deliver RMA Redbacks to Australia

South Korea’s Hanwha Defense has rolled out two initial Redback infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for testing by the Australian Army as part of its Land 300 Phase 3 procurement programme.

Hanwha Defense said on 26 July that it held a rollout ceremony for the two vehicles at its factory in Changwon two days earlier. The vehicles will be shipped on 28 July from Pyeongtaek Port on South Korea’s west coast, and will arrive at Melbourne, Australia, in late August, it added.

Hanwha Defense will deliver on 28 July two initial Redback IFVs to Australia for testing under the Australian Army’s Land 400 Phase 3 programme. (Hanwha Defense)

Hanwha Defense’s delivery of the vehicles is a requirement in line with a Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) contract – worth AUD50 million (USD36 million) – signed in October 2019 under the Land 400 Phase 3 evaluation process. The RMA contract calls for the delivery of three vehicles. Hanwha Defense will send a third Redback to Australia later this year.

Hanwha Defense said that the RMA process will start in November and continue for 10 months. RMA testing will be held in extreme conditions and be related to lethality, blast and ballistics, transportability, and mobility.

In a statement, the company announced that, “The rollout is [notable because] Hanwha Defense completed the design, production, and verification of the RMA vehicles on time, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The Redback was shortlisted as a bidder for the Land 400 Phase 3 contract alongside Rheinmetall Defence’s Lynx KF41 IFV in September 2019.