Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) has announced that the seatbelt harnesses supplied by APV Corporation passed blast testing earlier this year in Israel with Plasan to support the ongoing work on HDA’s Huntsman Self Propelled Howitzer (SPH).
The APV harnesses are designed and made in Australia for the work HDA is doing on both the Huntsman and Redback family of vehicles.
“Through Hanwha, APV have connected with Plasan (our protection systems partner) and agreed to explore using APV harnesses on Hanwha’s vehicles in Australia, with a view to open the door for APV to be a routine supplier to Plasan for other customers,” HDA’s Industry Defence Unit Manager Millie Keating said.
Several successful development blast tests of the Huntsman have already taken place in Israel, in these tests both the AS9 and the AS10 specific and common survivability features were tested.
The APV seat harnesses were tested as part of the system and performed 'very well', a Plasan spokesman said.
“Working with APV introduces a great Australian company to Plasan while opening another avenue for the cooperation with Australian industry,” the Plasan spokesperson said.
“APV is proud to be supporting Hanwha Defense Australia and Plasan on these Australian programs,” Harry Hickling APV Corporation Managing Director said. “We have been supplying military occupant restraints into the world’s most advanced protected vehicles for over a decade, keeping Australian and North American troops safe.
“I have been impressed with the commitment of the Hanwha team to true Australian industry engagement as demonstrated by their commitment to include APV in their blast test programs. Providing safety critical products into these vehicles is never easy and this outcome could only be achieved by their commitment to seeking out the best that Australia can offer,” Hickling said.
HDA’s Redback is one of two tenders currently under consideration as part of Land 400 Phase 3, and was recently told to revise its bid for 300 vehicles instead of the original 450.