Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) will team with HIFraser to deliver automatic fire suppression systems (AFSS) for the range of armoured vehicles currently being presented by Hanwha for consideration by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). HIFraser, an Australian owned and operated SME which supplies and supports fire suppression systems for military platforms across the Defence sector, including the current system used in the Collins Class Submarine, successfully secured the work following a competitive tender process undertaken during 2020.
Hanwha’s relationship with HIFraser has also grown beyond Hanwha’s Australian interests. This includes provision of AFSS for the Huntsman vehicles, comprising the AS9 self-propelled howitzer and AS10 armoured resupply vehicles currently being evaluated by Defence as part of Hanwha’s Land 8116 Phase 1 solution. Having established a teaming agreement with the system OEM, DNB, a leading safety systems company based in the Republic of South Korea, HIFraser will supply and support the system following the technology transfer process.
On 3 September 2020, the Australian Minister for Defence, Linda Reynolds, announced a request for tender to locally build 30 K9s under the Land 8116 Phase 1 Protected Mobility Fires requirement. The sole-source request for tender will be released to the preferred supplier, Hanwha Defence Australia, to build and maintain 30 K9s and 15 K10s, as well as their supporting systems. These will be built at Hanwha Australia’s Geelong facility. The total system (K9, K10 and the Kongsberg Fire Control System) will be known in Australia as the AS9 Huntsman.
HIFraser, an Australian-owned and operated small-to-medium enterprise based in Sydney, successfully secured the work following a competitive tender process undertaken during 2020. HIFraser has had a 60 year relationship with the Australian Navy commencing in the 1950’s with the maintenance of specialist submarine valves. HI Fraser was the company’s proactive approach to collaborative international relationships, and its ability to leverage learnings and experiences from adjacent business operations, that has enabled the relationship to grow beyond Hanwha’s Australian interests.
