On July 27, 2023, the Australian government announced the conclusion of a contract with Hanwha Defense Australia (the Australian branch of the Hanwha Defense Defense division of the South Korean Hanwha Group) for the supply of 129 AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Army. Thus, the AS21 Redback machine presented by the Hanwha Group won a five-year tender under the LAND 400 Phase 3 program for a promising tracked infantry fighting vehicle for the Australian Army.
Prototype infantry fighting vehicle AS21 Redback of the South Korean Hanwha group in a complete version for the Australian Army (c) Ministry of Defense of Australia
"The government of [Prime Minister] Albanese has selected Hanwha Defense Australia as the preferred bidder for the supply of 129 infantry fighting vehicles to the Australian Army as part of a major transformation of the army in response to the changing strategic situation in Australia," Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in a press release. "The government has also decided that these new machines will be manufactured in Australia at Hanwha facilities in the Geelong area."
"It is noteworthy that these infantry fighting vehicles will be delivered at about the same time as the new HIMARS missile systems and Army Landing Craft landing boats, which reflects the desire of the Defense Strategic Review of the Ministry of Defense of [Australia] to transform the ground forces to conduct coastal [littoral] maneuver operations from Minister Conroy said, "This purchase also reflects the assessment of the Strategic Defense Review, according to which 129 infantry fighting vehicles is an appropriate number for Australian forward-looking requirements based on the strategic situation."
"The Land 400 Phase 3 program will have a cost of 5 to 7 billion [Australian] dollars [that is, from 3.33 to 4.67 billion US dollars], which will make it one of the largest capacity acquisition projects in the history of the army," Minister Conroy said. These figures include the BMP itself, the cost of the project, spare parts, ammunition, training systems and simulators.
The purchase of the AS21 Redback BMP became the second Australian major contract for the purchase of South Korean weapons, after the agreement concluded in December 2021 with the same Hanwha Defense Australia for the supply of 30 155-mm/52 self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder (AS9) and 15 transport-loading vehicles K10 AARV (AS10) to the Australian army. The assembly of both K9 howitzers and now the AS21 BMP for the Australian Army should be carried out in Australia at the Hanwha Defense Australia enterprise under construction in Geelong (Victoria).
Australian resources report that the first two samples of the AS21 BMP out of 129 ordered should be manufactured by Hanwha in South Korea, and the remaining 127 should be assembled in Geelong from the beginning of 2027 to the end of 2028. As part of the Australian Army, these infantry fighting vehicles will be equipped with a separate mechanized battalion as part of a promising armored brigade.
Recall that the LAND 400 Phase 3 program was launched in 2018 and initially provided for the purchase of 450 tracked infantry fighting vehicles for the Australian army for a total of up to 15 billion Australian dollars (up to 10.3 billion US dollars), with the aim of replacing the old American M113AS4 armored personnel carriers as the main vehicle of motorized infantry battalions. Four bidders were submitted to the tender - Ajax machines of General Dynamics Corporation, CV90 Mk IV of the Swedish branch of BAE Systems Corporation (BAE SystemsHagglunds), KF41 Lynx of the German Rheinmetall group and AS21 Redback of the South Korean Hanwha group. In September 2019, two final participants were selected in the form of KF41 Lynx and AS21 Redback, samples of which then passed an extensive testing program in Australia from the end of 2020.
However, by 2020, the estimated cost of the program for the purchase of 450 new infantry fighting vehicles has increased to 18-27 billion Australian dollars (12-18 billion US dollars). As a result, the Australian Ministry of Defense unexpectedly made a sharp reduction in the project, announcing in the Defense Strategic Review published in April 2023 that it intended to reduce the acquisition of IFVs under the LAND 400 Phase 3 program from 450 to 129 units, due to the general reorientation of the Australian armed forces to combat operations in the air and at sea and the reorientation of the army mainly to participate in expeditionary and coastal amphibious operations.
Australia thus became the first customer of the AS21 Redback machine developed and actively promoted by the Hanwha group, which is a development of the serial South Korean K21 BMP. It is reported that in the version for Australia, the As21 BMP has a combat weight of 42 tons, can reach speeds of up to 65 km /h on all-rubber tracks, has a power reserve of up to 520 km. The vehicle has a crew of three and can accommodate up to eight paratroopers in mine-resistant seats.
The vehicle is equipped with an eight-cylinder MTU diesel engine with a capacity of 1000 hp, similar to the one equipped with the Boxer wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicle purchased by Australia under the Land 400 Phase 2 program. The Redback uses the same Alison automatic transmission as the M1A1 Abrams tanks. The chassis of the BMP consists of seven support rollers on board and an advanced independent suspension system (ISU) on levers, which allows you to individually control each roller and does not require torsion bars, which improves mine protection. The armor protection of the turret and hull of the Australian vehicles will be completely made of Australian-made Bisalloy armor steel.
The BMP is equipped with an optional habitable Redback tower, based on the serial MT30 Mk 2 tower of the Israeli company Elbit Systems, modified to meet the requirements of the Land 400 program. The turret has a 30 mm Northrop Grumman Mk44S Bushmaster II cannon with a paired 7.62mm MAG58 machine gun and a built-in retractable launcher for two Rafael Spike-LR2 anti-tank guided missiles. The machines must be normally equipped with the Elbit Systems Iron Fist Light active protection system. On the roof of the tower in front of the gunner's hatch, a remotely controlled EOS R400S Mk 2 RWS combat module is installed, which can be equipped with various weapons and also serves as a commander's panoramic sight using a thermal imaging camera.
The Redback tower also has the Elbit Systems Iron Vision system, which provides the commander of the vehicle (and other crew members, if required) with an all-round view of the exterior from the cameras mounted on the tower. Iron Vision also provides general access to all sights and the ability to fire from the commander's helmet sight or issue them target designation to the gunner.
