Hanwha Defense Begins Military Trial Operation of Intelligent Multipurpose Unmanned Vehicle

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hanwha Defense has begun military trial operations of its AI-based 'Intelligent Multipurpose Unmanned Vehicle.'

Hanwha Defense announced on the 8th that it signed a military trial operation business agreement for the Intelligent Multipurpose Unmanned Vehicle with the Army's 5th Infantry Division on the 28th of last month, and officially started the trial operation on the 5th. This trial operation will test tactical operations such as remote operation of the multipurpose unmanned vehicle, GPS-based autonomous driving, and operation of the RCWS (Remote Controlled Weapon Station).

The multipurpose unmanned vehicle is a future unmanned system equipment that has not yet been deployed worldwide, and is a 2-ton class vehicle assigned to infantry units. It operates remotely or autonomously instead of soldiers in dangerous battlefield environments and performs various missions such as surveillance and reconnaissance, communication relay, logistics transport, casualty evacuation, and close combat.

Hanwha Defense Intelligent Multipurpose Unmanned Vehicle / Photo by Hanwha Defense

The vehicle deployed in this trial operation is an intelligent multipurpose unmanned vehicle with a newly developed 6-wheel drive platform by Hanwha Defense in July, featuring world-class performance with significantly enhanced key capabilities such as payload and cruising range. It is expected not only to be deployed in our military but also for future overseas exports.

The payload capacity has increased to over 500kg, more than twice that of the existing 4-wheel drive model, dramatically improving combat support capabilities such as heavy combat logistics transport and casualty evacuation. Additionally, it can travel over 100km on a single charge, enabling more than four times the operational range compared to the previous cruising distance. If communication is lost during remote operation, it attempts to reconnect for one minute, and if recovery fails, it returns autonomously to the initial departure point with a 'smart autonomous return' function.

Notably, Hanwha Defense, the only domestic mass producer of shipborne RCWS (Remote Controlled Weapon Station) with proven technology, equips the vehicle with its self-developed RCWS, which features an AI capability that detects gunfire and autonomously aims and attacks with the weapon.

From 2016 to 2019, Hanwha Defense developed the multipurpose unmanned vehicle, an unmanned robot supporting infantry units, as the first domestic civilian-military cooperative project. Furthermore, it was recognized for its successful civilian-military cooperative project development and received the Minister’s Award for the '2020 Civil-Military Technology Cooperation Project Excellence' from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last December.

Jeon Young-jin, head of Hanwha Defense’s Unmanned Business Team, stated, "Through this trial operation, we will continuously enhance performance to contribute to strengthening our military’s combat power and also promote overseas exports."

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