HSW Delegation Reviews Hanwha Weapon System Production Capabilities
Hanwha Ocean Strives for 3 Trillion Won-Class Polish Submarine Contract
As South Korea and Poland prepare for a secondary financial contract worth 6 trillion won, a delegation from Poland's state-owned defense company HSW (Huta Stalowa Wola) recently visited Hanwha Aerospace's Changwon plant to conduct an on-site inspection of the weapons system production facilities.
According to industry sources on the 30th, last week the delegation, including Wojciech K?dziera, president of HSW, who visited Korea along with representatives from the Polish Ministry of National Defense, toured Hanwha Aerospace's Changwon plant to assess manufacturing capabilities. Lee Buhwan, head of Hanwha Aerospace's European branch, guided them and directly explained Hanwha's production technology competitiveness.
HSW is a partner collaborating with Hanwha Aerospace in the system assembly field related to the K9 self-propelled howitzer and Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems, which Hanwha secured orders for from the Polish Armaments Group at the end of last year and in April this year. HSW receives parts and technology from Hanwha and produces them locally. Previously, HSW combined its self-produced turret with the K9 self-propelled howitzer chassis (frame) to manufacture the Krab self-propelled howitzer.
Ibu-hwan Lee, Head of Hanwha Aerospace Europe (second from right), is explaining Hanwha's production technology competitiveness and manufacturing capabilities to the HSW delegation, including Wojciech K?dziera, President of HSW (third from right), who visited Hanwha Aerospace Changwon Plant. [Photo by Hanwha Aerospace Europe]
Hanwha Aerospace is currently awaiting the signing of a financial contract between the Korean government and Poland after completing the secondary execution contract. Poland requested guarantees from policy financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation when signing the secondary execution contract.
The deadline for the K9 secondary financial contract, valued at approximately 3.4758 trillion won, was originally June this year but has been extended to November through mutual agreement. Although the Export-Import Bank Act was amended in February to expand the statutory capital limit from 15 trillion won to 25 trillion won to support defense finance, an agreement among related ministries on the actual scale of support has not yet been reached.
However, it is positive that last month, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, agreed to cooperate with the goal of completing the second contracts for the K9 and Chunmoo by September. Industry insiders expect that the secondary execution contracts for Hanwha Aerospace’s K9 self-propelled howitzer and Hyundai Rotem’s K2 tank will be signed during the international defense industry exhibition held in Poland in September. The deadline for the Chunmoo financial contract, valued at about 2.2526 trillion won, remains November as originally planned.
Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Group’s shipbuilding affiliate, is also pursuing an order for Polish diesel submarines worth approximately 3.35 trillion won. Eleven companies worldwide, including Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, have applied, and the shortlist of three companies is about to be selected. Although the results were initially scheduled to be announced this month, they are expected to be postponed to August or early September. An industry official said, "In the case of diesel submarines, not nuclear submarines, Korea is the strongest in terms of technology and performance, but since factors such as intergovernmental relations play a significant role in defense contracts, we need to observe the situation further."
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