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Weapons Companies

Aug 09 2024

Hanhwa

Chaebol

“South Korea’s family-run conglomerates, known as chaebol, are often accused of corruption, abuse of power, and widening of social and economic inequality. Hanwha has been no exception.”


Kim Seung-youn, third from left, seen with his three sons, from left Kim Dong-seon, Kim Dong-won, the chairman and Kim Dong-kwan. (November 2022). In April 2024, Hanwha announced changes to the structure of Hanwha Aerospace thought to be related to succession.

The youngest son Kim Dong-seon, rejoined the group seven years after he left Hanwha’s construction unit over the allegation that he had assaulted new employees at law firm Kim & Chang during a binge-drinking session at a bar in Seoul. His father was convicted of assault after beating these employees.


Quick Facts

Founder: Chong hee KIM started the company in 1952 during the Korean War making dynamite

Owner:  Seung-youn KIM (Chairman)  (43.56%) son of the founder. A criminal who has served time in jail with at least two convictions including assault and embezzlement.

Total Assets: 179.7Billion US (2023)

Headquarters:86, Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul South Korea

Number of employees: 43,690 (2020)

Hanwha companies: energy and materials, finance, retail & services, and aerospace including defence.

Hanwha Aerospace: Weapons production comes under this subsidiary.

Hanwha Aerospace CEO: Dong Kwan KIM – the eldest son of the Chairman and grandson of the founder.

Profiting from War

South Korea is one of the world’s fastest-growing defence exporters and was ranked by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute as the world’s ninth-largest arms exporter from 2018-2022.

Hanwha Aerospace accounts for nearly half of overseas arms exports in South Korea which rose to a record $17.3B (US) in 2023. In South Korea weapons manufacturers, such as Hanwha, can build weapons faster and cheaper than the US due to:

  • the joint venture model between the government and arms companies, which allows companies to rearrange domestic deliveries to meet export orders
  • technological prowess, mass-production capacity, and competitive pricing.

South Korean law prohibits its defence companies from selling directly to countries engaged in conflict so Hanwha cannot currently supply Israel or Ukraine. Still, Hanwha’s annual revenue from arms exports has jumped 11 times to $1.1 billion (US) since the war in Ukraine.

Hanwha Australia


Dean Michie
  • Established 2019
  • A subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, which in turn is a division of the vast South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corporation. 
  • Hanwha companies have been operating in Australia since 2005 in areas including mining equipment, logistics and sustainable energy.
  • The vision of HDA:Be the partner the ADF counts on most to help protect our nation, our region, our world.
  • Headquarters: 550 Bourke Street, Melbourne
  • People
  • Managing Director: Dean Michie – acting in the role since April 2024. Previously worked for Elbit Systems.

HDA contracts with the Australian Government:

Pyne and Partners are advising Hanwha Defence Australia

  • Sole tenderer to supply Self-Propelled Artillery Systems under LAND 8116 Phase 1, a $0.9 billion to $1.3 billion project.
  • The successful tenderer for the AU$5–7 billion LAND 400 Phase 3 program to replace Australia’s Cold War-era fleet of M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers. The acquisition and initial support contracts for LAND 400 Phase 3 have a combined value of approximately $4.5 billion dollars. The total value of the project is approximately $7 billion dollars. It is the Army’s largest-ever acquisition program.

This “rapid — and increasingly entwined — development of the Australian and South Korean armaments industries is part of a US-led anti-China militarisation of the region.”’

Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE)

The fleet of Redback IFV’s will be built at the $170M Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE ) just about completed on a 15-hectare site at Avalon Airport in the Greater Geelong precinct some 60km west of Melbourne’s CBD, within the Corio electorate of Richard Marles Minister for Defence.

The initial order was for over 400 vehicles which went down to 300 – finally landing at 129. This is because Australia doesn’t need any of these vehicles for defence as there are no enemies on the northern border … and at 42 tonnes the Redbacks are far too heavy for most roads in Northern Australia, but the project had gone too far and had to proceed. Most are most likely to be sold overseas 3 The first Redback vehicle will be ready for delivery in 2027 with the final vehicle to be delivered in late 2028.

The facility, known as Plant 4 by the global Hanwha organisation, is seen as a secondary source of supply for the Republic of South Korea supplementing armoured vehicle manufacturing capabilities in South Korea’s Changwon city, Geelong’s sister city.

The project to build the Redback includes an Australia Industry Capability (AIC) package which is supposed to reinvigorate this old vehicle manufacturing area. The development of militarised areas for weapons manufacturing industries is happening across Australia in similar manufacturing areas such as the Hunter Valley, Woolongong, Ipswich and North Adelaide.

It is said the project will create 2,100 jobs inclusive of 1,800 direct jobs and provide approximately AU$9 billion worth of economic value across the country, ‘’with more than AU$5.7 billion expected to be generated in Victoria alone.”

Albanese government’s mid-genocide-commitment of $917 to Elbit Systems 

Elbit Systems – currently making record profits from supplying weapons to the genocide – has signed a $926M contract with the Victorian government to support HDA in building the Redback turret integrated with the Redback vehicle.’

The Government claims that it is not involved in a contract with Elbit Systems because Elbit is subcontracted to Hanwha. Australia was required to consent to the sub-contract with Elbit and engaged closely to ensure some of the work occurred in targeted electorates.

According to HDA, the Redback turret was designed to integrate advanced technologies such as Elbit’s Iron Fist Active Protection Systems, and Iron Vision Head Mounted Display Situational Awareness System and the Spike LR2 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. The turret is designed to easily integrate these advanced systems to achieve optimum performance for the vehicle rather than bolt on aftermarket solutions.

Plasan

Plasan is an Israeli weapons manufacturing company owned by Kibbutz Sasa which is complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. Plasan, provided a significant portion of the armoured vehicles to the IOF free of charge as an “emergency mobilization”. Plasan works in cooperation with Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) including the Huntsman and will provide advanced armour for the Redback. It also collaborates with Thales Australia and BAE Australia Plasan is establishing an office in Australia

Australia Territory Manager:  Ofir Frenkel second from left

Contact Details

Info@plasan.com

Level 1, 10 Yarra St
South Yarra
VIC
Australia – 3141
Phone : + 61 3 9825 6100

Plasan Sasa Ltd.
Kibbutz Sasa
13870, Israel
Tel: +972-4-680-9000
Fax: +972-4-680-9001


Written by allen · Categorized: Fact Sheets, Hanwha, Resources, Weapons Companies

Aug 08 2024

NOIA

  • This Queensland company has evolved from a small regional ammunition retailer to Australia’s largest privately owned firearms and munitions supplier. It is still the major supplier of guns and bullets to Australian and New Zealand police. Now it is starting to play a bigger role in the global supply chain thanks to support from Defence Exports Strategy, and partnerships with big players like Rheinmetal, Winchester and others. Nioa recently took over US company Barrett Firearms, making them a direct exporter of sniper rifles to both Israel and Indonesia
  • NIOA continues to exercise political influence  through the board of SIFA (Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia), and through familial ties. NIOA CEO Robert Nioa is also the son-in-law of federal member for Kennedy Bob Katter. NIOA has donated at least $160,000 to Katter’s Australian Party (KAP), and $20,000 to the Liberal Democrats. It’s political influence is evident in it’s board of directors and formation of new global partnerships.
  • CEO Robert NIOA is ramping up his  active political role, spruiking the need for his product.  e.g. in a keynote address to the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)“State of National Security” event in Magandjin (Brisbane) in February. The Aukus arrangements have been a perfect opportunity for NIOA to expand in the UK and US.

“NIOA Group CEO Robert Nioa has called for swift and decisive action on bolstering Australia’s defence industry to support an allied military force capable of fortifying the Indo-Pacific region . . . America remains the world’s arsenal of democracy and America is stirring,“If we can get this right, it will mean we will no longer be hampered by some of the detailed and slow administrative work needed now to get technical information from US firms . . . If the government money flowed, Mr Nioa said industry was ready to step up pointing to the recently released Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance report which outlines a detailed plan to mobilise defence manufacturing”.

https://defence.nioa.com.au/latest-news/nioa-group-ceo-urges-swift-action-to-strengthen-national-defence-industry-us-alliance

  • NIOA describes itself as

“a privately-owned global munitions company. Established in Queensland, Australia in 1973, today the NIOA Group has strategic locations around the world. We are dedicated to the best practice supply and manufacture of firearms, weapons and munitions to Australian and allied nation defence forces, law enforcement agencies and commercial markets”.

An Israeli sniper

https://www.nioa.com.au

NIOA Australia’s revenue:

$48.1M – NIOA going great guns apparently?

“The LAND 159 Lethality Systems Program remains critical to our partnership with the Commonwealth as we commence the delivery of Tranche 1 weapon systems in 2023,” he said. “Similarly, we expect the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) to deliver some key recommendations for the ADF’s munitions base and our tenancy at the Benalla munitions facility is likely to be a key feature of generating greater supply chain surety and sovereign munitions manufacturing capability.”

https://www.nioa.com.au/latest-news/back-in-the-top-40-with-a-bullet

NIO Group Partnerships and Projects

“NIOA prides itself on establishing trusted, professional relationships to deliver Defence projects including the future family of 155mm artillery munitions, flexible and diverse contracts such as the Major Munitions Contract (MMC) and the Weapons Fleet Sustainment contract in support of the Armaments Systems Program Office (ARMTSPO) of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG). In 2020, NIOA was appointed Prime Contractor for Stage 1, Tranche 1 of Project Land 159 Lethality Systems Program, a multi-year program designed to acquire or replace up to 25 Australian Defence Force weapon systems”.  

https://defence.nioa.com.au/projects

  • NIOA group includes  NIOA Australia, NIOA New Zealand, the Australian Missile Corporation, NIOA Inc [USA], Barrett Firearms [USA], NIOA UK and joint venture company Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions.
  • The NIOA UK office opened this year, will serve as a hub for NIOA to work more closely with existing British industry partners while also exploring emerging munitions manufacturing and military supply opportunities as  party of the trilateral AUKUS security pact.
  • NIOA group has a distribution network covering 75 US State department approved countries.
  • NIOA is a major tenant at the Australian government owned, contractor operated (GOCO) munitions facility at Benalla in Victoria where it is currently manufacturing 120mm munitions for the Abrams tank along with 30mm and 35mm cannon ammunition.
  • The company is a joint venture partner with Rheinmetall of Germany in the Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions 155mm artillery forging facility in Maryborough, Queensland, delivering key munitions for allied nations. 155mm projectile in Australia. ‘‘As the ongoing conflict in Ukraine demonstrates, the ability to produce your own munitions is critical for any nation. Artillery projectiles are among the highest use munitions in the Ukrainian conflict”.

https://www.nioa.com.au/latest-news/rheinmetall-nioa-munitions-produces-first-artillery-shell-in-australia

  • NIOA has a strategic agreement with Aerojet Rocketdyne, a L3Harris Technologies company, to explore the manufacturing of key munitions and components within Australia’s sovereign guided weapons enterprise.
  • Has been selected as an enterprise partner with the Australian Missile Corporation (which funnily enough has exactly the same advisory board as NIOA) to establish a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing industry.
  • International expansion continues with the opening of an office last month at the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey and the 2023 acquisition of Barrett Firearms in Tennessee, which produces the only shoulder-fired 50-caliber gun, the primary anti-personnel sniper rifle used by the U.S. Army and Special Operations Command.

https://www.nioa.com.au/latest-news

NIOA is fully involved in supporting genocide

In Australia

NIOA is the majority supplier of guns and bullets to Australian police. Since 2012 NIOA has supplied Australian and New Zealand police with 70,000 Glock pistols, NIOA also supplies 70 per cent of ammunition to Australian police. According to their website, by 2022 the company had supplied “Over one billion rounds have been supplied by NIOA to the Australian Law Enforcement, Military and Sporting markets”.

in Palestine:

  • In early 2023, NIOA acquired Tennessee-based Barrett Firearms. Barrett is the IDF’s long-term manufacturer of choice for sniper rifles.
  • Ferdi Kluever, the NIOA general manager business development will be speaking at DLF on “Realising the Defence Industry Development Strategy for ADF Munitions”, in a further demonstration of Labor’s support for companies complicit in the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
  • https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/06/12/israeli-sniper-rifles-australian-government-backed-expo/
  • Medium calibre ammunition made to be exported to the US for the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program
  • 155mm shells produced out of Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions artillery shell plant in Maryborough QLD were exported to Germany. German is providing munitions  for the US/German war fighting arenas in the middle east and Ukraine. the 155mm are in high demand. The Germans provide 155s for Ukraine freeing up the US to provide for Israel.
Christopher Pyne – Chairman Former Australian Defence Minister
David Feeney Former Parliamentary Secretary for Defence

NIOA Group Advisory Board.

  • Christopher Pyne (Chairman) – former Australian Defence Minister, the minister in 2018, when the Defence Exports Strategy was announced. (30 billion/year to Weapons Corporations to build export trade).
  • Ellen Lord – former US Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment,
  • David Feeney,  – former Australian Government MP, Senator for Victoria and past Parliamentary Secretary of Defence
  • Mark Donaldson VC – former Australian Army soldier
  • Dr Ken Anderson, former Chief of the Aerospace Division in the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG)
  • Dan Olson – former Vice President and General Manager of Northrop Grumman’s Weapon Systems Division.

https://www.nioa.com.au/about

Andrew Crickenberger – Chief Growth Officer

NIOA Group CEO Rob Nioa congratulates US-based executive Andrew Crickenberger
  • The appointment of leading international defence industry executive Andrew Crickenberger on the 4th July, surely a high point in Australia’s finessing of it’s role as a sub imperial power. Crickenberger, formerly Vice President of Strategy for L3Harris Technologies’ Aerojet Rocketdyne Segment, joins NIOA as Chief Growth Officer. United States-based Mr Crickenberger, was previously VP Strategy and Business Development for the Missile Products business unit of Northrop Grumman for 25 years.  He “will spearhead the NIOA Group’s efforts to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the global allied guided weapons and munitions sector” .

https://www.nioa.com.au

Written by allen · Categorized: NIOA, Weapons Companies

Aug 08 2024

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is the biggest weapons dealers in the world, selling their killing machines all over the world. Partners in crime include the U.S. Department of Defense, the UK, Israel, and Australia. They are known for their F-35 and F-16 fighters, and murdering missile systems. Corporate crime accomplices include Boeing, BAE systems and Thales. They are based in the USA.

Warren McDonald. Jim Taiclet

Quick Facts

Total revenue 2023: $67.5 billion

Offices and facilities in Naarm: unknown (let us know if you have info on this!)

President: Jim Taiclet                                  

CEO of Lockheed Martin Australia: Retired Air Marshal Warren McDonald AO, CSC

F-35 Fighter Jets

Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor for the over 990 F-35 Fighter jets that have been manufactured for the USA and its allies, including Israel. F35s are murder machines and have aided ‘Israel’ to commit a genocide in Palestine.

F-16 Fighter Jets

As well as F-35’s, Lockheed Martin is the primary supplier for F-16 Fighter Jets, including the 33 that have been supplied to the Indonesian Air Force, actively aiding the genocide in West Papua

What does Lockheed Martin do for the Australian Military ?

A better question would be ‘what doesn’t Lockheed do for the Australian Military?’. Lockheed is a major supplier of just about every killing machine and technology to ever exist. From fighter jets and helicopters to cybersecurity and surveillance systems, training simulations to missile systems. Lockheed Martin is truly a one stop genocide shop for the ADF.

Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin Australia, Warren McDonald (left) and Head Air Defence and Space Systems Division Air Vice Marshal David Scheul

In Early 2024, Lockheed was awarded a $37.4 Million contract to manufacture missiles in Australia, including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, shown right, and Launch Pod Containers, shown below, which are used to launch missiles.

Contact: Lockheed doesn’t provide personal phone numbers and emails for their executive staff due to “security reasons” but if you gain access to this info then please share it!!

Download Factsheet. 5 pages

Written by allen · Categorized: Fact Sheets, Lockheed Martin, Weapons Companies

Sep 29 2021

Weapons impacts

Written by Zelda Da · Categorized: Elbit, Resources, Weapons Impacts, West Papua · Tagged: human rights, kopassus, thales, war, weapons, west papua

Sep 28 2021

Weapons impacts West Papua ELBIT

Written by Zelda Da · Categorized: Elbit, Resources, Weapons Impacts, West Papua · Tagged: human rights, kopassus, thales, war, weapons, west papua

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