Hanwha Aerospace has completed development of the Korean Vertical Launching System (KVLS-II) after five years. Corporations and the government took part as a "one team," securing a core K-defense technology that can launch a variety of guided weapons from a single platform.

Hanwha Aerospace said on the 26th that it held a closing ceremony for the KVLS-II system development on the 25th at the Changwon Plant 2 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The event was attended by Bang Geuk-cheol, head of the Base Power Project Group at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, along with officials from the Navy Headquarters, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ), and the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute.

On the 25th at Hanwha Aerospace in Changwon, Gyeongnam, participants are taking a commemorative photo at the closing ceremony for the Korea Vertical Launch System-II system development. /Courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

In 2020, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration switched the existing government-led approach to a private-led one to establish a public-private cooperative development model. Since then, the agency identified and blocked potential risk factors in advance during development, ADD supported test facilities, and DTaQ assigned dedicated personnel to address quality issues.

Thanks to this public-private cooperation, the project was successfully completed as originally planned without any extension of the development period or an increase in expense.

KVLS-II is designed to launch new, larger guided weapons. It can handle stronger flames than the existing system, and by applying the "Any Cell, Any Missile" concept, a single cell (launch tube) can operate multiple types of armaments.

Depending on the operational situation, ship-to-ground, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-air weapons can be flexibly mounted, and with a dual-redundant cell design, missions can proceed without issues even if some failures occur.

KVLS-II will first be installed on the Aegis destroyer Jeongjo the Great (KDX-III Batch-II), which will be fielded at the end of this year. It is also scheduled to be installed on future ships to be built, including the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX).

Kim Dong-hyun, head of the LS Division at Hanwha Aerospace, said, "Because we had an organic collaboration with government agencies, we were able to successfully complete the first privately led development project," adding, "We will continue to strengthen our R&D capabilities to contribute to self-reliant defense."

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