LIG Nex1 to Mass-Produce Next-Generation Military Radios

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The South Korean military will mass-produce the next-generation military radio (TMMR) to support the future combat system it is promoting.

On the 18th, LIG Nex1 announced that it signed a "TMMR Initial Mass Production Contract" worth 10.6 billion KRW with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and a "TMMR System Development Contract" worth 11.3 billion KRW for additional performance upgrades. These projects will be carried out until 2021 and 2023, respectively.

The TMMR, developed under the leadership of the Agency for Defense Development with participation from LIG Nex1, is a state-of-the-art network radio with multi-band, multi-function, and multi-channel capabilities, intended to replace the PRC-999K, PRC-950K, and other radios currently used by the South Korean military.

The TMMR can operate across frequency bands through software and allows continuous performance improvements via software upgrades, offering greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness than before. Moving away from voice-only analog methods, it can simultaneously handle large-capacity data communication and voice. It enables integrated operation of network-centric command and tactical systems and joint operations across land, sea, and air forces, expected to play a significant role on future battlefields.

LIG Nex1 expects this contract win to stabilize its business performance and create employment opportunities. Once mass production begins in earnest following this contract, additional projects centered on linked weapon systems are expected to follow, improving the performance of LIG Nex1 and its medium and small-sized partner companies. Using domestically developed technology, various modules and components will also be produced in-house, enabling import substitution.

The export potential of the TMMR is also highly regarded. The PRC-999K is used as a main radio by countries such as Indonesia, and it is known that many countries have shown interest in the TMMR.

Kim Ji-chan, CEO of LIG Nex1, said, "With the active interest and support of industry, academia, research institutes, and the military, we will do our best to manage schedules and quality in cooperation with partner companies so that the TMMR, whose full-scale mass production has begun, can contribute to strengthening our military capabilities."

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