LOGIR / Bigung 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket
Originally designed for standard of firepower support for infantry regiment, the 70mm MLRS is mid-size with light weight to perform higher mobility. In 2000, the Hanwha Corporation started development, as a private venture, of a lightweight self-propelled 70 mm (40-round) multiple rocket launcher. The company had considerable experience in the design, development and production of a wide range of munitions including the 130 mm Kooryong series of unguided surface-to-surface rockets. These are launched by the 130 mm (36-round) multiple rocket system.
The 70 mm (40-round) system had already undergone trials with the Republic of Korea Army but, as of early 2008, quantity production of the system had yet to commence. The Republic of Korea Army already used the locally developed Kooryong series of 130 mm (36-round) multiple rocket launcher, as well as the US Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control 227 mm (12-round) Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).
The Hanwha-manufactured 70 mm (40-round) multiple rocket launcher system consists of a tracked or wheeled chassis fitted with a launcher that contains a total of 40 launch tubes (five rows each of eight rockets) in the ready-to-launch position.For some years, the company has been manufacturing a variety of 2.75 inch (70 mm) solid propellant unguided rockets for use in the air-to-ground role and these can be fired from a variety of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
In addition to the unguided 70 mm rockets, a guided munition under development featuree GPS/laser/imaging IR guidance and a claimed CEP accuracy of 1 to 2 m.Details of these 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket motors and associated warhead are given in the table. The K223 solid propellant rocket motors are typically used by high-performance aircraft, as well as helicopters and other low-speed aircraft, and have a substantially higher thrust and longer range than the MK40 rocket. They have wrap-around fins at the rear.The MK rocket motor is used for higher speed aircraft, while the MK40 is used by low-speed aircraft and helicopters.
The Bigung ("Flying Arrow") guided rocket system is a precision guided 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket system. The missile is equipped with a "fire and forget" steering system. With the imaging infra-red (IIR) target-seeking system, no further control is therefore necessary after firing. The "fire and forget" guidance system, which does not require further guidance after launch, is capable of conducting multiple tasks at the same time and to be less vulnerable to possible attacks.
This infrared active guided 70mm Hydra 70 variant is being developed by Korea and the United States. Also called Medusa, it was originally a joint US Navy-South Korea project known as the Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket (LOGIR) until LIG Nex1 took over the development. The guided rocket has a weight below 17.5 kg (39 lb) and a length of 1.9 m (6.2 ft).
The military began the Bigung development project in 2010 when tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated following the North's deadly shelling of Yeongpyeong Island and torpedo attack on the South's Cheonan corvette, which claimed the lives of 46 sailors on board.
The Agency for Defense Development held in Daejeon Convention Center ( the ADD ) 40th anniversary of the founding Conference, the first indigenous air-to-ground guided weapons in LOGIR ( the Low the COST the Guided Imaging Rocket ) was released along with the induction device. At ADEX 2017, Republic of Korea Marine Corps showcased the Bigung system for the very first time.
LOGIR was the first test fired in June as a weapon equipped with a 70mm induction rocket used in attack helicopters and fighters, and equipped with a heat-tracking sensor, guidance device, and steering wing. LOGIR doesn't fly as far as missiles or have strong destructive power, but instead features a much lower price. LOGIR used the existing 70mm rocket propulsion motor as it is to keep prices to a minimum. In March 2007, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the joint development of LOGIR with the United States.
It can attack multiple fast-moving targets at 8 km range. Medusa uses a new guidedance system attached to the existing 70 mm non-guided rocket ( Hydra 70 ) effective at a range of over 5 km, Mach 2 speed. The rocket produced by LIG Nex1 is capable of simultaneously responding to multiple targets, and is characterized by excellent mobility in a vehicle-mounted model. In addition, it has the advantage of being able to operate independently as a target detection / fire control device is mounted in one vehicle. I The unit price is tens of millions won, compared to the 200 million won Hellfire missile. Forty shots are fired at a time from two launching devices mounted on the vehicle.
Bigung is used as a mobile coastal defense system by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. It is very mobile and much more versatile and potent compared to coastal artillery used by troops at present. The 70 mm guided rocket system is directed at countering Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC), landing craft and landing vehicles of the DPRK (North Korea). North Korea has deployed a Workboat II (35 tons) with 50 people and a Workboat III (20 tons) with 40 people at the naval base near Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeong Island. They can travel at high speeds of 96 km per hour to land special forces.
Bigung guided rocket system passed a comparative test by the US defense department for foreign weapons, paving the way for exports to the US market, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said 07 April 2020. The 70-millimeter rocket system hit all 10 targets and met all US requirements during the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) session held in South Korea in October that was attended by a panel of experts from the US Department of Defense. It is the country's first guided rocket system successfully evaluated through the test. "The achievement is expected to help our home-grown weapons system advance into the US and other foreign markets," DAPA chief Wang Jung-hong said. Pentagon's FCT Program is aimed at finding and fielding cutting-edge technologies from allies and partner nations to save cost and time.
As operated by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC), the Bigung is integrated into a 6×6 Kia KM250 military truck that is equipped with the necessary target detection and launch control systems. The TADS (Target Acquisition & Designation System) acquires target data in all light conditions. Fire control system is operable for multi-targets.
