The company said Sunday it is taking part in the World Defense Show (WDS) 2026, being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Feb. 8-12 local time.
WDS is one of the region’s biggest defense industry exhibitions. This year’s event drew about 750 companies from 45 countries. Hyundai Wia is operating a standalone booth at the show for the first time.
Hyundai Wia displayed full-scale vehicle-based firepower systems, led by a “lightweight 105mm self-propelled howitzer” that mounts an existing 105mm howitzer on a small tactical vehicle. The company said it is more than half the weight of a wheeled self-propelled howitzer currently deployed by South Korea’s military, improving mobility, and has a maximum range of 18 kilometers.
For faster fire control and ammunition transport in the field, the system is designed to operate with a fire-control vehicle and an ammunition carrier. It can also be airlifted by helicopter to an operational area, the company said.
Hyundai Wia also exhibited a mock-up of a vehicle-mounted 81mm mortar. Using an automatic emplacement method, it cuts setup time from five minutes to 10 seconds and reduces the crew from five to three, the company said. It is designed to be operated like a conventional 81mm mortar when vehicle use is restricted.
The company also introduced a remote-controlled weapon station, or RCWS. It displayed a full-scale small RCWS fitted with a widely used 7.62mm machine gun, and a mock-up of a medium RCWS that can mount a 12.7mm machine gun and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. Hyundai Wia said it has added an AI-based auto-tracking algorithm across its RCWS lineup to detect and identify targets more precisely and quickly.
Also on display was a tactical-vehicle-based anti-drone integrated defense system, or ADS, combining “soft-kill” electronic jamming to disable drones and “hard-kill” engagement using an RCWS, the company said.
Hyundai Wia said it plans to use the exhibition to expand exports of artillery systems to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern markets. “It is meaningful to open a standalone booth for the first time at WDS, the largest defense exhibition in the Middle East,” a company official said. “We will showcase Hyundai Wia’s defense technology across various regions, including the Middle East, and continue full-scale order-winning efforts in overseas markets.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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