Common unmanned surface vehicle launches Poniard rockets during live-fire testing at RIMPAC

The USN launched Poniard rockets from a common unmanned surface vehicle (CUSV) during Exercise ‘RIMPAC'. (Textron Systems)

The US Navy (USN) launched South Korea's Poniard multiple launch guided rockets from a common unmanned surface vehicle (CUSV) on 12 July at Exercise ‘Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024' off the coast of Hawaii, USN officials confirmed on 22 July.

Called Bigung in South Korea, Poniards – low-cost guided munitions – were fired from the CUSV during the exercise, the USN said.

The live-fire demonstration was the culminating event of an ongoing Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) project under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E), the USN noted.

The Poniard became first such South Korean system to pass the Pentagon's FCT in July 2022. It has a ‘fire-and-forget' capability, a stated maximum range of 8 km, and can carry a total of 36 rockets in two separate launchers (18 rockets in each launcher).

The 70 mm system, which was developed by the Agency for Defense Development and South Korean defence company LIG Nex1 to simultaneously engage multiple fast-moving maritime targets, is currently operated by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC) as a mobile coastal defence system.

The 12 July innovative capability test at ‘RIMPAC' demonstrated the USN's ability “to rapidly deploy and use low-cost guided munitions from unmanned platforms”, Captain Matthew Lehmann, program manager of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mission Modules Office, said in a statement.

The capability enhances the USN's operational reach and effectiveness, Capt Lehmann said.

During USN experiments in the latter part of 2023 a CUSV launched six Poniard rockets, achieving direct hits and mission kills against all targets, marking 10 consecutive hits during a live-fire demonstration.