Hanwha Aerospace's Chunmoo, a multiple rocket launcher guided weapon, has succeeded in entering Estonia after Poland in Europe.
Hanwha Aerospace said on the 22nd that it signed a Chunmoo export contract worth about 440 billion won with Estonia. At the signing ceremony held on the 21st (local time) in Tallinn, Estonia, attendees included Estonia Minister Hanno Pevkur, acting head of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment Kadri Lausp, Vice Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration Kang Hwan-seok, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) President Kang Kyung-sung, and Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il.
Under this contract, Hanwha Aerospace will supply Estonia with six Chunmoo units and three types of guided missiles with ranges of 80 km, 160 km, and 290 km. To respond to Europe's "defense bloc," the company will also actively pursue localization, including local production of some Chunmoo parts with corporations in Estonia and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).
This export of Chunmoo to Estonia is the result of synergy from the government's active support for defense diplomacy. The strong will for defense cooperation between the two governments greatly backed the conclusion of the deal, including the signing in Oct. of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Republic of Korea and the Estonian Ministry of National Defense for the acquisition of Chunmoo.
Hanwha Aerospace plans to use this export contract as a bridgehead to formally showcase Chunmoo solutions in Baltic countries such as Norway, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as the Nordic region, and to seek diversification of export markets for a "second K-defense global bestseller."
Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il said, "We deeply thank the Estonian government and military for once again trusting Hanwha's defense solutions following the K9 self-propelled howitzer," and added, "Together with the government of the Republic of Korea, we will pioneer new export markets and take the lead in the sustainable growth of K-defense."