Hyundai Rotem unveils 4th-generation HR-Sherpa design

[Courtesy of Hyundai Rotem Co.]

Hyundai Rotem Co., the locomotive and defense unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, unveiled the design of its fourth-generation HR-Sherpa multipurpose unmanned vehicle for the first time.

Hyundai Rotem announced on Tuesday that it unveiled its 4th generation HR-Sherpa design during the previous week’s Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology Conference 2024 in Jeju Island and the 2024 Defense Industry Fair in Daejeon on June 17th, 2024.

Developed in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group, the HR-Sherpa is a versatile unmanned vehicle designed to perform various operations and missions such as surveillance, reconnaissance, combat, and the transportation of wounded soldiers and supplies. The vehicle has undergone performance improvements across its four iterations.

Unmanned equipment is gaining importance with the increasing shortage of military personnel due to low birthrates and an aging population and the priority of minimizing casualties on the battlefield. Hyundai Rotem was the first to propose the development of multipurpose unmanned vehicles as the next generation of unmanned equipment to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). As a result, Hyundai Rotem exclusively secured the DAPA’s rapid demonstration acquisition project for multipurpose unmanned vehicles in December 2020.

The company has since focused its research and development (R&D) efforts on improving the performance of the HR-Sherpa’s 1st to 4th generation. The first two units of the 2nd generation prototype were delivered to the military in June 2021 after successfully completing six months of field trials, which played a crucial role in the military‘s acquisition decision.

The vehicle has also participated in major events such as Combined Firepower Annihilation Drills and the 75th Armed Forces Day celebration in June and September 2023 respectively. It is the only multipurpose unmanned vehicle to have received practical feedback from the military and is optimized for the Korean peninsula’s terrain.

The 4th generation HR-Sherpa resulted from a close collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group. The vehicle incorporates advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities, including artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, unmanned operations, and electrification, ensuring robust performance, durability, safety, and design.

Its overall design concept is inspired by the ancient Greek phalanx formation, which was considered the best defensive tactic of its time. The phalanx formation, which was used to overpower the massive Persian army, involved tightly arranged infantrymen creating a solid shield wall and attacking the enemy with long spears.

The Remote-Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) mounted on top of the vehicle is pointed forward, akin to the formidable spears of the phalanx formation, to symbolize the vehicle’s defensive and offensive capabilities.