Creation of an elite defence production facility in Greater Geelong is one step closer to reality with Hanwha Defence Australia progressing to Phase 3 of the LAND 400 Project.
LAND 400, managed by the Department of Defence, will supply the Australian Army with updated infantry fighting vehicles. Phase 3 will test the updated vehicles in combat conditions to identify, manage and mitigate risks in the current designs.
Hanwha’s Redback infantry fighting vehicle has been developed to meet the Australian Army’s requirements. If successful in LAND 400 Phase 3, the Redback will be produced in Victoria from 2023 / 2024 at Hanwha’s proposed Greater Geelong production facility, a development that is expected to generate hundreds of jobs for the region.
Additionally, Hanwha’s facility will have capacity to produce the Huntsman self-propelled howitzers proposed under the Australian Government’s LAND 8116 project, further boosting its employment potential.
The Geelong Defence Alliance, a collaboration between Geelong-based industry and key stakeholders focused on increasing local involvement in the defence industry, has strongly supported Hanwha’s bid to develop a presence in Greater Geelong.
Hanwha is one of two participants in LAND 400 Phase 3. The Australian Government will confirm the successful Phase 3 participant in 2022.
Joe Farrah – Chair – Geelong Defence Alliance
Industry is ready to exercise a wide range of capability in support of Hanwha’s LAND 400 bid. We welcome Hanwha’s decision to produce the Redback in the region, one that will underpin further investment into our growing defence-ready industry.
Bruce Harwood – Mayor – City of Greater Geelong
As a clever and creative UNESCO City of Design, this is the type of innovative project Geelong is aiming to attract.
Hanwha’s proposed facility would generate local employment and help build our global reputation as a region capable of supporting advanced industries.
Ashley Wright – Director of Strategy/Program Manager – Hanwha Defence Australia
Independent workforce analysis show that Victoria has the right capabilities to establish an advanced manufacturing hub for defence.
Our objective is to embed world’s best practice defence manufacturing standards from Korea in Geelong and support our much larger export market from our proposed Geelong facility.
Our defence production facility has the potential to generate over 400 direct jobs and 2,000 to 3,000 indirect jobs for the greater Geelong area.
We look forward to integrating with Geelong as a defence production partner over the next half-century and beyond. We want Geelong to be internationally recognised as the home of the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
