Corvus Technology Solutions (CTS) has formally opened its new factory in Melbourne’s Bayswater suburb, demonstrating progress for the company and its role in delivering Australian sovereign manufacturing capability in support of Hanwha’s Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
The factory will be delivering the Redback’s In-Arm Suspension Units that the company said provide improved ride, comfort, and manoeuvrability in the field, along with better under vehicle blast resistance and survivability than other designs.
Each IFV requires fourteen ISUs and the new factory is delivering five completed assemblies per day.
Corvus’ success is also a win for the Victorian Government’s Land Systems Fund’s Supply Chain Uplift Program that was established in 2021.
“Corvus is growing and will end up with close to 50 new jobs here, with 30 already delivered,” the Victorian state minister for Defence Industry, Colin Brooks, said.
“Our job is to back companies with investments to help build the facilities and train the staff they need for this work. I think the Land Systems Fund, which is targeted at the Hanwha Defence Australia supply chain, is really bearing fruit.”
A key contributor to Corvus’ accomplishments has been their relationship with MNC Solutions in South Korea, which transferred its technology to Australia to facilitate sovereign manufacturing for the Redback.
“Having a strong relationship with an overseas partner is key to mitigating issues in terms of technology and ongoing working together,” Corvus’ CEO, Nick Williams, stated.
“The transfer of technology from South Korea to Australia took over 12 months, and not only did we have to build the team, processes, and technical understanding, we also had to build a business to support them.”
“This facility is a strong example of how our two countries can build practical long-term industrial partnership based on trust, responding together to any global uncertainty,” the Consul-General of South Korea in Melbourne, Jin-Kwan Oh, indicated.
“In an era of supply chain disruptions and growing demand for secure defence capabilities, trusted partners are more crucial than ever.”