Poland’s Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace have signed a letter of intent (LoI) that will form the basis for further co-operation between the two companies.
The LoI was signed on 10 May 2024 at the Warsaw office of HSW’s parent company, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), by HSW representative Grzegorz Szydło and Hanwha Aerospace vice president Boo Hwan Lee. Also present at the signing ceremony was Polish Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets Marcin Kulasek; Polish Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda; the Deputy Minister of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hyunki Cho; and President of the Management Board of PGZ Krzysztof Trofiniak.
The LoI defines the scope of co-operation between HSW and Hanwha Aerospace in the export of components used in both the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer (SPH) manufactured by Hanwha Aerospace and the Polish HSW-produced Krab SPH, which uses a K9 chassis.
The concluded agreement also provides for co-operation in the assessment of the possibility of using Polish-built chassis for the South Korean K9A2 and K9A3 SPHs.
The LoI additionally constitutes the basis for developing further co-operation initiatives between HSW and Hanwha Aerospace regarding the transfer of repair technology for the main gun of the K9 Thunder SPH, which was recently introduced into Polish service and will be used by Polish artillerymen for decades to come.
Moreover, the concluded agreement extends the scope of co-operation between HSW and Hanwha Aerospace in the production of the Homar-K multiple rocket launcher (MRL), which comprises Hanwha’s K239 launcher mounted on a Polish Jelcz P883.57 8×8 truck chassis. This includes the transfer of technology, further ‘Polonisation’ of the Homar-K, as well as its adaptation to fire 122 mm rockets (it currently fires 131 mm, 230 mm or 239 mm rounds).
Additionally, the agreement opens the way for co-operation between the two companies in offering the Homar-K MRL to other NATO countries in Eastern Europe.
