South Korea acquires 110 GDELS M3 vehicles
GDELS M3 Amphibious Bridge. (Photo: GDELS)
M3 vehicles will be jointly produced by GDELS and Hanwha Defense Corporation under the Korean Amphibious Bridging Vehicle programme.
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) announced on 30 September that the company have been selected by South Korea to supply 110 M3 amphibious bridging vehicles for the Republic of Korea Army.
The vehicles will be jointly produced with Hanwha Defense Corporation under the Korean Amphibious Bridging Vehicle programme.
A press release from GDELS noted that South Korea will operate the largest M3 fleet in the world with more than 1.3km of bridge length.
It was added that this platform provides load capacity, assembly time and manoeuvrability both on water and land in addition to ‘mobility, availability and seamless land-to-water transition'.
The M3K was chosen in a competitive selection process and competed against the FNSS Armoured Amphibious Assault Bridge (AAAB) from Turkey.
The M3 is already operated by the militaries of Germany, the UK, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the M3 is a self-propelled amphibious bridging vehicle developed from 1982-92 to meet the requirements of the British and German armies.
It is operated by a crew of three and has a maximum road speed of 80km/h. When driven into the water, the M3 is propelled and steered in water by two fully traversable pump jets at speeds of up to 14km/h.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![DSEI 2025: AM General has partner lined up for British Army vehicle programme]()
DSEI 2025: AM General has partner lined up for British Army vehicle programme
AM General’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 is in low-rate initial production and the company is looking for export orders, notably the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP), to add to a recent approval for Canada to buy vehicles.
-
![DSEI 2025: IDV sets eyes on British Army vehicle deal as MD calls for “acceleration” of efforts]()
DSEI 2025: IDV sets eyes on British Army vehicle deal as MD calls for “acceleration” of efforts
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) to replace thousands of vehicles is in flux as the tender for the Light Mobility Vehicle segment planned for November is set to be missed. IDV Robotics’ Dr Geoff Davis is calling for the UK government to focus broadly on indigenous capability for procurement and to do it faster.
-
![DSEI 2025: Elbit Systems set to field joint fires systems as it looks to large UK requirements]()
DSEI 2025: Elbit Systems set to field joint fires systems as it looks to large UK requirements
Elbit Systems UK was awarded the Dismounted Joint Fires Integrators (D-JFI) programme in January 2021, which will integrate with the UK’s army, marines and air force. The parent company has decades of heritage in the UK and is looking to compete for the Watchkeeper drone replacement.
-
![DSEI 2025: Milrem’s Havoc 8×8 robot to undergo live firing trials next year]()
DSEI 2025: Milrem’s Havoc 8×8 robot to undergo live firing trials next year
The Havoc uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) was unveiled at IDEX 2025 in February. It is built around a hybrid electric powertrain which provides silent running over medium distances and silent watch for extended periods of time.
-
![DSEI 2025: ST Engineering kicks off export drive for new Bronco 3]()
DSEI 2025: ST Engineering kicks off export drive for new Bronco 3
The original Bronco was developed to meet the requirements of the Singapore Army and subsequently built in large numbers and many configurations.
