Hanwha Aerospace has unveiled the Korea New Infantry Fighting Vehicle (K-NIFV), a next-gen tracked platform built to counter drones and operate in contested electromagnetic environments.
Introduced at Seoul ADEX 2025, the vehicle builds on the Redback design but swaps its manned turret for an unmanned system, improving crew protection and freeing up space for an eight-soldier team.
The modular turret mounts a 30mm cannon, with an option for a 40mm cased-telescoped gun, plus a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun and twin canisters for a domestically developed anti-tank guided missile.
Its defining feature is a layered, AI-enabled counter-drone suite combining radar-guided remote weapons, automated sight tracking, and a hard-kill active protection system.
Domestic partners rounded out the build, with SNT Dynamics supplying the gun and transmission and Hanwha Systems delivering sensors and optics.
Drone Defense in Action
The K-NIFV’s counter-drone architecture works in tiers: AI-assisted sights for detection and tracking, radar-queued remote weapon fire for small drones at roughly one kilometer (0.6 miles), and active protection intercepts at close range.
The design specifically targets loitering munitions and quadcopters, similar to those that have threatened armored vehicles in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Optional payloads include onboard reconnaissance drones and manned-unmanned teaming links to small ground robots, allowing the IFV to scout or strike without exposing troops.
Global Ambition
Developed under a 34.5 billion won ($25 million) program launched in October 2024, the K-NIFV has cleared critical design review and is slated for completion by March 2028.
Hanwha aims to replace South Korea’s K200A1 vehicles and later the K21 through a Block 2 variant with a hybrid powertrain and active suspension.
Export talks are reportedly underway with Romania, Italy, Norway, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, with the company pitching the new vehicle as a cost-effective alternative for armies facing drone-saturated battlefields.
