AS21 Redback

The IFV Australia chose over the Lynx — Hanwha's AS21 Redback is a heavily-protected tracked infantry fighting vehicle built around a 30mm cannon, Spike anti-tank missiles, an active protection system and a helmet that lets the crew "see through" the hull. Derived from South Korea's K21 but redesigned to Australia's exacting requirements and built on Australian soil, it beat Rheinmetall's Lynx KF41 to win the Australian Army's Land 400 Phase 3 competition — and became another marker of Korea's surge into the front rank of armoured-vehicle exporters.

Overview

The AS21 Redback is a tracked infantry fighting vehicle developed by Hanwha Defense (through its Australian arm, Hanwha Defense Australia) for the Australian Army's Land 400 Phase 3 program to replace the Vietnam-era M113 armoured personnel carrier. Evolved from Hanwha's South Korean K21 IFV but extensively redesigned and uparmoured to meet Australia's demanding protection and capability requirements, the Redback carries three crew and a section of dismounts behind heavy composite-and-modular armour, an active protection system, a 30mm cannon with Spike-LR2 anti-tank missiles, and advanced sensors including a helmet-mounted "see-through armour" system. After a competitive evaluation against Rheinmetall's Lynx KF41, Australia selected the Redback in 2023; the vehicles are being built at Hanwha's facility in Geelong, Victoria, with deliveries from 2027 — making the Redback both a major Australian capability and a flagship of Korea's armoured-vehicle export drive.

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