SEOUL — South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace said on Friday it had signed a 3.16 trillion won ($2.4 billion) contract with Australia to supply 129 Redback infantry fighting vehicles by 2028.
The signing comes after Australia in July selected Hanwha as the preferred bidder for the project, worth up to 7 billion Australian dollars ($4.62 billion) in total, which the country said was its largest single investment in army capability to date.
“These vehicles will play an enormous role in improving the capability of our army, the capability of our defence force,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told a news conference in Geelong, where the vehicles will be manufactured.
The Australian Defence Department said in a statement that the project is expected to support about 2,100 jobs, including 1,800 direct jobs.
The new vehicles will be built at Hanwha’s facilities in Geelong, in the Australian state of Victoria, with the first vehicles scheduled for delivery in 2027.