South Korea’s LIG Nex1 announced the successful completion of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) for its Poniard guided rocket. During the final test, all six rockets fired hit their targets, achieving 100% accuracy. The FCT program aims to verify the capabilities of foreign defense technologies for potential integration into the U.S. military.
Korean coastal defense supersonic cruise missile. liquid fuel integrated ramjet.
I covered this missile before but i forgot the link. damn. pic.twitter.com/KijiQQhEEC— ハク Mason (@mason_8718) April 17, 2024
Also known as the Korean-Low cOst Guided Imaging Rocket (K-LOGIR), Poniard has undergone multiple stages of live-fire testing since its selection for the FCT in 2019. The testing phases took place in various locations, including South Korea, Key West, San Diego, and Hawaii, culminating in a successful live-fire exercise during RIMPAC 2024. This exercise, involving unmanned detection and tracking scenarios, was conducted with the cooperation of the ROK Navy and U.S. Navy.
The recent test involved Textron’s Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV) equipped with the Poniard launcher, deployed from the ROKS Cheon Ja Bong, a tank landing ship of the ROK Navy. This marked the first instance of fully integrated unmanned systems communication and target detection.
The Poniard’s entry into the U.S. market depends on further steps such as meeting specific U.S. Navy requirements and budget allocations, its successful FCT completion positions LIG Nex1 favorably. The Poniard system, developed in 2016, is designed to target coastal moving threats like small high-speed boats and is currently operational with the ROK Marine Corps.
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