As Nordic countries move to introduce tanks and multiple-launch rocket systems, Korean defense companies again find themselves competing with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries such as Germany and the United States. Attention is on whether they will win contracts beyond "NATO first."
According to the military and the defense industry on the 30th, Sweden, considered an advanced country in defense among the Nordic states, is pushing to introduce tanks. In particular, the government is said to have expressed interest in Korean-made tanks.
Although Sweden has not yet disclosed the exact scale of the procurement, the industry speculates that it will either replace some of the Stridsvagn 122, known as Sweden's main battle tank, or add more units. The Stridsvagn is a tank Sweden domestically upgraded after introducing Germany's Leopard 2.
Hyundai Rotem is knocking on Sweden's door with its K2 tank. Considering that Sweden has operated German-made tanks so far, Germany is expected to be the K2's main competitor again this time.
In Sweden's next-generation tank acquisition program last year, Hyundai Rotem faced Germany and ultimately lost. In Jan., Sweden signed a contract with Germany's KNDS to purchase 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks and upgrade 66 existing tanks.
The Leopard 2A8 costs more than 40 billion won per unit and weighs 60 tons. By contrast, the export version of the K2 tank is priced at about 20djr–25 billion won per unit. The K2 used by the Korean military weighs 56 tons, which offers an advantage in mountainous terrain.
Even so, the industry believes the selection of the Leopard tank was influenced by "operational uniformity" and the "custom of weapon transactions among NATO member states." NATO gathers leading defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus, and Rheinmetall.
They have enhanced integrated operability through weapons system transactions among member states. Hyundai Rotem's loss in the 2023 next-generation tank project in Norway, a NATO member, was for the same reason. In evaluations at the time, the K2 tank ran unimpeded over Norway's snowfields, while the Leopard 2A7 failed to run, according to reports. Even so, Norway chose the German product.
The fortunate thing is that the situation has changed slightly from two years ago. If Korean companies could only emphasize cost-effectiveness and delivery times back then, this time they can also put forward localization.
Hyundai Rotem is building a production line for the Poland-variant K2 tank at the production plant of Bumar, a subsidiary of the Polish state-owned defense company PGZ. The plan is to use this site as a forward base in Europe. A government official said, "We are at the stage of expressing interest (from Sweden) and are still figuring out the exact procurement scale and demand."
Norway is pursuing the introduction of a multiple-launch rocket system by increasing launchers and mounting them on vehicles. The move appears aimed at strengthening defense in light of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Recently, as Norway excluded Germany's KNDS EuroPULS multiple-launch rocket from its options, the remaining two are said to be a multiple-launch rocket system combining Lockheed Martin's HIMARS with a German vehicle and Hanwha Aerospace's (Hanwha Aero) Chunmu.
Since last year, Hanwha Aero has promoted the point that it can strengthen Norway's defense capabilities. In particular, it emphasized flexibility in mounting only the launcher on vehicles made by various manufacturers. For the Chunmu exported to Poland, only the launcher module is made in Korea and shipped, and it is being integrated onto Jelcz vehicles produced domestically by PGZ in Poland.
Estonia has also been deliberating between HIMARS and Chunmu since last year. Estonia signed a contract in 2022 to introduce six HIMARS and sought to procure more. But there were issues, such as the six HIMARS being delivered only early this year.
Estonia demanded rapid delivery for additional procurement, but with no clear answer from Lockheed Martin, it reportedly turned its attention to Chunmu. A decision on whether Estonia will introduce Chunmu is expected around the end of the year.
Inside and outside the defense industry, there are calls for government covering fire. Yu Yong-weon, a People Power Party lawmaker and former military journalist, said, "As Korean defense companies are entering Europe in earnest, including through localization, European companies are increasingly pushing back," and emphasized, "To avoid repeating failed bids, support from the government and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration is needed, such as increasing local European staff."