Grants for Victorian Hanwha suppliers announced

The first round of grants under the Victorian Land Systems Fund – Supply Chain Uplift Program, has been announced, with five companies awarded between $2,000 and $100,000 for projects to help them participate in Hanwha Defense Australia’s supply chain.

The grants were announced during a visit by manufacturing minister Ben Carroll to Hanwha’s site — currently under construction at the Avalon Airport Industrial Precinct — where the company will build self-propelled howitzers under the federal government’s LAND 8116 program.

The total amount of grant funding for the round was given as “almost $200,000” in a statement from Carroll on Wednesday, though dollar amounts per grant were not shared.

Recipients were:

• APV Corporation, which will develop a specialised military seatbelt; 
• Hannagan Solutions, which will develop custom textiles to protect and camouflage military vehicles and soldiers;
• Australian Precision Technologies to invest in cybersecurity; 
• Redline Engineering. Which will also strengthen its cybersecurity systems; and
• Diamond Defence, which will introduce a new quality management system.

Hanwha was named as the winning bidder for the LAND 8116 in February last year. It is in the two final bidders for the LAND 400 Phase 3 contract, to build the Infantry Fighting Vehicles which will replace the Australian Army’s M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers.

Picture: credit Hanwha Defense Australia

Further reading

$10 MILLION IN GRANTS ANNOUNCED FOR PROSPECTIVE LAND 8116 SUPPLIERS IN VICTORIA

GEELONG SELECTED AS HANWHA’S $170 MILLION ARMOURED VEHICLE SITE

HANWHA OPENS NEW AUSTRALIAN HEAD OFFICE