The military's "Multipurpose Unmanned Vehicle Procurement Program," aimed at acquiring core capabilities for the Army's futuristic combat system "Army TIGER 4.0," has overcome a two-year crisis of potential cancellation caused by disputes between competing companies. A final contractor can now be selected in the first half of this year.
According to the Seoul Economic Daily's reporting on June 3, Hyundai Rotem (064350.KS), which had refused to participate in the performance verification evaluation citing concerns over fairness, notified the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) through an official letter sent on March 30 that it would participate in the bidding process for the multipurpose unmanned vehicle procurement program.
Hyundai Rotem plans to complete the performance verification evaluation covering six categories including maximum speed and cruising range by the end of April, and then participate in the price bidding as well.
With both Hanwha Aerospace (012450.KS) and Hyundai Rotem now participating in the performance verification evaluation and price bidding, DAPA plans to conduct a model selection evaluation by the end of May, followed by the Defense Acquisition Planning and Management Subcommittee review of the model selection proposal by the end of June, aiming to select the final contractor and complete the contract within the first half of this year.
Both Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem entered the program, but the process was delayed by approximately one year after DAPA indicated in April 2025 that it would prioritize document-based evaluation over physical evaluation, triggering disputes between the two companies.
Although the program recently resumed through DAPA's mediation, Hyundai Rotem again raised fairness concerns regarding the method of the final performance evaluation — the last stage of the assessment process — and refused the performance verification. As a result, performance verification had been completed only for Hanwha Aerospace's equipment.
"The multipurpose unmanned vehicle program is being carried out in accordance with relevant laws and regulations," a DAPA official said. "As all participating companies have recently agreed to the performance verification procedures and standards, the program is proceeding normally. We plan to determine the final winning bidder in the first half of this year through the model selection evaluation and the Defense Acquisition Planning and Management Subcommittee."
The multipurpose unmanned vehicle program aims to mass-produce a futuristic ground platform that integrates artificial intelligence and unmanned technology to perform operations and missions such as surveillance, reconnaissance, combat, and logistics transport in place of soldiers.
It is regarded as a core capability of "Army TIGER," the Army's futuristic combat system. The initial production volume is 50 billion won ($36 million), but the industry considers the program highly significant when factoring in follow-on programs and overseas markets.
The program was designated as a rapid prototyping acquisition project in April 2024, with plans to complete the program by 2026. However, disputes between the participating companies delayed the contractor selection — originally targeted for the first half of last year — by approximately one year, pushing back the military's force buildup plan by more than a year as well.
