Cho Hyung-jun (left), head of Hyundai Rotem's AD&RH business division, and Kim Yong-min, head of Korea Aerospace Industries' business division, pose for a photo after signing an MOU on aviation weapons project cooperation at KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. [Hyundai Rotem]
Cho Hyung-jun (left), head of Hyundai Rotem's AD&RH business division, and Kim Yong-min, head of Korea Aerospace Industries' business division, pose for a photo after signing an MOU on aviation weapons project cooperation at KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. [Hyundai Rotem]

Hyundai Rotem will partner with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to localize aviation weapons technology, including long-range air-to-air missiles to be mounted on the KF-21 fighter jet.

Hyundai Rotem announced Thursday that it signed an MOU with KAI at KAI's headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday to boost the global competitiveness of South Korea's defense industry and advance aviation weapons development.

The signing ceremony was attended by Cho Hyung-jun, head of Hyundai Rotem's AD&RH business division, Kim Yong-min, head of KAI's business division, and other officials. It was organized to expand technology cooperation and mutual exchange in the aviation weapons sector based on each company's core capabilities and to strengthen competitiveness in the global market.

Under the agreement, the two companies plan to expand cooperation across several areas: technology collaboration for the development and systems integration of aviation weapons — including long-range air-to-air missiles — with aircraft platforms such as the KF-21 supersonic fighter; identifying package-type export models that bundle aircraft platforms with their onboard weapons; and jointly pursuing domestic and overseas business opportunities and global marketing.

In particular, the two companies aim to secure a total-solution edge by combining Hyundai Rotem's guided-weapons and propulsion technology with KAI's aircraft platform expertise, offering aircraft and weapons as a single package in response to the growing trend in the global defense market toward integrated aircraft-and-weapons export proposals.

"This agreement will serve as an opportunity to significantly strengthen our competitiveness in future aviation weapons by combining the core technologies of both companies," a Hyundai Rotem official said. "We will contribute to bolstering national defense and self-reliant defense capabilities through healthy competition based on the expertise and business strengths of both companies, and work to advance the domestic defense industry through diversity."

Beyond this agreement, Hyundai Rotem plans to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of South Korea's space industry and expanding its presence in domestic and overseas markets through its various space business capabilities.

Hyundai Rotem has steadily expanded its business beyond ground weapons systems into the aerospace sector.

The company has built up independent aerospace technology capabilities through research and development on hypersonic propulsion systems — a core aviation weapons technology — as well as various future propulsion systems. Last year, it secured contracts for several key technology R&D projects, including a methane engine development project for reusable launch vehicles led by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, and a long-range air-to-air guided weapons prototype and hypersonic vehicle "HyCore" development project led by the Agency for Defense Development, further cementing its position as a key player in the future aerospace sector.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Rotem recorded an order backlog of 30.4 trillion won ($21.5 billion) as of the end of the second quarter this year, buoyed by strong momentum in the defense industry — the first time its backlog has exceeded 30 trillion won. By segment, the AD&RH (aviation, defense, robot and hydrogen) division accounted for 9.82 trillion won, while the RS (rail systems) division accounted for 19.87 trillion won.


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