Hanwha Group Focuses on Defense Capabilities... Dreams of Becoming the 'Korean Lockheed Martin'

Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Defense Sector? Hanwha Defense Mergers and Acquisitions

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Hanwha Group has decided to focus its capabilities on the defense industry.

Hanwha Aerospace announced on the 29th that it held a board meeting and decided to acquire the defense division of Hanwha Corporation. Additionally, it resolved to sell Hanwha Precision Machinery to Hanwha Corporation, sell Hanwha Power Systems to Hanwha Impact, and merge its subsidiary Hanwha Defense.

Accordingly, Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha's defense division, and Hanwha Defense will be combined. The plan is to gather the land, sea, air, and space technologies possessed by each affiliate to create synergy and expand exports by combining the overseas sales channels of each affiliate.

Hanwha Aerospace also revealed a vision to grow into a 'Global Defense Top 10' company by 2030 through this acquisition and merger.

Hanwha Aerospace manufactured all the engines of Nuriho, which successfully launched last month. It is also the only aerospace company in Korea with technology to manufacture aircraft gas turbine engines.

In addition, by combining Hanwha's defense division, which possesses space launch vehicle fuel technology, navigation devices, ammunition, and laser anti-aircraft weapon technology, and Hanwha Defense, which owns technologies such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, remote firing control systems, lithium battery systems for submarines, and the 5th generation armored combat vehicle Redback, the plan is to create a 'Global Defense Solution Company' covering all areas of the defense industry.

Furthermore, the export channels of Hanwha Aerospace, which were centered in North America and Europe including the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, will also expand. Hanwha's defense division and Hanwha Defense have exported K9 self-propelled howitzers to eight countries including Australia, T?rkiye, India, and Egypt; armored vehicles to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam; and Cheongung launchers to the UAE.

This is explained to be similar to the business model of Lockheed Martin, which became the world's number one comprehensive defense company by developing excellent aviation technologies such as the F-16 and F-35 fighters, along with the Patriot missile (PAC-3) and Aegis radar (AN/SPY-1).

A Hanwha Aerospace official said, "We plan to grow the company size and diversify products in line with global trends to create a 'Korean-style Lockheed Martin,'" adding, "Since defense is a field directly linked to national security, we have a sense of responsibility to build a company that is not inferior in scale and capability on the world stage."

Also, to maximize the synergy of the technologies possessed by the affiliates, chemical integration such as establishing a comprehensive defense research institute is being pursued. In particular, Hanwha Aerospace has high expectations for the combination of space launch vehicle engine technology, which produced the Nuriho engine, and space launch vehicle fuel technology owned by Hanwha's defense division.

Shin Hyun-woo, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, said, "To respond to the trend of introducing 4th Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, and robots into national defense, we will secure next-generation core technologies such as unmanned autonomous driving technology, energy storage technology, and battlefield situation awareness technology through proactive research and development investment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.