The military authorities will further expand the project to partially improve the performance of the weapon systems they have already implemented. This is because even adding some performance can enhance the military capabilities. The military authorities plan to continuously upgrade domestic weapon systems as a means to boost exports.
According to military authorities and the defense industry on the 9th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) completed its project to maximize the performance of the existing power of the K-series armored vehicles, including the K200A1 (infantry transport), K242A1 (4.2-inch mortar), K281A1 (81mm mortar), K277A1 (command vehicle), and K288A1 (rescue armored vehicle), on the 7th. All the equipment was developed in the 1990s and was selected in response to on-site voices indicating the need for improvements in safety and other areas.
DAPA secured one prototype (test evaluation model) of each model and installed front and rear cameras while integrating the machinery and equipment, which were dispersed in the cockpit, to enhance convenience. To achieve this, the defense standards for each armored vehicle were updated to the latest specifications. In the future, the plan is to carry out a factory repair (complete disassembly to check the condition and then modify or repair) project to finalize the performance improvements of each armored vehicle. The factory repair project will be carried out for more than 1,100 units by 2031.
In the defense industry, it is believed that efforts to enhance the performance of existing weapons should be expanded, even if not to the extent of creating new products. This is seen as a necessary project to increase trust in domestic weapon systems and demonstrate operational maintenance capabilities. A representative from the defense industry noted, "It is important to show the importing countries that we provide continuous after-sales management services, rather than exporting a weapon system once and ending there."
In August last year, Hanwha Aerospace modernized the electronic optical communication equipment of the K200 armored vehicle for troop transport. This was part of DAPA's existing power performance maximization project. The K200 armored vehicle has undergone several performance upgrades since it was exported to Malaysia in November 1993. In the early 2000s, Daewoo Heavy Industries (now Hanwha Aerospace) completed a performance improvement.
DAPA plans to expand the existing power performance maximization project to all weapon systems in operation by the military. This will help companies in the defense industry with maintenance and repair-related contracts. Once the performance improvements of the South Korean military weapon systems are made, defense companies will be able to promote the enhanced performance to importing countries.
A DAPA official explained, "While DAPA does not engage in the maintenance and repair of corporations, it means that we support technology transfer, subsequent logistics support, and education at the national level."
DAPA is increasing the budget for partial performance improvement projects of weapon systems to help expand exports of defense companies. The budget is set at 129 billion won for 2023, 151.2 billion won for 2024, and 158.3 billion won for 2025.