Hanwha Aerospace unveils KAAV-II amphibious assault vehicle prototype for South Korea's Marine Corps.

Hanwha Aerospace has revealed the KAAV-II amphibious assault vehicle prototype for the South Korean Marine Corps, introducing a heavily armed and faster successor to the aging KAAV fleet as Seoul prepares for amphibious operations against increasingly dense coastal missile, drone, and artillery threats. The vehicle, shown on May 18, 2026, during a visit to Hanwha’s Changwon facility by National Assembly Defense Committee member Yoo Yong-won, signals South Korea’s shift toward high-speed mechanized assault forces able to launch farther offshore while retaining armored firepower during contested landings.

The KAAV-II combines a high-speed planing hull inspired by the canceled U.S. Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle with an unmanned turret armed with a 40mm CTA autocannon, giving South Korean Marines significantly greater lethality against armored targets, fortified positions, and low-altitude drones during amphibious assaults. Increased armor protection, expanded troop capacity, and digital battlefield integration also reflect a broader move toward survivable networked amphibious warfare, where speed, protection, and stand-off launch capability are becoming critical for operating inside modern anti-access coastal environments.

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The newly revealed KAAV-II prototype introduces a high-speed planing hull design and a 40mm CTA unmanned turret to significantly improve the speed, firepower, and armor protection of South Korea's marine forces. (Picture source: Yoo Yong-won via X/@mason_8718)

On May 18, 2026, Hanwha Aerospace unveiled the KAAV-II amphibious assault vehicle prototype during a visit by National Assembly Defense Committee member Yoo Yong-won to the company’s Changwon facility, providing the first detailed view of the South Korean Marine Corps’ planned replacement for the KAAV fleet derived from the U.S AAVP-7A1. The KAAV-II integrates a high-speed planing hull, an unmanned turret armed with a 40mm CTA autocannon, thicker armor protection, and expanded troop accommodation optimized for mechanized amphibious assault operations.

Development began in 2015 after the South Korean Marine Corps concluded that the existing KAAV inventory lacked sufficient speed, protection, and firepower for operations inside heavily defended littoral environments covered by artillery, missiles, drones, and anti-armor systems. Current planning targets completion of system development in 2028 and serial production beginning in 2029. The hull architecture closely resembles the canceled U.S Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), particularly in bow geometry, hydrodynamic shaping, and turret positioning optimized for high-speed maritime transit. 

The current KAAV (Korea Amphibious Assault Vehicle) weighs 25.6 tons, transports crews of three with up to 21 to 25 embarked marines, achieves 72 km/h on land and 13 km/h in water, and remains armed with a K6 12.7mm heavy machine gun and K4 40mm automatic grenade launcher. These weapons support troop transport and suppression missions but provide limited capability against infantry fighting vehicles, hardened coastal positions, or fortified urban terrain. Slow amphibious transit also significantly increases exposure time between amphibious assault ships and shorelines, particularly when operating from stand-off distances beyond coastal anti-ship missile coverage.

Like the Russian BMP-3, the KAAV's existing aluminum armor structures supplemented by applique kits provide limited resistance against mines, shaped charges, top-attack munitions, and heavy machine gun fire. The KAAV-II requirements, therefore, prioritized higher amphibious speed, increased survivability, stronger offensive firepower, larger troop volume, and integration of digital battlefield systems, reflecting a transition from amphibious armored personnel carrier doctrine toward mechanized amphibious assault operations. Like the cancelled American EFV, the KAAV-II uses a planing hull configuration intended to partially lift the hull above the water surface during high-speed maritime transit, reducing hydrodynamic drag compared with conventional amphibious vehicles.

Visible design characteristics include a sharply elevated bow, extended forward hydrodynamic plane, enlarged side flotation structures, elongated hull geometry, and a low-profile unmanned turret positioned near the centerline for balance during waterborne movement. Estimated combat weight approaches or exceeds 35 tons, substantially above the existing KAAV, while still attempting to maintain amphibious speeds above 20 km/h. Earlier propulsion proposals for the KAAV-II reportedly examined K2-derived 1,500 hp powerpacks, indigenous 1,800 hp engines, and marine propulsion arrangements capable of producing up to 2,700 hp during amphibious operation through temporary boosted output modes.

Several concepts also incorporated seawater-assisted cooling systems and separate maritime power settings intended to sustain short-duration high-output transit. The resulting power-to-weight requirement places KAAV-II closer to the engineering category previously occupied by the EFV than by conventional amphibious armored personnel carriers. Existing KAAVs travel through water at approximately 13 km/h, while KAAV-II targets minimum amphibious speeds near 20 km/h, with some development configurations reportedly approaching 30 km/h. Increasing amphibious speed reduces transit duration between amphibious assault ships and shorelines while permitting launch operations farther offshore and outside portions of coastal missile engagement zones.

The operational concept, again, closely parallels the U.S Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program, which targeted 46 km/h in water, 72 km/h on land, transport capacity for 17 marines, and a combat weight of nearly 36 tons before cancellation in 2011 due to reliability and cost problems. South Korea’s requirement remains more conservative than the EFV while retaining the same over-the-horizon mechanized amphibious assault concept. Land speed projections for KAAV-II reportedly approach 100 km/h despite combat weight exceeding 35 tons. South Korea Marine Corps operational planning also expects the vehicle to maintain effectiveness across variable tidal conditions common along the Korean coastline. 

The weapon system integrated into the KAAV-II fundamentally changes the tactical role of South Korea’s amphibious assault vehicle force. Existing KAAV vehicles rely on heavy machine guns and grenade launchers intended primarily for suppression fire, but KAAV-II introduces a 40mm CTA autocannon mounted inside an unmanned turret. The CTA system uses telescoped ammunition architecture, reducing ammunition storage volume while enabling a more compact turret profile and greater ammunition handling efficiency. The 40mm caliber exceeds the firepower of the 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster used on many NATO infantry fighting vehicles and permits a better engagement of armored vehicles, fortified firing positions, coastal defenses, and low-altitude aerial threats at greater stand-off distances.

Ammunition reportedly under development includes multipurpose high-explosive rounds, armor-piercing configurations, and programmable airburst munitions capable of engaging infantry behind cover or drones. The unmanned turret also reduces crew exposure and eliminates a traditional turret basket extending into the troop compartment, increasing usable internal volume for embarked marines and electronic systems. Protection and survivability measures reportedly incorporated into the KAAV-II reflect lessons from combat operations involving the U.S.-made Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) since 1972.

Existing AAV and KAAV fleets rely primarily on aluminum armor supplemented by applique kits, but operations in Iraq demonstrated persistent vulnerability to mines, improvised explosive devices, shaped charges, and top-attack threats. Therefore, the KAAV-II is said to incorporate thicker armor protection, increased internal hull volume, redesigned troop seating arrangements, and survivability-focused compartment layouts to improve blast resistance and reduce casualties during combat damage or maritime emergencies. Earlier development concepts reportedly included modular armor packages, soft-kill active protection systems, and shock-attenuating seating systems.

Maritime survivability became a major issue after a September 2023 flooding incident involving a KAAV-II prototype near Pohang during maritime trials resulted in two fatalities after the vehicle reportedly lost buoyancy during testing. The incident reinforced the South Korean Marine Corps’ emphasis on flotation margins, compartment sealing, emergency escape systems, and maritime safety procedures associated with high-speed amphibious operations. The KAAV-II program also reflects a broader transition within South Korea’s armored vehicle industrial base from licensed production toward indigenous combat vehicle engineering.

Earlier South Korean armored vehicle programs depended heavily on U.S technology transfer, imported propulsion systems, and foreign subsystems, but the KAAV-II overlaps with wider next-generation infantry fighting vehicle initiatives such as the K-NIFV and the K-CEV. Technologies linked to the K-NIFV program include unmanned turret integration, advanced fire control systems, digital battlefield networking, high-output propulsion systems, and potential manned-unmanned teaming functionality.

Previous Hanwha concepts additionally explored unmanned amphibious assault variants, robotic obstacle-clearing vehicles, and remote combat system integration intended to support amphibious breaching operations. Unlike the U.S Marine Corps, which shifted after the EFV cancellation toward lighter distributed littoral operations with reduced heavy armored dependence, the South Korean Marine Corps continues prioritizing concentrated armored amphibious maneuver formations capable of mechanized penetration during initial landing operations despite increasing anti-access missile coverage and persistent drone surveillance across Northeast Asia.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.