"A 5.5-meter unmanned surface vessel sank a large warship."
The Russia-Ukraine war has rewritten the formula for naval warfare. In February 2024, several 5.5-meter Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels (USVs), known as "Magura V5," attacked and sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet's large amphibious assault ship "Tsar Kuniakov" near Crimea. The Russian missile patrol ship "Ivanovets" and the patrol boat "Sergei Kotov" were also sunk in succession by USV attacks. With real-world confirmation that unmanned surface vessels can threaten expensive warships, countries around the world are now viewing USVs as a "game-changer" for future naval warfare.
South Korea also has an evolved "unmanned maritime force" that has advanced over more than a decade. The protagonist is LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A)'s "Haegyeom (Sea Sword)." Over the past 10 years, Haegyeom has expanded its operational scope to include underwater surveillance, armed missions, and shipboard deployment. Rather than packing all functions into a single unmanned surface vessel, it is characterized by being developed in series such as Haegyeom-II, Haegyeom-III, and Haegyeom-V to enable diverse operations depending on mission equipment.
Each model specializes in different missions ranging from underwater surveillance to armed capabilities and shipboard deployment. Haegyeom-II is a model that enhances underwater surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. It is equipped with an underwater platform (ROV) module capable of automatically launching and recovering underwater. This expands the operational scope of unmanned surface vessels, which previously only patrolled above the sea surface, to include underwater operations as well.
Haegyeom-III has evolved beyond "reconnaissance" to include "attack" capabilities. It is equipped with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and a 2.75-inch guided rocket "Bigeung" launcher at the front. For the first time in Korea, it successfully completed sea trials under "Sea State 4," which has significant wave heights of up to 2.5 meters, demonstrating its ability to operate 24 hours without manned forces even in harsh maritime environments.
Haegyeom-V is a shipboard-only unmanned surface vessel carried on warships and deployed into the sea when needed. When a suspicious target is detected, it can separate from the mother ship to identify the target and respond immediately. Its strength lies in reducing the burden of having manned warships directly approach dangerous areas while expanding the scope of surveillance and reconnaissance.
In addition, M-Hunter, developed through a South Korea-Australia international joint research project, has expanded the mission scope of unmanned surface vessels to mine countermeasures (MCM). By coordinating heterogeneous unmanned systems, such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that search for mines underwater, it enables swarm operations that allow mines to be detected without directly deploying manned ships into dangerous areas.
A notable aspect of Haegyeom's evolution is its "armed" capabilities. Unmanned surface vessels are no longer limited to reconnaissance in dangerous areas in place of humans; they are evolving into platforms capable of performing attack missions when necessary. While Ukraine demonstrated the power of unmanned surface vessels by ramming enemy ships with explosives, LIG D&A is developing armed capabilities by firing guided weapons from unmanned surface vessels to precisely strike distant targets.
A prime example is the 2.75-inch guided rocket "Bigeung," also mounted on Haegyeom-III. The "Fire and Forget" type Bigung is a missile optimized for application in unmanned systems, as if anticipating the era of unmanned warfare. This is because it autonomously tracks targets after launch. It is a function that other guided missiles of the same class could not achieve due to spatial constraints limited to the size of a paper cup. LIG D&A has also developed its own Bigung launcher for export and is moving into overseas markets.
It demonstrated its potential in actual tests as well. During the final test firing of the Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) held during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) in the Hawaiian waters in July 2024, all six Bigung missiles mounted on a U.S. unmanned surface vessel hit their targets. This is the first case to apply the concept of unmanned systems throughout the entire process, including "unmanned target-airborne unmanned aircraft detection-satellite communication-unmanned surface vessel-mounted guided missile launch," jointly by South Korea and the United States, verifying the combat capabilities of maritime unmanned systems.
Haegyeom is now on the verge of actual deployment with the Navy. LIG D&A plans to develop two 12-meter-class unmanned surface vessels by 2027 through a reconnaissance unmanned surface vessel system development project signed with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2024. This development aims to enhance surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for forward naval bases and major ports, as well as rapid on-site response capabilities. Upon completion of development, the goal is to deliver and deploy an unmanned surface vessel that has received combat suitability certification for the first time in Korea to the Navy.
This also aligns with the Navy's push to build "Navy Sea Ghost." Navy Sea Ghost is a maritime manned-unmanned complex combat system that connects manned warships with unmanned surface vessels, unmanned underwater vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct operations. Its core lies in increasing the survivability of personnel by assigning high-risk missions to unmanned systems while responding to troop reductions.
LIG D&A is also investing in advancing unmanned platforms. Last year, it completed the "Unmanned Surface Vessel Dedicated System Integration Test Facility" at Gumi House. The system integration test facility can perform system integration tests by inspecting each subsystem unit composed of △platform △autonomous navigation device △central control unit △wireless communication unit △armament △surveillance and reconnaissance unit △underwater search unit in a water tank with a capacity of about 1,000 tons. Based on this, the plan is to support the realization of the maritime manned-unmanned complex system being promoted by the Navy.
The applications of technology secured through Haegyeom are not limited to the military. LIG D&A was selected as the lead research and development institution for unmanned surface vessels for disaster rescue by the National Fire Agency last July and has begun developing "disaster rescue unmanned surface vessels." The plan is to deploy unmanned surface vessels before humans at disaster rescue sites with many risk factors such as strong currents, severe weather, and low visibility, ensuring the safety of rescue team members. The developed unmanned surface vessels will be able to grasp on-site conditions in real time in high-risk areas and take initial action.
LIG D&A plans to develop unmanned surface vessels optimized for disaster rescue missions by integrating technologies such as autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, remote command and control, and sensor integration that have already been verified through the development of military unmanned surface vessels. In particular, it will launch a "field-centered development process" that directly visits the disaster rescue teams under the National Fire Agency from the design stage to hear about actual rescue environments and operational challenges and reflect them in development.
Ultimately, the target market is overseas. Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where maritime activities are active but infrastructure for rescue is relatively lacking, are viewed as potential markets. After securing operational references in domestic military and disaster rescue sites, the company plans to promote exports of unmanned surface vessels based on these experiences.
An LIG D&A official stated, "With the award of the disaster rescue unmanned surface vessel project, we will expand our business scope to the entire maritime unmanned system. Since 2015, we have been developing the 'Haegyeom' series of unmanned surface vessels through civil-military projects, accumulating relevant experience and technology, and plan to deliver and deploy an unmanned surface vessel that has received combat suitability certification for the first time in Korea to the Navy by 2027 through a reconnaissance unmanned surface vessel system development project."
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