The “thunder” that echoed across the Puckapunyal Artillery School in Victoria heralds a new era for Australia’s defence industry: the AS9 Huntsman self‑propelled howitzer, with its enhanced armoured platform and automatic targeting capability, scored a direct hit during its first live‑fire exercise.
Rolling off the production line in Geelong, this indigenous platform allows the crew to open fire immediately after moving into position, with no manual setup required – taking the military’s operational agility to an entirely new level.
From Training to the Field
An intensive six‑week course involving thirty gunners from the 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, based in Townsville, was a critical test of the system’s battlefield readiness. The fact that Geelong‑built vehicles could transition to live‑fire exercises so quickly after being delivered to an operational unit is a testament to the partnership between the army and the defence industry.
Brigadier James Davis, General Manager of Systems and Integration, summed up the process: “A system rolling off an Australian production line conducting live fire with a trained crew in such a short time is a serious achievement. It shows the logistical and operational tempo the Defence Force is achieving while bringing modern capabilities into inventory.”
Technical Details That Define Field Performance
The AS9 Huntsman comes with several critical features that reduce the operational burden of traditional towed systems. Looking at field data, the system’s standout capabilities are:
- Near‑zero setup time: The tracked chassis and advanced suspension let the system go into firing position straight away, with no manual preparation needed.
- Automatic data integration: Coordinates entered by the gunner are processed automatically by the system. This digital automation minimises the calculation and manual adjustment errors common in conventional artillery.
- Shoot‑and‑scoot capability: High mobility allows the crew to change position after providing fire support without being exposed to enemy counter‑fire – a vital feature for survivability on the modern battlefield.
Colonel Chris D’Aquino, Commander of the Artillery School, commented on how the system adapts to the field: “This capability changes the way we use firepower. It’s far more protected, mobile and agile than previous systems. For our gunners, the challenge now is building trust in this new technology and pushing the system to its limits in realistic conditions.”
Through the Crew’s Eyes
For the soldiers involved in the exercise, the event was the practical field test after weeks of theoretical training. Private Maxwell Cleal, who has served for two years in a towed artillery unit, summed up his first live‑fire experience with the system: “The gunner enters all the information into the system, presses a button, and the gun lays itself automatically. We no longer have the manual setup hassle we faced with systems like the M777. This is a completely different approach to artillery – one where we can focus directly on the target.”
Strengthening Australia’s defence capability, the AS9 Huntsman is not just a new weapons platform; it’s also concrete proof of the country’s growing vision for defence industrial autonomy..
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Source: C4Defence–defence.gov.au
