Soldiers from 106 Battery, 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, have formally marked the introduction into service of the Australian Army’s first Protected Mobile Fires Battery at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, Queensland. Equipped with the 155 mm AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzer and the AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (AARV), the battery provides 3rd Brigade with a protected, mobile, and highly responsive indirect fire capability designed for rapid maneuvering and enhanced battlefield survivability. This operational milestone follows the completion of Australia’s inaugural AS9 operator training course at Puckapunyal, Victoria, and precedes initial collective training during Exercise Pozieres Run as the service progresses toward full operational capability targeted for 2028.
Procured under the Land 8116 Phase 1 project, the AS9 Huntsman program comprises 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 AS10 resupply vehicles delivered by Hanwha Defence Australia under a contract valued at AUD788 million. Based on South Korea’s widely deployed K9 Thunder baseline—specifically drawing from the Norwegian K9 VIDAR configuration—the Australian variant incorporates the digitally integrated Australian Standard Generic Vehicle Architecture (ASGVA), NATO-standard 6T lithium-ion batteries supplied by Epsilor, and Plasan protection suites. The platform features a 52-caliber 155 mm gun system capable of delivering highly accurate mixed munitions across a 30 km to 60 km range gap, while the Cortex Fire Control System ensures full compatibility with the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) for automated fire control and execution.
Manufacturing and assembly of the fleet leverage both South Korean production lines and localized Australian Industry Capability (AIC) infrastructure. Initial assembly of two AS9s and one AS10 commenced at Hanwha Aerospace’s Changwon facility in South Korea in March 2024, with these lead vehicles delivered to Australia in early 2025 following joint ammunition compatibility trials at South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development. The remaining 28 AS9s and 14 AS10s are slated for domestic production at Hanwha’s newly constructed 150,000 m² Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) in Geelong, Victoria. Officially opened in August 2024, the H-ACE facility incorporates a 32,000 m² manufacturing plant and a 1.5 km test track, supporting full serial production with final deliveries scheduled to conclude by 2027.
To complement the armored artillery force, Hanwha has also proposed a Protected Command and Control Post variant derived from the AS10 platform, designated the AS10C2. Designed to share common running gear, C4I architecture, and supply lines with the baseline resupply vehicle, the AS10C2 features an expanded interior capacity to accommodate six to seven command post personnel alongside multi-use workstations. Intended to serve as a mobile forward command element and ground control station for artillery assets and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the AS10C2 offers a low-risk growth path to enhance tactical headquarters survivability in high-threat operating environments.
