Korean defence company Hanwha has signed a series of partnering agreements with Australian company Advanced Navigation to incorporate its inertial navigation systems (INS) into Australian armoured vehicles and Korean precision guided munitions.
Advanced Navigation INS deliver precision positioning in GPS degraded or denied environments which are likely to be the new norm on the battlefield, as the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated.
The company is a world leader in assured position, navigation and timing systems for civil and military applications.
The three agreements signed at Land Forces 2024 in Melbourne on 11 September link Advanced Navigation with Hanwha, Hanwha Defence Australia and Hanwha USA.
Hanwha USA managing director Mike Smith said that navigation warfare has emerged as one of the most effective mechanisms to influence the battlefield.
“It has the potential to be the most expansive non-lethal effect in modern history,” he said.
“The technology Advanced Navigation has developed gives allied nations the means by which we can regain that technical and tactical advantage.”
Advanced Navigation chief executive officer Chris Shaw said being a partner with a company like Hanwha meant a lot for the business.
“The access to a market like Korea is one thing, but also collaboration with them on other markets globally like the US is massive for us,” he said.
“Our technology uses the latest advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence and manufacturing technologies to build small low-cost devices to provide navigation capability that allows our customers’ platforms to operate in GPS denied environments.
“Most importantly we use software to allow our customers to update performance over time which is critical in the current landscape – the ability to improve performance without having to update hardware systems.”