Poland's WB Group, S. Korea's Hanwha to jointly produce missiles
Polish private defence company WB Group and South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace have signed an investment agreement to build a CGR-080 missile factory in Poland, the Polish defence minister has announced.
To this aim, under the deal inked at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, south-eastern Poland, on Tuesday, the two companies will set up a joint venture (JV), with Hanwha Aerospace holding a 51 percent majority stake and WB Electronics, a WB Group subsidiary, retaining the remaining 49 percent.
The factory constructed under the JV agreement will manufacture 80 km-range, 239 mm CGR-080 guided missiles used by the Homar-K, which is the South Korean K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system purchased by Warsaw and developed by Hanwha for the Polish market. The facility will also produce the equipment for allied countries which will order Chunmoo launchers in the future.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the signing event that the agreement allows Poland to acquire the capacity to produce modern missiles and involves a significant transfer of technology.
"This shows that we will be increasingly independent, increasingly secure, and increasingly better prepared," he said.
Hanwha and WB Group signed a term sheet agreement for a guided missile joint venture in Poland in April this year. WB Group President Piotr Wojciechowski said then that the missiles would come off the production line within three years.
Homar-K multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a key element of Poland's artillery modernisation programme. It represents a modification of the K239 Chunmoo, featuring a chassis produced by the local manufacturer Jelcz in place of the original base platform.(PAP)mmr/mf
