General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia has announced it will increase its presence in Australia to support major armored fighting vehicle programs for the Australian Defence Force.

An Australian ASLAV lands on Forrest Beach near Ingham, Queensland as part of an amphibious beach (Picture source: Australian army)

General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia has committed to creating an AFV Centre of Excellence in support of its LAND 400 Phase 3 tender. As written by Stephen Kuper, this is closely based on the existing model established for the Ajax program of the British army and will – through the establishment of local manufacturing, integration and test, supply chain management, software development, systems integration and research and development – create in excess of 1,000 direct jobs in Australia, including across a broad spectrum of Australian suppliers. General Dynamics Land Systems–Australia, General Dynamics Mediaware and Hawker Pacific are all Australian companies, owned by General Dynamics Corporation, with significant operations in Australia currently employing more than 600 people.

General Dynamics Corporation has a long history of supporting the Australian Defence Force. General Dynamics’ business units, including land systems, ordnance and tactical systems, European land systems, electric boat, bath iron works, mission systems, information systems, Gulfstream and jet aviation, have all had a recent presence in Australia and supported local industry, and several of these business units are expanding their footprint in Australia on the back of increased commercial and defence business. These businesses have supported a wealth of major Australian defence projects, including Abrams main battle tanks, ASLAV armored reconnaissance vehicles, air warfare destroyer ships, Collins Class submarines, and aircraft supply and sustainment.