Hanwha Aerospace is establishing a joint venture in Poland as part of its localization efforts in Europe. This move aims to respond to the defense bloc formation that excludes offshore companies and to enhance overseas recognition and market share.

The KRAK artillery platform, produced locally in Poland, is displayed with the chassis components supplied by Hanwha Aerospace at the headquarters of HSW in Poland. /Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace

Hanwha Aerospace announced it will sign a Term Sheet contract on the 15th (local time) in Warsaw, Poland, with WB Group, the largest private defense company in Poland, for the establishment of a joint venture. The Term Sheet is an agreement that specifies the main principles and conditions related to the contract. The signing ceremony will be attended by Lee Boo-hwan, head of the PGM division at Hanwha Aerospace, Bae Jin-kyu, head of the European subsidiary (HAEU), Lim Hoon-min, the South Korean ambassador to Poland, Paweł Beida, Vice Minister of National Defense of Poland, and Piotr Wojciech, chairman of WB Group.

The joint venture will be established with Hanwha Aerospace holding a 51% stake and WB Electronics (WBE) — a subsidiary of WB Group — holding 49%. The joint venture will be responsible for local production of the 80 km range Cheonmu guided missile (CGR-080), which will be supplied to the Polish military through additional contracts in the future. It will also pursue exports to the European market.

Hanwha Aerospace has signed contracts to export 80 km range guided missiles (CGR-080) and 290 km range guided missiles (CTM-290) to the Polish Armaments Agency in two phases since 2022. The total contract amount is 7.2 trillion won.

Hanwha Aerospace stated it plans to secure additional production bases in Europe with funds obtained from a capital increase. This will strengthen its global production capacity and actively respond to Europe’s rearmament plans.

Lee Boo-hwan, the head of the division, noted, "The establishment of this joint venture will be a significant milestone for Hanwha Aerospace to establish itself as a strategic partner of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

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