
South Korea’s LIG Nex1 has announced that it has inked an agreement for a rapid demonstration project of 'Brigade-Level and below Mobile Ad-hoc NETworking (MANET) Communication System.’
LIG Nex1 has been actively pursuing the development of a next-generation communication system optimized for the future power of the ROK military, such as the Warrior Platform, Dronebot combat system, and Army Tiger 4.0. The rapid demonstration project will have a development and verification schedule that is significantly shortened compared to existing weapon systems.
The South Korean firm has entered into an agreement with the nation’s Defence Rapid Acquisition Technology Institute, for the Mobile Ad-hoc NETworking (MANET) project. The ‘Brigade-level and Below MANET Communication System’, project is being led by the Defence Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute and it is slated to be developed within two years. After a performance verification test in an Army Tiger 4.0 unit for six months, the final prototype will be delivered to the military.
The project is slated to run until 2027 with an estimated cost of WON 15.3 billion (EUR 10 million). The ‘Brigade-level and Below MANET Communication System Rapid Demonstration Project’ aims to develop a modular communication device that can transmit field information provided by unmanned systems such as drones, combatants, vehicles, etc, to the brigade command post through the communication device terminal to support the commander’s decision-making.
The core technology of the MANET project is a communication system autonomously configured by wireless terminals in an environment without network infrastructure. LIG Nex1 will develop three types of communication equipment under the auspices of this project, which will include a ‘drone communication device’ to be installed on surveillance and reconnaissance drones, a ‘portable communication device’ that can be carried by combatants, and a ‘vehicle communication device’ that can be installed on vehicles.
LIG Nex1 will manufacture each piece of equipment in a modular manner, allowing for its application to various unmanned systems as well. LIG Nex1 also said that it now plans to accelerate the development of a next-generation communication system by concentrating all of the technologies and know-how it has accumulated through the development of the next-generation digital radio, the 'Tactical Multi-Band Multi-Function Radio (TMMR),' as well as command, control, and surveillance and reconnaissance solutions.