Hyundai Rotem, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, has been chosen as the preferred bidder to develop proprietary amphibious armored vehicles by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

DAPA plans to develop up to three test vehicles, complete with Korean-made parts and equipment by 2015, and will be deployed at infantry units for operation beginning in 2016, an DAPA official said.

DAPA will finalize its negotiations with Rotem by the end of December.

This is in line with efforts to build Korean indigenous combat vehicles and gradually replace the military’s aging Fiat 6614s currently in use at infantry units.

Also, the military needs to boost mobility and precision of such vehicles at key strategic infantry bases to counter threats from North Korea.

DAPA held a meeting Monday to seek approval from National Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, who has to give final endorsement on all military projects that exceed 500 billion won.

The official noted that the total cost of development and manufacturing stood at 1.1 trillion won.

DAPA did not disclose which companies participated in the bids, but noted that Rotem and Doosan DST are two well known armored vehicle developers.

Rotem is also separately developing K-2 tanks with Doosan Infracore and S&T Dynamics, but facing technical difficulty in developing proprietary engines and transmissions, or the so-called power pack.

DAPA and Minister Kwan also reaffirmed their plans to upgrade and develop indigenous radar and infrared equipment, software and systems of Lockheed Martin’s P-3C anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft currently used by the Navy.

Korean Air’s defense and aerospace unit was chosen to advance P-3C air surveillance systems worth some 400 billion won in June this year.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)