South Korean defence prime Hanwha Aerospace has signed a preliminary agreement to establish a joint venture with WB Group, the largest private defence company in Poland, to manufacture guided missiles for the Homar-K Multiple Rocket Launch System (MRLS).
The joint venture will address the requirements for producing 80km-range CGR-80 guided missiles for the Homar-K MRLS – a Polish version of the K239 Chunmoo MRLS in service with the Republic of Korea Army – under another executive contract for the Homar-K.
Hanwha Aerospace noted in a statement that it will hold a 51% majority stake in the new entity, with WB Group subsidiary WB Electronics in possession of the remaining 49%. It added that the joint venture will begin operations following approval from Poland’s Antimonopoly Committee.
“With this term sheet agreement, we have just taken the most important step toward establishing our joint venture with WB Group,” said Billy Boo-hwan Lee, Head of Hanwha Aerospace PGM Business Group, adding that both South Korean and Polish industries will be able to jointly compete with proven missile technologies in emerging European markets.
“We expect the [joint venture] to become a supply centre not only for the Polish armed forces but also for the armies of other European countries,” said Piotr Wojciechowski, Chairman of WB Group.
Wojciechowski asserted that the joint venture will be a Polish company and employ local engineers and workers, and it will also develop a supply chain in Poland and the regional market.
In April 2024, Hanwha Aerospace signed a second executive contract with the Polish Armament Agency to supply additional Chunmoo systems, long-range CTM-290 guided missiles, and transfer of launch module and rocket technology.
The contract – worth around US$1.6 billion – follows the framework contract and first executive contract signed in 2022, in which Poland committed to acquiring up to 288 Chunmoo MRLS systems. In contrast the first executive contract, worth US$3.55 billion, provisioned for 218 systems and several thousand precision munitions along with logistics and training support through 2025.
The Homar-K is based on the Polish-made Jelcz 8×8 vehicle. Besides the indigenous chassis, the Homar-K also features the locally developed Topaz combat management system as well as other Polish components and subsystems.
by Jr Ng
