The U.S. and South Korean navies performed a live-fire exercise on July 12 as part of the Rim of the Pacific multinational exercise to test the capabilities of a common unmanned surface vessel as a unit escort in high-level unmanned scenarios. The exercise also aimed at validating the capabilities of the Poniard weapon system as a potential part of the U.S. Navy fleet.
The CUSV deployed from Korea’s tank landing ship ROKS Cheon Ja Bong and launched six Poniard rockets. The Poniards hit their intended targets with support from an unmanned aerial vehicle that provided aerial targeting information and visual confirmation.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Janet VonEiff, the U.S. 3rd Fleet’s experimentation officer, using unmanned vehicles will enable navies to conduct missions without risking sailors’ safety.
LIG Nex1, the South Korean defense company that developed Poniard, previously said that the weapon had passed the Department of Defense’s foreign comparative testing, paving the way for the system to enter the U.S. guided weapons market.
VonEiff said the U.S. Navy is always looking at opportunities to test various systems with foreign militaries, noting that cooperation with international partners “can further advance our capabilities through diverse thinking.”
RIMPAC 2024 was held from June 27 to Aug. 1 in and around the Hawaiian islands with more than 25,000 personnel, 40 surface ships, three submarines and over 150 aircraft from 29 countries.