Korea's 1st unmanned military ground vehicle gets ready for battlefield
CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province — As an employee walked across a test track at Hanwha Aerospace’s Changwon Plant 2, a four-wheeled vehicle trailed several meters behind, matching his path without anyone at the controls. The vehicle was the Arion-SMET, Korea’s first multipurpose uncrewed ground vehicle selected for military deployment. “The Arion-SMET can autonomously follow a soldier in front…
In Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, a four-wheeled vehicle known as the Arion-SMET embarked on a test track, trailing closely behind an employee who was walking, without any controls being operated. This marked the debut of Korea's first multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle designed for military use. According to Lee Yun-su, a research engineer at Hanwha Aerospace's Manned-Unmanned Teaming R&D Center, the Arion-SMET can autonomously follow a soldier in front without any operator intervention.
The vehicle then accelerated under remote control, capable of reaching speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour. This speed allows it to swiftly enter or exit dangerous zones and deliver supplies.
Mounted on top of the Arion-SMET, a 7.62-millimeter remote-controlled weapon station pivoted towards a target on the test ground, maintaining its aim despite the vehicle's movement. To showcase the vehicle's capabilities further, a Hanwha employee loaded supplies onto the Arion-SMET and pressed a button on its side. Remarkably, despite being unmanned, the vehicle operated seamlessly, transporting the supplies without a driver on board.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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