Options and More Worth 200 Million Euros by 2030
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The first export contract of K-defense industry this year has been finalized.
SNT Heavy Industries announced on the 30th that it has signed a contract to export automatic transmissions for tanks to T?rkiye.
The contract involves exporting 1,500-horsepower automatic transmissions to be installed in the Altay main battle tank (MBT) produced by T?rkiye's BMC company.
Through a public disclosure on the same day, SNT Heavy Industries revealed an export contract worth a total of 200 million euros (270 billion KRW) for domestically produced automatic transmissions, and plans to supply automatic transmissions for tanks worth 68.93 million euros to BMC by 2027, starting this year.
It is also known that the export contract includes an additional option purchase clause for SNT Heavy Industries' 1,500-horsepower automatic transmissions worth 130.9 million euros from 2028 to 2030.
This export contract was made after successfully passing the applicability test evaluations, including an 8-month durability driving test conducted last year in T?rkiye, where the product was installed in the Altay main battle tank.
The achievement was made through practical test evaluations, such as completing about 200 km of off-road driving per day in harsh local terrain and environments.
SNT Heavy Industries' automatic transmission was also evaluated to have demonstrated excellent performance in a total of 18 performance test items, including forward and reverse acceleration performance, top speed, braking distance, on-the-spot turning, and climbing slopes both longitudinally and laterally.
The Turkish government also expressed satisfaction, stating that "it was able to perfectly replace the German-made powerpack used in the prototype of the Altay main battle tank."
The export of SNT Heavy Industries' 1,500-horsepower automatic transmission to T?rkiye is the first export contract of K-defense industry this year. It is the first case of independently developing and exporting high-cost core defense parts for tanks, and it is expected to have a positive effect on the global defense market sector in the future.
Since completing the world's first development of a 1,500-horsepower automatic transmission for tanks with 6 forward gears and 3 reverse gears in 2014, SNT Heavy Industries has continuously succeeded in domestic production of key technical components such as transmission control units (TCU), range packs, hydraulic steering units (HSU), and fluid retarders.
An official from SNT Heavy Industries said, "We have achieved great results with the support of government agencies such as the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and various stakeholders," adding, "Following the $17 billion K-defense export achievement last year, we are pleased that independently developed technology has led to the first export contract this year as well."
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