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 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.
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.
Hanwha’s relationship with HIFraser has also grown beyond Hanwha’s Australian interests.
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. HIFraser will also join DNB’s global supply chain, supplying a proportion of the system components back into Korea for any Hanwha vehicles being fitted with DNB’s fire suppression system.
“Hanwha is proud to announce HIFraser as our in-country partner of choice for fire suppression systems, and we are excited about the ongoing discussions for them to support our vehicles in Korea as well,” Richard Cho, Managing Director of HDA, said. “Hanwha has been very impressed with HIFraser’s capabilities and their team player attitude, which is already visible as our respective engineering teams collaborate on vehicle safety solutions.
“Safety and survivability present a formidable challenge in a military vehicle, particularly those that are likely to be deployed in high threat environments.
“We understand Australian and International standards for safety critical items and we are very happy to be putting that expertise to use with Hanwha,” Chris Williams, Managing Director of HIFraser, said. “Our in-house technical team combine specialised services for unparalleled design and through-life capabilities, while our significant warehouse stock means we can respond swiftly to critical issues.”
HIFraser reportedly remain in discussions to further extend their involvement with Hanwha’s Australian programs.