Hyundai Rotem Secures Orders for Obstacle-Clearing Tank Project and Recovery & Bridge Tank Equipment... Totaling 300 Billion KRW

Hyundai Rotem Armored Combat Earthmover

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hyundai Rotem has secured additional production contracts for obstacle-clearing tanks as well as overhaul contracts for recovery tanks and bridge tanks. The total contract value amounts to approximately 300 billion KRW.

On the 30th, Hyundai Rotem announced that it had received an order worth 236.6 billion KRW from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) for the mass production of obstacle-clearing tanks. This is the second order following the 174.6 billion KRW production contract won in November last year. The obstacle-clearing tanks ordered this time are scheduled to be delivered to the military by 2023 and will be entirely produced at Hyundai Rotem's Changwon plant.

Originally, this project was scheduled to be ordered at the end of the year, but it is known that DAPA advanced the schedule to alleviate difficulties faced by the defense industry, which has been struggling due to the economic downturn caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

The obstacle-clearing tank is equipment being introduced domestically for the first time, designed to remove mines and various obstacles at the front lines and secure mobility routes. It uses a mine-clearing plow attached to the front of the chassis to turn over the ground and expose buried mines. It mainly removes anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and can also neutralize magnetic mines by emitting a magnetic field using a magnetic mine neutralization device.

The excavator arm attached to the top of the chassis can be equipped with an excavation kit or crusher to remove various obstacles such as trenches and barriers. The excavator arm can also be used as a crane to lift and transport heavy equipment. Additionally, one passage marking device equipped with a marker rod launcher for safe area indication is installed on each rear side of the vehicle to secure safe mobility routes for military personnel.

The obstacle-clearing tank was developed over more than four years after Hyundai Rotem was selected as the system developer in 2014, supporting rapid operational execution of mechanized units. The obstacle-clearing tanks ordered by Hyundai Rotem last year are currently in production and are expected to be operational by December this year.

Hyundai Rotem recently signed a 63.2 billion KRW contract with DAPA for the overhaul of recovery tanks and bridge tanks. The project period is from June this year to August 2021. Through this project, Hyundai Rotem will perform overhauls on recovery tanks and bridge tanks deployed in the field. Overhaul refers to the maintenance stage where aging tanks are disassembled, comprehensively repaired, and parts replaced to restore performance to a new vehicle level.

Hyundai Rotem has secured an average annual overhaul contract worth about 180 billion KRW over the past three years, performing overhauls not only on recovery and bridge tanks but also on all tanks it has delivered to the military, including K1 and K1A1 tanks.

A Hyundai Rotem official stated, “We will do our best to deliver the obstacle-clearing tanks on time to support the efficient operational execution of our military and ensure there are no delays in their deployment.” He added, “Along with existing products such as the K2 tank and wheeled armored vehicles, we will strengthen market competitiveness through portfolio diversification in the defense sector.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.