Korean defense contractor Hanwha has announced that the Arion-SMET unmanned ground vehicle has been selected to participate in the field tests of the US military within the framework of the Foreign Comparative Test program ( FCT) of the Ministry of Defense.
The FCT aims to test items and technologies of foreign allies of the United States with a High Tech Readiness Level (TRL) to meet valid defense requirements quickly and economically.
This is the first time that a South Korean unmanned weapon system has been selected for testing in the US, paving the way for potential cooperation with future modernization programs of the US military.
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“This is an important achievement for Hanwha Defense and the Korean defense industry,” said Executive Vice President, Youngwoo Seo, head of the Defense Robot and Autonomous Systems Development Bureau. “Arion-SMET’s participation in the FCT program demonstrates that our defense robotics technology and unmanned systems are world-class and recognized as competitive enough to enter the United States and other countries. other foreign markets.”
Following the FCT’s decision, the company is discussing detailed measures with US military officials on how to conduct field tests of mission capabilities, as comparative tests on Arion-SMET is expected to take place by the end of the year at the earliest, at a US Army base.
Arion-SMET is an acronym for Automated and Robotic Systems for Intelligence Terrain Navigation – Small Multi-Purpose Equipment Transport. The 2-ton vehicle is a 6×6 UGV developed from a 4×4 general-purpose UGV developed in 2019 under a civilian-military research and development cooperation program led by Hanwha Defense. The South Korean military successfully operated the ARION-SMET last year to test its combat capabilities.
Arion-SMET was built primarily to support infantry operations such as transporting ammunition and weapons; evacuate the injured; remote or automatic surveillance and surveillance; and close combat support. The vehicle has a modular control design to support different missions.
Some of ARION-SMET’s key technologies include automatic terrain navigation; tethering device for tracking a soldier or vehicle; automatic homing for communication breakdown; and MUM-T operation support software.
The vehicle is equipped with a remote-controlled weapon station based on the Deep Neural Network (DNN), which can detect / track enemy soldiers, localize the source of the gunfire and return fire in the direction of the gunshot. With these innovative functions, the Arion-SMET is optimized to support manned and unmanned aerial vehicle (MUM-T) operations for infantrymen.
EVP Youngwoo Seo said, “Along with great, legacy weapon systems like K9, Hanwha Defense has been dedicated to providing robotic systems and autonomous systems with outstanding capabilities and tailor-made designs since year. 2006. “Arion-SMET is the latest version to this endeavor that will stay strong in the era of opening up Unmanned Groups (MUM-T) and has recently received a lot of attention from the domestic market. and international because its functions can be easily extended and its capabilities are very competitive. “
The electric-powered Arion-SMET offers great maneuverability with a top speed of 43 km/h on paved roads and 34 km/h on unpaved roads. The car can run for a distance of up to 100km when fully charged, with a maximum load of 550kg.
