The RWS is positioned on top of the AS21’s turret, and can be operated remotely from within the vehicle. Photo: ADF.
Canberra-based Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (EOS) has been awarded a $108 million contract to supply Remote Weapon Systems (RWS) for a fleet of new Army armoured vehicles.
The contract with prime contractor Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) will see EOS supply its Enhanced R400 RWS for the Army’s new AS21 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) being procured by Army under Defence’s Project LAND 400 Phase 3 program.
The Army has 129 AS21s on order, and these will be manufactured by HDA at its new Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) facility at Avalon in Victoria. EOS’s contract with HDA will see the RWSs manufactured at its Hume facility in Canberra, and includes the delivery of the RWSs, spare parts, training, and documentation.
RWSs can be equipped with sensors, machine guns, missiles, and lasers, and they provide the advantage of being able to be operated remotely from inside an armoured vehicle where the operator is protected from small and medium calibre fire.
EOS has sold more than 2500 RWSs worldwide, including more than 700 to the Australian Army for use on armoured vehicles such as the ASLAV, Hawkei, and Boxer.
CEO of EOS Dr Andreas Schwer described the contract as a win for Australian industry.
“We are delighted to be working with Hanwha Defence Australia on this critical project for Army,” he said.
“The work will be carried out here in Australia, supporting skilled jobs, strengthening our sovereign defence manufacturing base, and showcasing the capabilities of local suppliers on a national program of strategic importance.”
Despite the Australian Government insisting no weapons of Australian origin have been exported to Israel since the start of that country’s ongoing incursion into Gaza in 2023, EOS demonstrated an RWS to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) in January 2025.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC in April that, while he was “aware of this report”, he had “looked into this matter” and confirmed that the system was not exported to Israel. But The Greens have since claimed the RWSs are being acquired by the US and then sent to Israel as part of US military aid.
HDA’s AS21 was selected in July 2023 ahead of Rheinmetall Defence Australia’s competing KF41 Lynx IFV for the long-awaited Project LAND 400 Phase 3 requirement, and a $7 billion contract between HDA and the Commonwealth for 129 vehicles was signed in December 2023.
The new IFVs will replace about 500 Vietnam-era M113AS4 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) in service. The new vehicles are larger than and weigh about three times as much as the M113AS4, and feature more modern communications, weapons, sensors, and most importantly, greater armour protection from small and medium calibre arms fire, mines and roadside bombs.
When it announced the AAS21’s selection, the government said it had accelerated the project by two years ahead of the previous government’s plans. But it also dramatically scaled the project down in that year’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR), from a planned 450 IFVs to just 129.
After a two-year construction period, HDA’s H-ACE facility was opened in August 2024 by Defence Minister and local member Richard Marles.
Located next to the entrance to Avalon Airport, the 32,000 sqm facility will build the AS21 IFVs, as well as 30 AS9 Huntsman Self-Propelled Howitzers (SPH) and 15 AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARV) for the Australian Army.
There are reportedly additional opportunities for components or wholly built vehicles to be supplied to South Korea and other nations.
