Hanwha Aerospace’s Arion-SMET completes FCT evaluation

Arion-SMET [Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace]

South Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace Co. successfully tested its homegrown Arion Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport II (Arion-SMET II) Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in a trial conducted with the U.S. Marine Corps.

The company said on Thursday that the 8-day demonstrations took place from December 14, 2023, at the Marines Training Center in O’ahu, Hawaii, as part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) program.

Under the FCT program, the U.S. Department of Defense tests and evaluates advanced military technologies developed by U.S. allies as cost-effective alternatives to safety DoD requirements.

In the trial, joined by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army, the Arion-SMET II underwent a series of tests on sand beaches, mud tracks, and various other challenging terrains to have its multifaceted mission capabilities evaluated. The trial tested the platform for the transportation of various supplies.

On the same day, Hanwha Group announced the promotion of Hanwha Galleria Strategic Management Chief Kim Dong-sun to Hanwha Corp.’s vice president, where he will be responsible for international construction projects. Kim is the youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn.