Plasan completes blast tests on Australian self-propelled howitzer (SPH) artillery systems
The tests were supported by the South Korean Hanwha, manufacture of the AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzers purchased by the Australian Army
Plasan Sasa, an Israeli manufacturer of survivability solutions for land, air and naval platforms for the defense and military market, completed blast tests on the AS10 vehicle in early May, with the support of Hanwha Defense Australia and Hanwha Aerospace from the South Korea. This activity concluded a series of blast tests on the AS9 and AS10 Huntsman family of vehicles, which started in November 2021.
30 AS9 and 15 AS10 have been procured by Australia for the Australian Army under Phase 1 of the LAND 8116 Protected Mobile Fires (PMF) program. The AS9 is the Australian version of the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer, while the AS10 is the Australian version of K10 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (AARV).
In late 2022, the two companies signed an expansion of the cooperation between them regarding the protection of 30 Australian Huntsman self-propelled howitzer (SPH) artillery systems. The original contract between the companies dealt with the design, modelling & simulation and testing of the protection solution for Hanwha's systems and to this were added the issues of production and supply. These tests are the practical expression of the expansion of cooperation between the companies.
The Plasan protection solution consists of fixed and dismountable components that protect the Huntsman vehicles against a wide range of threats. According to Hanwha Defense Australia, the test outcomes consolidated the development of the mine blast protection system for the Huntsman vehicles, with the enhanced protection elements being incorporated into the vehicle design as part of the program progressing towards a Detailed Design Review. Completion of this stage of the program is an important step in the development of the Huntsman vehicles.
