Ground-breaking held Wednesday in Wielkopolska for HWBAS factory

Joint venture with Polish defense firm WB Group

Polish-variant Chunmoo guided missile to enter initial production in 2029

First overseas guided-missile production base for Hanwha Aerospace

CEO Lee Bu-hwan vows to build 'growth momentum' in Europe

Senior officials from the South Korean and Polish governments, militaries and defense industries attend the ground-breaking ceremony for a Chunmoo guided-missile production factory in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, on Wednesday (local time). [Hanwha Aerospace]
Senior officials from the South Korean and Polish governments, militaries and defense industries attend the ground-breaking ceremony for a Chunmoo guided-missile production factory in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, on Wednesday (local time). [Hanwha Aerospace]

Hanwha Aerospace announced Thursday that it has broken ground on a Chunmoo guided-missile production factory in Poland — the company's first overseas guided-missile manufacturing base — with completion targeted for 2028.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the factory, operated by HWBAS, a joint venture Hanwha Aerospace established with Polish defense company WB Group, was held Wednesday (local time) in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland.

About 250 people attended the event, including Jung Jae-jun, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's base capability program division; Hanwha Aerospace CEO Lee Bu-hwan; HWBAS chief Jeon Jin-cheol; WB Group Chairman Piotr Wojciechowski; senior officials from both companies; and Polish government representatives including a deputy minister of national defense.

The HWBAS factory will be built on a 1.16 million-square-meter site, with completion targeted for 2028. The facility will produce the CGR0-080, an 80-kilometer-range guided missile fitted to the Homar-K, the Polish variant of the Chunmoo multiple-launch rocket system. Following factory construction and technology transfer, initial production is scheduled for 2029, with mass production set to begin in 2030.

The factory's construction and operation are expected to create more than 200 new jobs, while also expanding local procurement of parts and materials and building out a supply chain with partner companies. "The project will invigorate the regional economy in Poland and strengthen the defense industry ecosystem," a Hanwha Aerospace official said.

HWBAS was established in September last year with Hanwha Aerospace holding a 51 percent stake and WB Group subsidiary WB Electronics holding 49 percent. The joint venture subsequently signed a contract with Poland's Armament Agency for local production and supply of the CGR-080 guided missile. Hanwha Aerospace said it aims to secure additional orders in the European defense market and develop Poland into a hub for guided-missile production on the continent.

"This ground-breaking is an important first step in converting South Korea's advanced guided-missile technology into Poland's own domestic production capability," HWBAS chief Jeon said. "We will systematically expand the local production base through establishing manufacturing processes and training skilled workers, and take Korea-Poland defense cooperation and localization to the next level."

"Poland is a core strategic partner with whom we have built trust through exports of the K9 self-propelled howitzer and the Chunmoo multiple-launch rocket system," Hanwha Aerospace CEO Lee said. "We will further expand industrial cooperation with Poland and use that as a foundation to build sustained growth momentum in the European defense market."


klee@heraldcorp.com