South Korea Develops Advanced Personal Battlefield Visualization System for Real-Time Combat Information Sharing

A future where combatants can share real-time battlefield information is no longer far off.

– South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) successfully completes development of the Personal Battlefield Visualization System –

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), led by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (Director Seok Jong Geon), announced that it held a completion meeting for the development phase of the Personal Battlefield Visualization System at Hanwha Systems, the lead research and development institution, on Wednesday, December 18. DAPA confirmed the successful completion of the system’s development and plans to sign mass production contracts and commence full-scale system production.

The Personal Battlefield Visualization System is the first personal combat system that utilizes an information processor based on personal radios and commercial smartphones. This system enables the sharing of friendly and enemy positions, facilitates rapid information dissemination, and supports swift decision-making. Team members can exchange various types of information, including standardized text messages and target imagery. Additionally, they can mark and share targets identified through scopes on the information processor, enabling combatants to fire from concealed or covered positions without exposing themselves. The system is expected to enhance South Korean forces’ combat effectiveness and survivability significantly.

The development of the Personal Battlefield Visualization System passed combat suitability evaluations in June 2024, followed by the establishment of national defense standards in July. From August to November, the system underwent production maturity evaluations and an in-depth review by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), achieving Level 8, which confirms its readiness for mass production.

Kim Tae Gon, Director of the Advanced Technology Business Division at DAPA, stated, “The successful completion of the Personal Battlefield Visualization System’s development, capable of visualizing real-time battlefield situations, is expected to improve combatants’ survivability and enhance team-level combat effectiveness significantly.”