Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace have combined to integrate a manned 40 mm cannon-armed turret and Lockheed Martin’s Skykeeper command-and-control (C2) system onto a Hanwha Redback infantry fighting vehicle (IFV).
The vehicle was unveiled at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DVD) 2026 event held at the UTAC Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire from 16-17 September.
The turret design was described by Christopher Jones, the project chief engineer for turret system development at LMUK, as an evolution of the turret that the company originally designed for the British Army’s ultimately cancelled Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP). It thus features the CT40 autocannon and associated Cased Telescoped Armament System stipulated by the UK Ministry of Defence for both the WCSP and British Army’s family of Ajax tracked AFVs.
Meanwhile, integration of the Skykeeper C2 system – the first time the system has been integrated onto a vehicle – combines with the 40 mm airburst ammunition fired by the CT40 cannon gives the vehicle a counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) capability beyond the weapon’s ability to address ground targets. Jones noted that the two Safran PASEO targeting sights integrated onto the turret, one for the commander and one for the gunner, offer “a really good automatic visual tracking capability, which works harmoniously with the Skykeeper suite” for the C-UAV mission.
The next stage of the spiral development of the Redback with LMUK’s turret (which does not yet have a product name) is to integrate a turret-mounted radar by the end of 2026, said Jones.
Most obviously the LMUK turret-armed Redback IFV would address both the UK’s Land Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) requirement, which covers a short-range, medium-range and C-UAV capability, as well as the need perceived by some for the British Army to acquire a future IFV to succeed the Warrior, which is due to be retired from 2027. While the Land GBAD programme is currently in an assessment and preliminary market engagement phase, supported by a GBP 1.5 billion (EUR 1.74 billion) commitment in the 2026 Defence Investment Plan, there is currently no programme to succeed the tracked Warrior IFV fleet, with the British Army instead introducing an ‘indirect’ replacement in the form of a fleet of Boxer 8×8 Mechanised Infantry Vehicles.
However, Jones explained that the LMUK turret/Redback combination is not just directed at the UK but addresses the global market. He also added that there is also the option of an uncrewed turret, although this development is less mature, whereas the vehicle shown at DVD 2026 is at Technology Readiness Level 8 and is ready to undergo firing trials.
The uncrewed turret would be able to be reloaded from under armour and allows the CT40 an elevation range of -10/+75°, as opposed to -10/+45° for the manned turret.
Jones noted that, due to the modular and open-architecture nature of both the turret and Skykeeper C2 system, they were able to be integrated onto the Redback in just 12 weeks. Asked by Warsight at DVD on 16 September when that integration was completed, Jones replied, “Last week; the paint’s still wet.”
The Skykeeper C2 system is already deployed with the British Army, where it has formed the core of the army’s Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability since 2015, disseminating a local recognised air picture to deployed land forces.
The AS21 Redback, a version of the Hanwha K21 IFV in service with the Republic of Korea Army, was in July 2023 selected to fulfil the Australian Army’s Land 400 Phase 3 IFV programme. In Australian service the vehicle will feature the T2000 manned turret developed by Electro Optic Systems (EOS) in collaboration with Elbit Systems, which is primarily armed with a Mk44S Bushmaster II 30 mm automatic cannon and retractable dual launchers for Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles.
With a combat weight of around 42 tonnes, the Redback has a crew of three and typically carries six dismounts, although there is room for eight.
The WCSP turrets
The WCSP effort was originally going to arm 245 Warrior IFVs with the turret LMUK designed and manufactured for that purpose, but the programme was cancelled in March 2021. Of the dozen turrets produced by LMUK under the WCSP development and demonstration contract, just three were retained: one went to the UK Defence Academy at Shrivenham as a training aid, one can be found on an upgraded Warrior demonstrator vehicle at the Tank Museum in Dorset, while LMUK retained the turret now evolved to be integrated on the Redback IFV shown at DVD 2026.
