SonyD Subsidiaries DefenseKorea and SonyDRobotics Participate in UAE Defense Exhibition

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Sonide (CEO Choi Simyeong)'s subsidiary Defense Korea and Sonide Robotics announced on the 22nd that they participated in the international defense industry exhibition 'IDEX (International Defense Exhibition & Conference) 2023' held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The exhibition is held for five days from the 20th to the 24th, UAE local time.

At this exhibition, the two companies showcased cutting-edge defense technologies including the firefighting drone 'Poseidon (FFDS-10)' equipped with a 99% recoilless rifle, the drone killer system 'Hades (KDS-150)', and the explosive detector 'Apollon (KED-7)' equipped with a non-contact nano optical sensor.

Defense Korea exhibited the 'Hades' killer-to-drone system, which is 100% domestically developed and equipped with the 99% recoilless rifle 'Ares (KD-101)', certified with the DQ mark (Defense Quality) by the Defense Technology Quality Institute. This system can fly over 3 km and detects enemy drones within a 10 km radius using radar, a 30x optical zoom camera, GPS functions, etc., then shoots down the target by firing a 40mm caliber projectile with a 12.7mm electric ignition device.

In urban terrains where citizen safety is prioritized, the projectile can be replaced with a rubber material. When the projectile is changed, it can also be used for breaking glass and fire suppression in high-rise building fires at 1000m height, as well as explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).

Sonide Robotics introduced 'Apollon', an explosive and landmine detector that detects explosives in a non-contact manner. Unlike detection dogs previously used for explosive detection, which are limited to trained explosives, Apollon has superior performance by detecting various explosives including landmines buried 30cm underground. At this exhibition, Apollon was demonstrated mounted on a quadruped walking robot.

Apollon is developed based on nano optical technology and is the world's only technology that can identify the presence or absence of explosives with 100% accuracy without direct contact with explosives or landmines, while inhaling a large amount of air from the atmosphere. The nano composite sensor for explosive detection developed by Sonide Robotics is evaluated to have overcome the limitations of existing biological, imaging equipment, and compound analysis methods, and has the advantage of being applicable in a wide range of civilian areas such as security checkpoints, ports, and airport screening stations.

Choi Simyeong, CEO of Sonide, stated, "State-owned companies and research institutes in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq have requested demonstrations in May for purchasing the explosive detector Apollon, the recoilless rifle Ares, and the firefighting drone Poseidon," adding, "We are in discussions with a research institute under the Qatar government regarding technology transfer for the recoilless rifle Ares and the firefighting drone Poseidon."