The activity took place in Sydney Harbour, including around Garden Island, and involved LLC-class landing craft. Crews repeatedly loaded and unloaded the vehicles to assess their compatibility with the Navy’s existing sealift and landing equipment.
HMAS Canberra is the Royal Australian Navy’s flagship and is based on Navantia’s Juan Carlos I amphibious ship design. The trials demonstrated how the Army’s new tracked vehicles could be moved by sea and deployed into the region.
“These trials have demonstrated that the vehicles are able to undertake littoral operations,” said Colonel Marek Janiszewski, project director for the LAND 400 Phase 3 infantry fighting vehicle programme. He said the testing had proved their deployability and interoperability.
The Redback is the centrepiece of Australia’s LAND 400 Phase 3 programme. Canberra ordered 129 vehicles from South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace in December 2023 under a contract valued at AUD 4.5 billion.
The vehicles will replace the Army’s ageing M113-family armoured personnel carriers. Australian industry and local subsidiaries of international suppliers, led by Hanwha Defence Australia, will carry out much of the production work.
The first Australian-made Redbacks are expected to leave the production line in 2027. The procurement has also faced scrutiny from the Australian National Audit Office, which raised reservations about the contract.
Australia separately ordered 30 AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzers and 15 AS10 ammunition resupply vehicles from Hanwha in December 2021. The AUD 1 billion LAND 8116 contract also provides for a substantial share of production in Australia.
The AS21, AS9 and AS10 use substantially common chassis designs, supporting greater commonality across the new fleet. Their introduction forms part of the largest recapitalisation of Australian Army capability since the Second World War.
Janiszewski described the Redback as one of the most lethal, modern and best-protected infantry fighting vehicles available. He said it would provide a major increase in capability for Australia’s combined-arms land forces.
“We are stepping forward in leaps and bounds with a new upgraded system to provide our soldiers the best ability to fight, succeed at their missions and come home safely to their families,” Janiszewski said. Australia is also investing in littoral vessels, long-range fires and battlefield aviation as part of the wider Army modernisation programme.
