Kencoa Aerospace is showing strong performance. The company appears to be influencing its stock price by unveiling military drones at the '2025 Drone Show Korea,' Asia's largest drone-related exhibition. They showcased a bomb-dropping drone capable of carrying 24 bombs and flying for 40 minutes, as well as rifle drones designed for attack and defense purposes.
The importance of military drones has increased due to the Ukraine war. The U.S. Department of Defense is also actively moving to adopt military drones, which is interpreted as boosting expectations for Kencoa Aerospace. It also seems to be influenced by the surge in defense industry stocks in European stock markets.
As of 12:03 PM on the 4th, Kencoa Aerospace is trading at 14,300 KRW, up 8.33% from the previous trading day.
Jung Jaehan, Vice President of Kencoa Aerospace, explained in an interview with a media outlet that day, "We applied a system that stabilizes the landing gear used in aircraft to the rifle drone," adding, "We introduced a rifle drone that compensates for existing shortcomings."
Recently, Kencoa Aerospace has been expanding its factories and promoting drone and UAM foundry businesses. The showcased aircraft is not a simple prototype but a flight vehicle ready for immediate operation, indicating a high possibility of generating sales.
Vice President Jung introduced, "Kencoa Aviation is responsible for communication security, while Kencoa Aerospace manufactures the aircraft and main products."
Kencoa Aerospace plans to produce ordered quantities once the under-construction facilities are completed and expects improvements in sales and profitability. Based on the performance of supplying four completed UAM units, they are expanding their customer base. Vice President Jung said, "We have started supplying unmanned aircraft to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Korean Air, and the military," adding, "We are developing aircraft together based on our performance."
He continued, "The newly expanding areas include not only drones but also many large-scale contracts from OEM companies that are close to being finalized," explaining, "This is related to commercial aircraft."
Kencoa Aerospace is continuing expansion investments based on 130 billion KRW raised from IMM Investment last year. They are expanding local production capacity in the U.S. to prepare for the influx of orders.
Kencoa Aerospace provides total solutions ranging from aircraft parts manufacturing to maintenance and space launch vehicle parts production. Based on unique technological capabilities that enable everything from aircraft design to certification, they have partnerships with global aerospace companies such as Boeing and Airbus, as well as domestic defense companies like KAI and Hanwha Aerospace. They have secured major clients including Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, NASA, and SpaceX. Their subsidiary, Kencoa USA, is the only 'Tier 1' partner in Korea. California Metal supplies aerospace materials to NASA and SpaceX.
With former U.S. President Donald Trump emphasizing domestic production, the roles of Kencoa USA and California Metal are expected to become more important. Kencoa Aerospace’s U.S. subsidiary, Kencoa USA, produces aircraft engine structures and parts through contracts with top global companies and the U.S. Department of Defense. Major clients include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and Blue Origin. Due to increasing orders, they are expanding their factories. Key products include engine parts for the F-35 fighter jet and the A-320 passenger aircraft. They are also engaged in the space launch vehicle business, having secured production contracts for the Artemis project and producing related parts.
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