Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
LIG Nex1 showcases cutting-edge defense technologies
LIG Nex1's booth at the Korea Defense Component and Equipment Fair & Advanced Defense Industry Fair at the Daejeon Convention Center / Courtesy of LIG Nex1
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Local defense company LIG Nex1 is showcasing its cutting-edge military technologies at a major arms exhibition taking place in the central city of Daejeon, the firm said, Wednesday.
The three-day Korea Defense Component and Equipment Fair & Advanced Defense Industry Fair opened at the Daejeon Convention Center on Wednesday. The exhibition, co-hosted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Daejeon Metropolitan City, aims to promote the localization of Korean weapons and to support the export activities of the country's small and medium-sized defense companies.
The large-scale event is a combined version of the biennial Korea Defense Component and Equipment Fair and the annual Advanced Defense Industry Fair, bringing together Korea's leading weapon systems developers and small and medium-sized defense firms.
LIG Nex1 is a major domestic aerospace and defense manufacturer with a product range including missiles, guided munitions, surveillance and reconnaissance radar systems. It is one of the largest suppliers of weapon systems for the Korean military and international arms exporters.
The LIG Nex1 booth at the fair in Daejeon showcases its 2.75-inch semi-active laser (SAL) seeker and 2.75-inch guided rockets utilizing the SAL seeker, according to the company. The SAL method refers to a guidance technique in which a laser beam, aimed at a target, is detected and tracked by a seeker to guide a weapon.
The company is also displaying ultra-lightweight small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) used for drones. The radar, which only weighs a kilogram or two, is so far the lightest of its kind developed by a Korean company, and thus significantly enhances surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the drone.
The radar's operational capabilities have been verified through pilot tests conducted by the Republic of Korea Army, but LIG Nex1 plans to add more features in the future, such as deep learning-based automatic target detection capacity.
Among other products on display are the counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) designed to provide protection from enemy drones. After detecting enemy drones with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, it tracks them using electro-optical and infrared sensors and then neutralizes the enemy drones with its jamming capabilities.
The C-UAS' operational capacity has been verified through more than 500 test flights, the company noted.
The booth also features LIG Nex1's multi-purpose unmanned helicopter (MPUH), which is capable of performing surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The helicopter was developed through a joint investment project with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the state-run arms procurement agency.
“This year's event includes various programs such as technology exchange meetings between small and medium-sized enterprises and system companies. We aim to show our technological capabilities while contributing to the enhancement of the competitiveness of the nation's defense industry,” LIG Nex1 CEO Kim Ji-chan said.