Hanwha Aerospace(012450) seized the Army's future force structure program. It did so by taking the multipurpose unmanned vehicle program, which fiercely competed with Hyundai Rotem(064350) over the past year.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said on the 16th that it held the subcommittee on project planning and management and, after reviewing the agenda to decide the model for the domestic purchase program of multipurpose unmanned vehicles, made this decision. Hanwha Aerospace competed with the Arion-SMET and Hyundai Rotem with the HR-Sherpa, and the Arion-SMET was ultimately selected.
The multipurpose unmanned vehicle is a key asset of the Army's future force structure, "Army Tiger 4.0." It boosts the combat efficiency of infantry troops and supports surveillance, strike, and logistics transport for sustained operations. The budget is set at 49.6 billion won, so the program is not large for now, but industry interest has been high because it could expand into second- and third-phase programs.
The agency said it comprehensively reviewed the two companies' proposals, test evaluation results, negotiations, and performance verification results, and went through the subcommittee's resolution. The agency plans to proceed with the remaining contract procedures with Hanwha Aerospace and sign a supply contract around the third quarter of this year, pushing the program with the goal of fielding it in 2027–2028.
According to Hanwha Aerospace, the Arion-SMET features a payload capacity of about 450 kilograms, day and night surveillance equipment for identification of friend or foe, and long continuous operating time. Its top speed is 43 kilometers per hour, and it can travel 100 kilometers after an electric charge. The overall domestic content rate, including key core devices, reaches 98%.
A Hanwha Aerospace official said, "Based on the unmanned system technologies and operational experience we have accumulated, we will faithfully implement the military's required performance and do our best to ensure there are no delays in the fielding schedule."