Second Local Factory After Australia Targets European Market
Hanwha Aerospace Enters European MRO Market with K9 Self-Propelled Howitzers
Hanwha Aerospace is set to break ground on a local factory in Dambovita, southern Romania, as early as the end of this year. This will be the second local factory after Australia, aiming to overcome European K-defense competition and respond to the rapidly increasing demand within Europe.
Michael Coulter, the appointed CEO of Hanwha Aerospace's overseas business, stated at a press conference in Romania on the 15th (local time), "We will complete the construction of the Romania factory within two years." The factory is expected to be fully operational by the second half of 2027, as it takes two years to complete.
Dambovita is an economic hub with developed metal processing, machinery, and textile industries. It houses Romania's largest steel plant, and a small modular nuclear reactor, jointly developed by Samsung C&T, Doosan Enerbility, and a U.S. company, is also being established here.
Hanwha Aerospace's establishment of a factory in Romania is expected to serve as a ‘hub’ for the European market, starting with pioneering the Romanian market. Recently, the European Union (EU) announced the ‘European Rearmament’ policy, investing over 800 billion euros (approximately 1,273 trillion KRW) by 2030 to increase the armaments of EU member states.
In July last year, Hanwha Aerospace signed a contract worth 1.3828 trillion KRW with the Romanian Ministry of National Defense to supply 54 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 36 K10 ammunition carriers to Bucharest. Production of K9 self-propelled howitzers and K10 ammunition carriers is expected to take place at the local Romanian factory.
Hanwha is also targeting the Romanian Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) project. Romania is reportedly planning to purchase armored vehicles worth 3 billion euros (4.7 trillion KRW). Hanwha’s K21 armored vehicle is being strongly considered as a candidate. Hanwha plans to leverage local production and collaboration with Romania as key strengths in the bidding process. Bae Jin-gyu, head of Hanwha Aerospace’s Romanian subsidiary, recently met with Stefan-Radu Oprea, Chief of Staff to the Romanian Prime Minister (ministerial level), to discuss the construction of the local factory.
The company is also targeting the MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) market. Romania borders Poland and other countries that have previously exported large-scale weapons. Additionally, the K9 self-propelled howitzer is operated by 10 NATO countries, including Romania. Having a factory in Europe will facilitate maintenance and repair of these weapons.
Earlier, Hanwha Aerospace announced a record-sized capital increase of 3.6 trillion KRW, stating that 1.6 trillion KRW of the raised funds will be used for overseas ground defense bases investment, including the establishment of local factories, and equity investments for defense cooperation.
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