Hanwha Aerospace will supply guided missiles for Chunmoo, a multiple rocket launcher, to Poland. The contract is worth 5.6 trillion won.
Hanwha Aero said on the 29th (local time) that it signed a "third implementation contract" at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw with the Armament Agency of Poland to supply 80-kilometer-class Chunmoo guided missiles (CGR-080). With key officials from both countries in attendance, including Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Office of National Security First Deputy Director Kim Hyun-jong, Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Lee Yong-chul, and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and defense minister Kosiniak-Kamysz, Armament Agency head Artur Kuptel, WB Group Chairman Piotr Wojciech, and Hanwha Aero CEO Son Jae-il signed the contract.
This contract was signed through a consortium with Hanwha-WB Advanced System (HWB), a joint venture established in Oct. with a capital contribution by Hanwha Aero and Polish defense corporations WB Electronics. Going forward, CGR-080 will be produced at HWB's dedicated production plant to be built in Poland and delivered to the Polish military.
Hanwha Aero signed a basic contract in 2022 with the Armament Agency of Poland to export 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 288 Chunmoo units. In Nov. of the same year, it signed the first implementation contract worth about 5 trillion won for 218 Chunmoo launchers and the supply of guided missiles, and last year it signed the second implementation contract worth about 2 trillion won for 72 Chunmoo launchers and the supply of guided missiles. Earlier this month, it delivered 212 K9 self-propelled howitzers, the first-batch contracted quantity, to Poland.
In particular, this third implementation contract is significant because it was concluded as "European defense bloc-ization," which encourages the preferential purchase of European-made weapons through the recently created EU "SAFE" fund, intensifies. A Hanwha Aero official said, "The preemptive move of establishing a local joint venture, combined with the Korean government's active 'sales diplomacy,' created synergy." In fact, in Oct., the government dispatched Chief of Staff Kang as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation to Poland and asked that the local production contract be concluded within the year.
Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il said, "We express our deep gratitude for the full support and efforts at the national level," and added, "We will work to ensure that K-defense also contributes to strengthening Korea's security."