South Korea’s Bigung guided rocket system has passed the US defense department’s foreign comparative testing (FCT) program, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on April 7.
The milestone clears the 70mm rocket for sales on the US market. The South Korean agency noted it would also be marketing the system to other foreign customers.
The FCT is a Pentagon program that evaluates foreign defense equipment as part of a manufacturer’s process of entering the US defense market.
According to DAPA, Bigung completed the testing campaign in October 2019, hitting all ten designated targets and meeting set objectives.
Also known as Poniard, the system was developed in 2016 in cooperation with South Korean defense company LIG-NEX1. Bigung has a “fire and forget” capability and can engage multiple targets simultaneously, the agency added.
Coupled with a 6×6 KM250 military truck, the system carries up to 36 rockets, each with a 4kg warhead and a range of 8km. The Poniard is in service with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.
