Hanwha Aerospace has unveiled its strategy for developing engines for both manned and unmanned aircraft to respond to future battlefield needs. The company aims to leverage its expertise gained from large fighter jet engine projects to mass-produce small engines for drones and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Kim Sun, Vice President of Hanwha Aerospace, presented the 'One Sky' paradigm for future aircraft engine development at the 'Gas Turbine Symposium 2026' held on August 27 in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
The goal is to apply the 'Legacy Excellence' technology accumulated over 47 years of developing and mass-producing various engines to the development of future aircraft engines, including drones.
Hanwha Aerospace plans to shift from a focus on high-performance, high-cost engine development to a system that emphasizes reasonable pricing and mass production capabilities. The strategy prioritizes production efficiency over premium features.
This strategic shift is driven by changes in the battlefield environment. Recent conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have seen tactics that utilize relatively inexpensive drones and unmanned vehicles to neutralize costly strategic assets like tanks and missiles. Consequently, the ability to quickly acquire a significant amount of aerial power at a reasonable cost has emerged as a key competitive advantage in future warfare.
Kim stated, "To rapidly develop aircraft engines that meet the evolving security environment and new market demands, we must actively utilize our existing technologies and experiential assets."
The company is also pursuing innovations in engine development through artificial intelligence (AI). Hanwha Aerospace plans to use its proprietary AI model, 'Engineers,' which has been trained on decades of accumulated aircraft engine data, to reduce potential errors and costs in the engine development process.
Hanwha Aerospace has already gathered substantial data, having resolved over 1,000 issues through more than 10,000 engine test runs. The company has also established a database of approximately 35,000 materials for aircraft engines.
In July, the company unveiled prototypes of a 5,500-pound (lbf) turbofan engine for low-observable unmanned formations and a 1,400-horsepower turboprop engine for medium-altitude unmanned vehicles, developed using domestic technology under government leadership.
Looking ahead, Hanwha Aerospace plans to actively participate in government-led aircraft engine development projects, including a 10,000-pound turbofan engine for stealth unmanned vehicles and advanced aircraft engines for next-generation fighters like the KF-21.
Utilizing its global supply chain network and smart factory capabilities in the U.S. and Vietnam, the company aims to comprehensively manage quality, cost, and delivery times.
Kim emphasized, "Each failure in engine testing incurs costs in the billions of won and adds at least several months of time, so a development system that minimizes errors is essential. AI can play a central role in that process." He added, "Based on Hanwha's technology and experience, we will strive to lead the 'New Sky' era in the future aviation market for South Korea."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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