The company held a ceremony on Monday at its R&D center at its Plant 3 site in Changwon, South Korea, with about 80 attendees, including representatives from 56 suppliers as well as central and local government officials.
Hanwha Aerospace said it will begin the program this year with a total budget of 30 billion won.
Under the plan, if suppliers pursue advanced R&D and localization of key components, Hanwha Aerospace will cover 100% of required R&D costs, including direct development expenses, research activity funding, facility investment and infrastructure.
When suppliers participate in government small-business R&D programs — including those run by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology for defense component localization and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for public-private technology commercialization — Hanwha Aerospace will also pay the suppliers’ required contributions. The company said not only existing suppliers but also promising small firms and startups can join R&D in strategic defense areas such as AI and robotics.
Hanwha Aerospace said it will also significantly expand financial support for suppliers, tripling its shared-growth fund to 150 billion won from 50 billion won to back rising defense demand and export opportunities.
It also said it will work with the Defense Industry Mutual Aid Association to create an advance-payment performance bond fee reduction program — the first such move in the defense industry — to ease suppliers’ financial burden during export contract processes.
Jo Jeong Hyun, CEO of SG Solution and head of the shared-growth cooperation council, said, “With the new shared-growth cooperation program, we will trust Hanwha Aerospace as a strong partner and take bolder challenges to achieve technological independence and global growth.” He added, “We appreciate the creation of this program and look forward to a stronger future.”
Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae Il said, “The competitiveness of K-defense begins with suppliers’ competitiveness in components,” adding that the company will treat suppliers “not as simple counterparties, but as strategic partners that share technology and drive growth together,” putting into practice the group’s shared-growth management philosophy of “going far together.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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