Daewoo K11
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 310 mm
- Weight, empty
- 6.10 kg
- Introduced
- 2010
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Daewoo K11 is a South Korean dual-barrel air-burst assault rifle that combines a 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifle with an over-barrel 20x30mm grenade launcher in a single bullpup platform. Developed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by S&T Daewoo, it integrates an electronic fire control unit with a laser rangefinder, ballistic computer and day/night optics to detonate programmable 20mm air-burst grenades over or behind cover. Fielding began around 2010 but was repeatedly halted after fire control and ammunition reliability defects, and the program was ultimately cancelled.
Conceived as South Korea's answer to the American XM29 OICW air-burst weapon concept, the K11 promised to let a single soldier engage enemies behind cover with computer-timed 20mm grenades. After years of high-profile reliability failures, including cracked fire control units, it became a cautionary tale for the air-burst weapon idea.
The 20mm grenade launcher component fires manually-cycled programmable air-burst rounds (K167 HE, K168 TP) and is fed from a 5-round box magazine. The 5.56mm rifle component uses a gas-operated rotating bolt and a 30-round STANAG-pattern magazine. Persistent fire control unit cracking, optic and ammunition fuzing problems led the South Korean military to suspend procurement multiple times before terminating the program around 2018-2020.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- S&T Daewoo Co., Ltd.
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- South Korea
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 2010 to 2020
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 310 mm
- Overall length
- 860 mm
- Weight, empty
- 6.10 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Polymer
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Matte
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 945 m/s
- Effective range
- 300 m
- Rate of fire
- 700 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Bullpup layout
Dual barrel
Integrated fire control system- Laser rangefinder
- Ballistic computer
- Air burst munition capability
Day night optical sight
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 6.10 kg | 3.60 kg | Among the heaviest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 156 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 860 mm | 920 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 157 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 310 mm | 449 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Daewoo K11
How much does the Daewoo K11 weigh?
The Daewoo K11 weighs 6.10 kg (13.45 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Daewoo K11?
The Daewoo K11 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
How many rounds does the Daewoo K11 hold?
The Daewoo K11 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Daewoo K11?
The Daewoo K11 is 860 mm (33.9 in) long overall, with a 310 mm (12.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Daewoo K11?
The Daewoo K11 is made by S&T Daewoo Co., Ltd. (South Korea). It was designed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD).
When was the Daewoo K11 introduced?
The Daewoo K11 was introduced in 2010 and discontinued in 2020.
How does the Daewoo K11 operate?
The Daewoo K11 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Republic of Korea Armed Forces
- 2010
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/k11-daewoo' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "k11-daewoo", "name": "Daewoo K11", "manufacturer": { "id": "s-t-daewoo", "name": "S&T Daewoo Co., Ltd.", "countryCode": "KR", "foundedYear": 1981, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "a7e19a3aa268d3089df85adfb790980d6574f83ee6d9e821e6084a3be9809fb9" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "KR", "year_introduced": 2010, "barrel_length_mm": 310, "weight_empty_g": 6100, "action_type": "gas_operated"}