Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicle II (KAAV-II)

The KAAV, a Korean-built AAV7A1

Since the late 1990s the Republic of Korea Marine Corps has relied on the KAAV, a version of the US AAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicle built in South Korea under license ^[1][3]. South Korea bought the production license from the United States in 1993 and began series production in 1998 ^[1]. The builder was Samsung Techwin ^[10]. Hanwha bought that company in 2015 and renamed it Hanwha Techwin, and its armored vehicle work later carried the Hanwha Defense name before becoming part of Hanwha Aerospace ^[3][7][9]. The family includes the KAAVP7A1 troop carrier, the KAAVC7A1 command vehicle and the KAAVR7A1 recovery vehicle ^[4].

Counts of the fleet vary. Naval News reported about 150 built under license, The Defense Post about 170 in use, a Hanwha official in 2019 spoke of around 200, and a Korean marine told Naval News in 2021 that 164 were in service ^[2][3][4][5]. The KAAV weighs about 25.6 t (56,400 lb), has a crew of three, carries 21 or more marines, and reaches about 72 km/h (45 mph) on land but only about 13 km/h (8 mph) in water ^[5][6]. It is armed with a K6 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and a K4 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, and in 2021 the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) planned to fit locally made remote weapon stations ^[4][6].

The KAAV has also been exported. The Philippines ordered eight for its marines for PHP 2.423 billion (about $52.6 million), and the first four arrived in April 2019 ^[8]. For those vehicles BAE Systems built the hulls in the United States, and Hanwha installed the components and subsystems ^[8].

Development of the KAAV-II

Work on a successor began around 2015, after the Marine Corps concluded that the KAAV was too slow, too lightly protected and too lightly armed for coasts covered by artillery, missiles and drones ^[1][6]. South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD) ran the exploratory development phase, with Hanwha as the prototype builder from 2018 ^[7]. GlobalSecurity dates that phase from October 2018 to December 2023 and says it covered sea propulsion, switching between land and sea modes, variable suspension and lightweight armor ^[1].

Hanwha Defense showed a scale model of the KAAV-II at the ADEX exhibition in Seoul in October 2019 ^[2][3]. The company described a crew of three plus up to 21 marines, about 70 km/h (43 mph) on land and 25 km/h (13.5 knots) in water, a range of 480 km (300 mi) and about two hours of endurance afloat ^[2]. To cut drag, flaps would fold out beneath the tracks, which were to be lighter rubber tracks from Soucy, and two 600 mm (24 in) water jets would drive the vehicle ^[2]. The model carried an unmanned turret with a 40 mm cased telescoped cannon ^[2]. Hanwha then planned system development from 2023 to 2028 and series production from 2029, with an MTU engine from Germany and a transmission from Kinetics Drive Solutions of Canada, imported at least at first ^[2][3].

On 28 September 2021 a DAPA committee approved the program and decided that its engine would be developed in South Korea ^[5]. The project was reported at 2.1 trillion won (about $1.77 billion), with the aim of replacing the old vehicles by 2036 ^[4]. A Korean marine told Naval News that year that the service was aiming for 100 km/h (62 mph) on land and 30 km/h (19 mph) at sea ^[5].

The 2023 prototype accident

On 26 September 2023 an armored vehicle prototype was submerged during a sea test off Pohang, near the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division, and Yonhap reported that it was understood to be a KAAV-II prototype ^[11]. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the two defense company employees inside were brought out after going missing but died after being taken to a hospital ^[11]. DAPA said it was investigating with the relevant authorities to determine the exact cause ^[11].

The 2026 prototype

Hanwha Aerospace showed the KAAV-II prototype on 18 May 2026 during a visit to its plant at Changwon by Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Assembly's defense committee, whose published photographs gave the first detailed view ^[6][7]. Janes's analysis of the photos describes a box-shaped hull with an angular nose, seven road wheels on each side on hydropneumatic suspension, composite rubber tracks, and a hydraulic bow blade that folds out before the vehicle enters the water to improve its performance afloat ^[7]. The unmanned turret carries a 40 mm cased telescoped gun and a radar panel of the kind used by active protection systems ^[7].

Army Recognition reported that the vehicle has a planing hull much like that of the canceled US Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, estimated its combat weight at 35 t (77,000 lb) or more, and said the target water speed was at least 20 km/h (12 mph) ^[6]. That report repeated plans to finish system development in 2028 and begin production in 2029 ^[6]. In June 2026, however, a Hanwha spokesperson told Janes that development was projected to be completed in the 2030s, subject to future government decisions, and declined to discuss the vehicle's capabilities ^[7].

Photos

Related entries

• Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV7)Military amphibians · 1972 to 2025 (US Marine Corps)
• Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)Military amphibians · 1988 to 2011 (development program, canceled before production)
• Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV)Military amphibians · 2018 to present
• FNSS ZAHA Marine Assault VehicleMilitary amphibians · Unveiled 2019, in service from 2023
• Western Amphibious Armored VehiclesMilitary amphibians · 1950s to today