Report: South Korean Guided Rocket Test-Fired From USV At RIMPAC 2024

South Korea’s LIG Nex1 confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense’s Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) for the Poniard ended successfully. Out of a total of six rockets fired, all six hit their targets, marking 100% accuracy.

Also known as the Korean-Low cOst Guided Imaging Rocket (K-LOGIR), the system has demonstrated perfect accuracy in multiple stages of live-fire testing over the past five years as part of the FCT program, a U.S. Department of Defense initiative to verify the technological capabilities of foreign defense companies’ weapon systems for potential adoption by the U.S. military.

The first phase of the FCT, initially conducted in 2019, focused primarily on verifying Poniard’s performance. In 2020, efforts to develop a launch system for small vessels based on U.S. military requirements began. The subsequent second phase of the FCT was divided into four stages, carried out in South Korea, Key West, San Diego, and Hawaii.

The recent live-fire exercise held during RIMPAC 2024 was conducted according to high-level unmanned scenarios established by the ROK Navy and U.S. Navy, which included unmanned detection, tracking, and analysis of unmanned targets, as well as the launch of guided rockets from Textron’s Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV). Textron’s CUSV equipped with LIG Nex1’s Poniard launcher was deployed from “ROKS Cheon Ja Bong” a 4,900ton LST-II Cheon Wang Bong-class tank landing ship of the ROK Navy.

LIG Nex1 shared that this trial had great significance as it marked the first instance where South Korea and the United States applied unmanned concepts, such as communication between unmanned systems and unmanned target detection, throughout the entire process.

Prior to the FCT test, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, in an interview with the South Korean press, expressed her anticipation of Poniard’s contribution to the advancement of U.S. Navy’s future operations and highly praised South Korea’s shipbuilding industry. She also discussed potential for South Korean defense companies and shipyards to enter the U.S. Navy’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector.

Additionally, the day before the FCT, a briefing on Poniard and the FCT was held aboard the ROKS Cheon Ja Bong, located in the waters near Hawaii.

She emphasized that the test results would serve as evaluation data to determine whether the system meets the safety standards of the U.S. Department of Defense and would be used as reference material for essential testing and for developing the attack capabilities of Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC).

LIG Nex1 plans to focus on securing an export contract with the United States based on the successful completion of the final test. There are still steps remaining before the actual contract can be finalized, including the U.S. Navy’s requirements proposal, budget approval, and contract verification. Poniard could be added to the U.S. arsenal either through direct import or licensed production in the U.S. If the export is successful, it will mark the first indigenous guided weapon system from South Korea to be exported to the United States, setting a significant milestone in the Korean defense industry. Moreover, adoption by the world’s strongest naval power is expected to increase Poniard’s demand in the defense market.