Plasan of Israel and Hanwha Defense Australia are working together on LAND 8116 to ensure the highest quality survivability systems are delivered to protect the Australian Army. Building on the original contract around design, modelling & simulation and testing of the protection solution for the Huntsman vehicles, the companies have now implemented the contract change to include the production and delivery scope. The protection solution consists of fixed and dismountable components that protect the vehicles and crew against a wide range of threats, in accordance with the customer requirements.
The contract change was signed in Seoul earlier last month by Plasan’s CEO Mr Dan Ziv and HDA Managing Director Mr Richard Cho. The Huntsman protection solution delivers a capability and schedule critical part of the LAND 8116 project scope. Land 8116, the program responsible for introducing Protected Mobile Fires, seeks to procure 30 K9 self-propelled guns and 15 K10 armoured artillery resupply vehicles. With the contract change, the protection solution moves from design to production, further cementing the strong partnership between Hanwha Aerospace companies and Plasan.
The AS9 Huntsman is an Australian version of the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer. It is based on the K9 VIDAR variants that was developed for Norway. Some modifications were made to suit Australian requirements. The AS9 has additional armor and improved suspension. The K9 Thunder is a South Korean 155 mm self-propelled howitzer designed and developed by the Agency for Defense Development and civil contractors including Dongmyeong Heavy Industries, Kia Heavy Industry, Poongsan Corporation, and Samsung Aerospace Industries for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and is now manufactured by Hanwha Defense.
Plasan is an Israeli based vehicle manufacturer. Plasan Sasa, established in 1985, develops, manufactures, and assembles custom-built vehicle armor systems and chassis up-armor designs as well as Add-On Armor Protection Kits for lightweight tactical trucks, armoured military vehicles, fix/rotary aircraft, commercial vehicles, and is a major supplier of personnel protection armor. Plasan is a non-public company and is wholly owned by Kibbutz Sasa, a communal village of some 100 families in Northern Israel. It employs 1,300 people, including 650 in the United States and 180 in France. Plasan armor is widely used in the US military’s MRAP vehicles.
