Tasmania-based company CBG Systems has signed a contract with Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) to supply its proprietary SolarSigmaShield Mobile Camouflage System (MCS) for the latter’s tracked Redback infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) being procured for the Australian Army under the LAND 400 Phase 3 programme.
CBG Systems made the announcement in a 1 July social media post, further noting that its SolarSigmaShield MCS solution can offer “superior solar heat load reduction and unrivalled multispectral signature management”. According to the company, the SolarSigmaShield MCS can reduce heat stress on personnel and equipment in the harshest environments by lowering iternal system temperatures by up to 25 degrees celcius.
It also added that its patented fabric design can lower the likelihood of visual, thermal, radar and ultraviolet detection.
“CBG Systems is proud to contribute Australian manufactured products to what will be a world leading capability for the Australian Army,” the company said in its statement.
The Australian government earlier selected HDA to deliver 129 AS21 Redback IFVs following a five-year tender which saw HDA eventually edging out Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA)’s Lynx KF41 IFV.
The Land 400 Phase 3 programme is worth A$5-7 billion and aims to replace the Australian Army’s upgraded but ageing Vietnam-era M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
The new vehicles – which are an evolution of the K21 IFV in service with the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) – will be locally manufactured at HDA’s new Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) in Geelong, Victoria.
The same facility will also build AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARVs) based on Hanwha’s highly successful K9 Thunder and K10 AARV under the LAND 8116 Phase 1 programme.
CBG Systems is also supplying its SolarSigmashield MCS for these artillery systems. It announced in May 2022 that it has already commenced manufacture of the MCS on nine AS9 SPHs and five AS10 AARVs from batch 1 and 2 of LAND 8116 Phase 1.
by Jr Ng
