HYUNDAI WIA revealed the next-generation weapon systems at Korea's largest defense industry exhibition.

On October 17th, HYUNDAI WIA announced to exhibit land weapons such as vehicle-mounted type of ‘Anti Drone System’, ’81mm Mortar’, ‘Lightweight 105mm Self-Propelled Howitzer’, and Armaments for K-2 Main Gun and K-9 Self-propelled Howitzer in Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2023 (Seoul ADEX 2023), which opened at Seoul International Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Seoul ADEX 2023, the largest defense exhibition in Korea, is opened from October 16th to 22nd. HYUNDAI WIA participates in the ADEX 2023 as a group of pavilions with KIA Motors and Hyundai Rotem.

At the exhibition, HYUNDAI WIA introduced its vehicle-mounted type of ADS for the first time in Korea. This particular type of ADS was developed to be able to be mounted on the Light Tactical Vehicle in consideration of the Korean military's operational environment. The system enables ‘Soft Kill’ that interferes with the radio waves to prevent it from flying, and 'Hard Kill' by integrating the ‘Remote Control Weapon System (RCWS)’. The ‘RCWS’ fires ‘40mm Air Burst Munition’ and ‘Streamer’ to directly intercept and neutralize the drone. HYUNDAI WIA also installed radar and optics and added artificial intelligence (AI) technology to significantly increase the drone identification and shooting accuracy rate.

HYUNDAI WIA also introduced the vehicle-mounted ‘81mm Mortar’, which is one of the world's most widely used land weapons systems. HYUNDAI WIA enhanced the mobility of this weapon system by enabling it to be mounted on a Light Tactical Vehicle so that it can be deployed to the battlefield faster. In particular, the ‘81mm Mortar’ fires within one minute once the military personnel secure the position with the automatic laying method. In case of situation where it cannot be mounted on a vehicle, it can be detached and operated in the same way as existing ‘81mm Mortar- II’. The vehicle-mounted ‘81㎜ Mortar’ is expected to be completed in 2024 under the 'Weapon System Modification Development Support Project' led by the Korea Research Institution for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT).  DARPA's 'Weapon System Modification Development Support Project'.

HYUNDAI WIA also displayed the lightweight ‘105mm Self-Propelled Howitzer’, which is being developed under the 'Rapid Research and Development Project' with the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute (DRATRI). The displayed ‘105mm Self-Propelled Howitzer’ is being developed to have longer range and higher mobility with helicopter transportation capability compared to the existing one, which is ‘K105A1’. In addition, two types of ‘gun barrel and armament’ that are core of the ‘K2 Main Gun’ and ‘K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer’ were also exhibited.

"People will be able to see how HYUNDAI WIA has grown into a large caliber barrel manufacturer through this exhibition”, “We will continue to focus on the R&D in defense technology so that we can contribute to the national defense of our country and also obtain oversea orders”, said an official from HYUNDAI WIA.