South Korea’s largest defense contractor, Hanwha Aerospace, is looking to establish its first production line in Europe. Its subsidiary is already scouting for partners in Romania to set up units to manufacture its new self-propelled artillery system, K-9 Thunder.
Through its K-9 Thunder, Hanwha Aerospace has made great inroads into the European defense market. Estonia, Finland, Norway, Poland, and Romania have already chosen the system for their forces.
The Romanian subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace is looking for partners to set up a production line for the big guns. The production line will cater to the needs of Romanian forces and defense exports. The company is expecting to launch its first plant in Romania by 2025. Romania is expected to become a hub for Hanwha Aerospace’s European arm.
“The K9 local production facility aims to start construction in the first half of 2025. It will be the first local production facility in Europe built by Hanwha Aerospace. The facility will be a state-of-the-art one capable of equipment testing, research, training, and MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) in addition to production,” Peter J K Bae, head of Hanwha Aerospace Romania, explained.
Nine countries — Australia, Norway, Finland, Estonia, India, Turkey, Egypt, Poland, and Romania — have signed contracts for the K9 howitzer. According to the company, the platform requires three crew members, has a “fully automatic” ammunition handling system, and an autoloader able to fire nine rounds per minute beyond the 40-kilometer range.
Romania has already signed a contract to purchase K9s from South Korea. The South Korean company is also participating in the tender for new main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles for Romania.
Hanwha is participating in both competitions by offering the K2 Black Panther main battle tank and the AS-21 Redback infantry fighting vehicle.
Now, the South Korean firm is eyeing to supply the K21 infantry fighting vehicle – that has been in service in the South Korean military and with the Australian Army as well. The K21 infantry fighting vehicle is also known as the AS21 Redback. Hanwha is offering to develop a new infantry vehicle based on AS21 that will better suit the needs of the Romanian military.
K2 Black Panther tanks are the front runners for the contract. Romania plans to purchase 300 to 500 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks as part of the Romanian Armed Forces modernization program, which runs until 2040 and aims to purchase the latest weapons, aircraft, and ships.
Rise Of The South Korean Defense Industry
South Korea’s ascent as a defense exporter has been impressive. In 2023, South Korea became one of the top 10 arms exporters in the world, exporting US$14 billion worth of defense technology to 12 countries. The South Korean government aims to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter by 2027.
The Korean defense industry has grown so fast that prospective clients can choose flexible terms and joint production. The South Korean government also supports the sector diplomatically.
These Korean defense exports primarily comprise combat aircraft, tanks, and artillery. Its shipbuilding industry has also experienced significant growth.
The conflicts across the world have created room for defense manufacturers, and South Korea has seized the opportunity. Manufacturers like Hanwha Aerospace, Korean Aerospace Industries, and Hyundai Rotem have been at the forefront of expansion, bringing in lucrative deals like the US$ 13.7 billion sale of weapon systems to Poland in 2022; a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UAE in 2023 on strategic defense industry cooperation; and 51 deals and MOUs worth US$15.6 billion with Saudi Arabia in 2023.
The South Korean firm is also looking to foray into the American market by offering K9 to the US Army after the force shut down work on its Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) platform prototype. After this, the Korean firm also plans to branch out into sea, air, and space sector platforms.
Recently, the Indian government has also approved a repeat order for 100 K9s to be manufactured by Hanwha in partnership with Indian firm Larsen & Toubro. This order follows the successful delivery of an earlier batch of 100 howitzers inducted into the Indian Army between 2018 and 2021.
The K-9 a 155 mm, 52-caliber tracked artillery system can fire various types of ammunition, including high explosive (HE), smoke, and illumination shells, with a maximum range of 40 km using K307 Base Bleed HE projectiles.
What Is Fuelling South Korean Defense Exports?
In its bid to become one of the top four defense exporters, South Korea could soon elbow out China, with India trailing way behind.
South Korea is becoming a defense partner of choice for countries across the globe. Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, and European countries are making major arms purchases and undertaking joint development projects with South Korea. South Korean defense companies are attracting hefty investments, not just purchases.
South Korea is ensconced in a hostile neighborhood with formidable adversaries like North Korea and China. This required Seoul to have a strong defense industry that could produce technically reliable weapons. This has resulted in a strong defense industrial base. And while it has already left Japan behind, it could even overtake China.
The biggest reason behind Seoul bagging big contracts is that it has hot production lines that meet domestic demands but can be easily diverted to meet export orders. It customizes the defense products according to the needs of its customers while transferring technology and setting up local production lines.
For instance, Hanwha Aersopace’s Changwon Plant 3 has quickly increased the production of K9 155-mm self-propelled howitzers. The factory recently installed a second assembly line, increasing its yearly production capacity to 160 K9s. A third production line started in April 2024, and now its production capacity is 240 K9s yearly.
The manufacturing speed of South Korean defense firms is unmatched even by American or European original equipment manufacturers. Just four months after signing the contract, the country delivered the first 10 K2 tanks and 24 K9s to Poland.
Similarly, the first FA-50 aircraft reached Poland within ten months of the contract being signed in September 2022.
Seoul has expedited supply to foreign buyers because of the “symbiotic relationship” between the government and the defense manufacturers, allowing them to rework domestic deliveries to execute export orders.
