Matthew, Capability Analyst, is deeply invested in seeing Hanwha Defence Australia’s first major projects delivered. As a former artilleryman in the Australian Defence Force, he knows just how much difference our cutting-edge Armoured Fighting Vehicles will make. Since joining us in 2024, Matthew has dived headfirst into understanding complex systems and, importantly, he’s loving it.
Embracing the challenge
When Matthew touched down in Seoul, just nine months after joining our team, he was keen to start training on the first-ever batch of freshly minted Huntsman vehicles. Arriving at the Hanwha Aerospace Factory in Changwon, Matthew saw the Aussie variants for the first time, parked alongside their K9 and K10 counterparts.
“It was just this exciting, awe-inspiring moment to actually see them in the flesh,” Matthew says. “They’re effectively completely redesigned and re-engineered vehicles, vastly bigger than the K9 and K10 they’re modelled on.”
For Matthew and two other ex-artillerymen on that trip, this was an especially meaningful moment.
“All of us three had worked together in the military, and we’d started hearing a lot about self-propelled artillery back in the early2000s. To actually see the machines on the ground in front of us, to know they were tangible and would soon benefit our service personnel - it definitely puta smile on our faces, that's for sure!”
Since then, Matthew and his team have been fully trained to command and operate both vehicles in the Huntsman family. This is enabling them to develop highly detailed and accurate training materials for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to train ADF personnel across all aspects of the vehicles, from commanding and operating to servicing and maintenance.
To achieve this, Matthew and his team have extensively adapted the Korean approach to training to suit Australia’s mission-system-focused approach. This has involved developing much of the training material from the ground up. Matthew acknowledges it’s been challenging, given they’re working with two incredibly complex mission systems to meet tight customer deadlines. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love a challenge, and I’m definitely finding that here at HDA,” he says. “We're dealing with technologies that are leaps and bounds ahead of civil technologies. I've got people from different parts of the organisation, as well as externals, coming to me, asking how certain components work and integrate within the vehicles. I need to be able to answer them. So, it's a constant and evolving task - a real learning chapter within my life, and I really like that.”
A vital contribution
Matthew knew early on that he wanted to build a career in defence. He craved adventure, the chance to travel and meet new people. There was another powerful motivator, too.
“When I was about 13, I was talking to my Grandmother about my Grandfather, who’d served in the ADF,” Matthew says. “I realised that no one in our family had served since then. I felt like we needed to, in a way; I feltlike we should give back.”
So, at age 17, Matthew enlisted in the ADF, and was based with the Royal Australian Artillery in Darwin. After 16 years serving his country, domestically and overseas, Matthew transitioned to the private sector. It wasn’t long before he spotted a unique opportunity with Hanwha - one which he felt strongly motivated to apply for.
“One of the biggest things that drew me to Hanwha was the project that I'm currently involved in now: to supply the AS9s (Huntsman), are developed version of the self-propelled gun, to the ADF. I reasoned that while I couldn’t be in the service, operating within the offensive support space, I could use the skills I learned within defence to benefit my former colleagues, as well as the future of my corps, which I feel an obligation to support.”
Matthew is proud to be doing this work at Hanwha because he knows the exceptionally high-quality product we’re delivering will make acritical difference to defence personnel on the ground.
“Having the best equipment is really important to me, and I believe HDA’s AS9 is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best piece of artillery seen across the world,” Matthew says. “I'm just really excited to bring it into service and deliver it to people I used to work and train with.”
Future focused
When we caught up with Matthew, he and his team were in full steam ahead mode to meet a major deadline: running the first complete training course on the Huntsman family of vehicles with ADF personnel.
“It’s been massive,” he says. “But I like a very fast-paced environment, and that’s definitely what this is. We’re all focused on the lead-up to delivery and getting to that point.
Because of the challenging nature of their work, Matthew is especially proud of his team’s role in bringing such important projects to fruition.
“My team provides a deep level of context, which is critical for understanding how the vehicles will need to be deployed on operations. We communicate this to our engineering department, so they can tailor their approach. We’re helping to steer the project in the right direction.”
Matthew wants those currently serving in the ADF to know they have a lot to offer HDA.
“The leadership and management skills that come from defence are naturally highly sought after here. You have to be able to manage your own workload at HDA, that’s really important. No one will be looking over your shoulder! And you still get to do the stuff you love to do in defence, but without having to go out in the field and sleep in the dirt for months on end. We stay in hotels now, which is quite a nice change,” he laughs.
