Hanwha Aerospace has won an order from the Norwegian Army for a next-generation long-range precision fires system, worth about 19 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.95 billion).
Norway’s Ministry of Defence on Thursday named the Korean defense giant as the preferred bidder for the project, following the Norwegian parliament’s approval of the artillery procurement plan on Tuesday.
Under the deal, Hanwha Aerospace will supply its Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system, with the contract scheduled to be signed Friday.
Norway plans to acquire 16 launchers and an undisclosed number of rockets. Deliveries of the launchers and training equipment are scheduled for 2028-2029, followed by missile deliveries in 2030-2031.
The country had been weighing bids from US defense giant Lockheed Martin and German-French joint venture KNDS, which unites Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter.
Industry watchers said interoperability with NATO’s defense systems was a key consideration in the selection process.
The dynamics of the bidding shifted after Korea’s presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik visited Norway in October as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation.
During the visit, Kang reportedly met senior Norwegian officials, delivered a personal letter from President Lee Jae Myung and outlined Seoul’s commitment to expanding bilateral defense cooperation.
The Norwegian government cited Hanwha’s ability to extend the range of its export-grade guided missiles from 290 kilometers to more than 500 kilometers, as well as its shorter delivery timeline compared with rival bidders, as reasons for its selection.
Separately, budget allocations for the Chunmoo procurement are estimated at 1 trillion won, excluding logistics and training costs.
andreahaneu@heraldcorp.com
