South Korea acquires 110 GDELS M3 vehicles
GDELS M3 Amphibious Bridge. (Photo: GDELS)
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
-
Eurosatory 2026: Vegvisir sets connectivity in contested environments in its sights
Maintaining connectivity in contested environments, where essential networks can easily be disrupted by enemy forces, has emerged as a key challenge in modern warfare. Estonian company Vegvisir aims to tackle that problem with a new Communications Module unveiled at Eurosatory.
-
Eurosatory 2026: AM General highlights UGV and JLTV A2
AM General is showcasing its autonomous ground vehicle and latest light tactical vehicle at Eurosatory 2026, highlighting counter-drone capabilities, modular mission systems and improvements in battlefield mobility.
-
Eurosatory 2026: Arclin and BSST unveil lighter EOD suit as bomb disposal market burgeons
Arclin and BSST have developed a lighter explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) suit using Kevlar EXO technology to improve operator mobility while maintaining protection against fragmentation threats.
-
Eurosatory 2026: Updated S-KAPS ready to neutralise drone threat
Launched at EuroSatory 2026, the revamped Soft-Kill Advanced Protection System (S-KAPS) counter-UAS package has been developed by three French SMEs, Lacroix, Bertin Technologies and MC2 Technologies as a private venture.
-
Patria TRACKX: Designed to conquer the most challenging environments
The tracked all-terrain armoured vehicle Patria TRACKX is a promise of performance. It is engineered to navigate the toughest terrain silently and swiftly, ensuring smooth operations in any conditions.
-
Eurosatory 2026: BAE Systems’ new digital fires system to be ready for demonstration this year
BAE Systems is presenting its Next Generation Indirect Fire Control System at Eurosatory 2026. It is designed to connect large calibre guns with wider sensor and effector networks to provide targeting information more quickly.