The Republic of Korea (ROK) Armed Forces has started deploying a new 30 mm self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun Wheeled Vehicle System (AAGW) produced by Hanwha Defence. The Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 15 December that Hanwha Defence had delivered an initial batch of the systems ordered in June 2020 for KRW250 billion (USD211 million).
AAGW consists of a modified Hanwha Defence K30 Biho turret and Hyundai Rotem K808 chassis fitted with a two-man turret armed with two 30mm German Rheinmetall Air Defence (Oerlikon) KCB automatic cannons manufactured under license by the Korean S&T group.The new system will replace the Vulcan Air Defence System (VADS), which has been in service for many years with the ROK Armed Forces. The AAGW is expected to be more efficient against low-flying aircraft and drones.
A single gun’s cyclic rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute. Each rifle comes with 300 rounds of pre-loaded ammunition. The Biho uses HE-FRAG rounds to destroy air targets and has an effective firing range of around 3 km, 1.2 km longer than the Vulcan.The AAGW’s firing control system combines Hanwha Systems Co.’s Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) and a Visual Targeting System with Automatic Tracking and Self-Targeting Capabilities. The EOTS has one infrared camera, TV camera, and laser range finder.The AAGW is powered by Hyundai’s turbocharged diesel engine that produces 420 horsepower and is mated to an automatic transmission with seven forward and one reverse gear. It has a top speed of up to 90 km/h on the road.
During testing, the EOTS tracked a tiny UAV target (2.5 metres x 2.0 metres) travelling at a 200 km/h across a distance of 5 kilometres. According to DAPA, AAGW is supposed to improve the military’s low-altitude air defence capability against low-flying aircraft and drones.
