Hanwha Aerospace and WB Group sign accord on creating Polish guided rocket venture

South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace has signed a term sheet (preliminary) agreement with Poland’s largest private defence company, WB Group, with a view to establishing a joint venture to manufacture guided rockets in Poland for the Homar-K multiple rocket launcher (MRL), Hanwha announced on 15 April 2025.

Under the agreement Hanwha Aerospace will hold a 51% majority stake in the new entity, with WB Electronics (a WB Group subsidiary) holding the remaining 49%. The joint venture will commence operations following approval from Poland’s Antimonopoly Committee.

The agreement, which marks a key milestone in Hanwha’s localisation strategy, was signed by Piotr Wojciechowski, Chairman of WB Group, and Billy Boo-hwan Lee, Head of Hanwha Aerospace PGM Business Group. Among the high-profile participants at the ceremony were Polish Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Bejda; Brigadier General Artur Kuptel, head of the Polish Armaments Agency; Hoonmin Lim, Ambassador at the Korean Embassy in Poland; and Peter Bae, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace Europe.

The joint venture will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements for producing 80 km-range CGR-80 guided rockets for the Homar-K system, which is a Polish version of Hanwha Aerospace’s K239 Chunmoo MRL, and jointly marketing the missiles to neighbouring countries in Europe.

Hanwha Aerospace has signed two executive contracts with the Polish Ministry of National Defence since 2022 covering the supply of 290 Chunmoo MRL systems, which can fire both 80 km- and 290 km-range guided rockets.

“With this term sheet agreement we have just taken the most important step toward establishing our joint venture with WB Group,” Boo-hwan Lee was quoted as saying in a Hanwha Aerospace press release. “We believe the joint venture will contribute to the growth of Polish industrial capability, as well as to the modernisation of the Polish armed forces. Thanks to this endeavour, our industries will also gain the opportunity to jointly enter new European markets with competitive, combat-proven missile technologies.”

“The term sheet shows a clear roadmap for building a missile production site in Poland,” added Wojciechowski. “The co-operation between WB Electronics and Hanwha Aerospace is a demonstration of how the Polish and Korean industries can work together and how each company complements the other. The factory will increase Poland’s independence in ammunition production and provide huge potential for industrial and economic growth. We expect the plant to become a supply centre not only for the Polish armed forces but also for the armies of other European countries.

“I want to point out that it will be a Polish company operating by Polish law and paying taxes in the country,” Wojciechowski explained. “The joint venture will employ Polish engineers and workers and will create a supply chain in Poland and the broader European market.”

The Homar-K programme is referred to as one of the most successful examples for Hanwha’s localisation efforts in Poland, with extensive involvement from the Polish defence industry. Under the Homar-K programme Polish defence companies oversee the integration and assembly of the long-range rocket launcher system, which is mounted on a Polish Jelcz 8×8 chassis. The Homar-K also features the Topaz combat management system developed by WB as well as other Polish components and subsystems.

“The latest JV agreement with WB Group is a significant milestone for Hanwha’s continued expansion in the global defence market,” said Michael Coulter, president and CEO of Hanwha Global Defense. “It represents Hanwha’s strong commitment to delivering the technological edge as well as sovereign, domestic capacity to our global customers.”