At the MSPO 2026 defense expo in Kielce, Poland, the South Korean Hanwha Aerospace presented last week, among other things, two vehicles equipped with laser weapons of the “Cheon gwang” system for drone defense. As part of its layered air defense system, the company showcased on one hand a tactical 4×4 vehicle with a 20-kilowatt laser, and on the other a heavily armored 8×8 vehicle, the Tigon, with a 50-kilowatt laser. Cheon gwang is already used in South Korea for stationary applications to protect important facilities such as the presidential residence.
Currently, Hanwha is, according to Hyungun Park, manager of the company’s Laser Systems business unit, already in talks with several countries in Europe, but also Asia and the Middle East about exporting the system. The Tigon with the 50-kilowatt version, which was shown at MSPO only as a model, has so far existed only as a prototype, but is planned to go into serial production by the end of 2027. Hanwha emphasizes particularly the low operating costs of the laser, which amount to only about 2,000 South Korean won (1.28 euros) per “shot.”
Hanwha also presents the Tigon with a 40 mm CTAS at MSPO
Part of the layered air defense system is, in addition to long-range missile systems for distant, or high-altitude and close-range defense, also a version of the Tigon with a turret for the 40-mm CTAS machine cannon and additional missiles. The 8×8 version of the Tigon is an amphibious vehicle with a possible gross weight of up to 34 tons, depending on equipment and level of protection. It can reach NATO STANAG 4569 Level 6 against armor-piercing 30-mm ammunition from 500 meters away and Level 4 against anti-armor mines weighing ten kilograms.
Powered by a Caterpillar C9.3 diesel engine with 525 hp, the Tigon, in the basic version as an armored personnel carrier for eleven men, achieves a top speed of 100 km/h on the road and 8.5 km/h while swimming with water jets. The land range is 800 kilometers. Hanwha has presented numerous versions, including as a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle with a 30-mm turret, as a 120-mm mortar carrier and as an anti-tank vehicle with the Cockerill 3105 turret featuring a recoil-damped 105-mm cannon, as well as in a version with a 700 hp upgraded engine. The Tigon also exists in 4×4 and 6×6 configurations.
