Oshkosh-Hanwha consortium named bidder for design of US Army vehicle

A consortium led by Oshkosh Defense and Hanwha Defense Co. has been named a contender for the design of a US Army war vehicle that will replace around 3,500 M2 Bradley vehicles that have been deployed since 1981 – a project estimated at around 54 trillion won ($46.9 billion).

The Team Oshkosh will compete against four other bidders for the concept design phase two of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), according to a statement issued by Oshkosh and Hanwha on July 27.

The Oshkosh-led consortium also includes Pratt Miller, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, QinetiQ Inc. and Plasan, according to the statement.

The five contenders will be given 15 months to present their concept designs for the OMFV, said Hanwha Defense, a unit of South Korea's Hanwha Group.

The OMFV program takes a five-phased approach to design, prototype, test and production. A contract announcement for the winning bidder is due in late 2027, it said.

The company said it has also established Hanwha Defense USA in May and is recruiting local engineers and experts on infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to win the bid.

“We’re fully committed to developing a next-generation infantry fighting vehicle for the US Army,” said Hanwha Defense Chief Executive Son Jae-il. “Our team will offer the best solution for the OMFV program based on our advanced technologies and know-how accrued through the development and production of military combat vehicles.”

OMFV DESIGN BASED ON HANWHA’S REDBACK

The Oshkosh-Hanwha team will offer an OMFV design based on the chassis of the Redback IFV developed by Hanwha Defense.

The Redback is one of two final contenders for Australia’s LAND 400 phase 3 project designed to introduce next-generation tracked armored IFVs.

Three prototypes of the Redback are now undergoing tests and evaluations that will be concluded in October, according to Hanwha.

One of the prototypes is scheduled to be shipped back home early next year to be tested by the South Korean Army, it said.

Hanwha Defense, a wholly-owned defense solutions subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace Co., has produced and delivered over 8,500 cutting-edge combat vehicles to South Korea and numerous countries, including Malaysia, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Turkey and India, it said.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.