LIG Nex1's K-LOGIR / Poniard guided rocket successfully finished a Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) during RIMPAC 2024.
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South Korean Guided Rocket Test-Fired From USV At RIMPAC 2024
On July 15, 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.
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations stated,
The test launch of the Poniard during this year’s RIMPAC exercise represents another advancement in integrating unmanned systems into naval operations.
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.
Poniard(비궁)'s US FCT Demonstration Plans
Poniard guided rocket
Poniard, also known as the Korean Low-cost Guided Imaging Rocket (K-LOGIR), began as a co-development project between the U.S. Navy and the Republic of Korea. After the Cold War, the U.S. Navy experienced devastating outcomes from irregular warfare, particularly from terrorists and militants using small, fast boats to attack U.S. naval ships, as evidenced by the USS Cole bombing in October 2000.
Similarly, the Republic of Korea had concerns about amphibious assaults from North Korea using landing crafts carrying special forces. Positioning a portion of its forces along the coasts would weaken the forces and reserves positioned on the frontlines. Therefore, the ROK military decided to develop a reliable, low-cost weapon system to defend the coast from North Korean landing crafts, leading to the initiation of this co-development project.
However, due to issues such as budget allocation, South Korea proceeded with the system development of Poniard on its own in 2012. At that time, the U.S. Army already developed the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) based on the 70mm Hydra Rocket with a laser-guided method. However, the laser-guided system struggled with simultaneous engagement of multiple targets and was near impossible to use at sea in conditions with fog or sea mist.
Poniard, equipped with a fixed infrared imaging seeker, is capable of operations both day and night and features a fire-and-forget system that automatically tracks targets. Most importantly, the cost per round is one-third that of a Hellfire missile, making it a cost-effective solution for countering maritime suicide drones, which have gained attention in the recent Ukraine war, and for dealing with fast boat attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
LIG Nex1 has been aiming for the export of Poniard to the United States and has been working with the Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) to meet the requirements of the U.S. military authorities. Initially deployed to the ROK Marine Corps in 2016, Poniard was developed as a surface-to-surface missile to target North Korean hovercraft. However, subsequent development focused on adding a ship-to-ship function to target small vessels. A launch system for the 2.75-inch guided rocket was developed to be mounted on ships. Currently, it is installed on the Royal Saudi Navy’s
2200 Fast Patrol Boat (FPB) and
HSI-32 interceptors, The
UAE Navy new Gowind corvettes and is planned to be installed on the UAE Navy’s
Falaj 3-class OPV.
Saudi
UAE
