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South Korea’s largest defence firm is creating a fighter jet engine because the nation works to maneuver up the arms exporter worth chain and increase its safety self-sufficiency.
The chief of aero programs at Hanwha Aerospace mentioned the corporate needed to develop the engine by as early as 2036. It’s working in partnership with the South Korean authorities, one of many world’s highest spenders on arms improvement.
“We must always develop our personal plane engines earlier than it’s too late for our long-term nationwide safety, in addition to for financial advantages,” mentioned Kwangmin Lee in an interview with the Monetary Instances on the firm’s headquarters in Seoul.
“It’s going to take at the least 10 years and greater than Won5tn [$3.7bn]. We face excessive entry limitations, however now we have expertise producing engines, albeit underneath licensed offers, and have developed small engines of our personal and have a robust provide chain,” he mentioned.
South Korea has turn into one of many world’s high 10 defence exporters, with the conflict in Ukraine driving demand for typical arms equivalent to tanks, howitzers and lower-end fighter jets.
Hanwha makes its personal engines for ships, missiles and helicopters however has but to provide a complicated fighter jet engine. It’s a main elements provider for Basic Electrical, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, which collectively dominate the worldwide plane engine market.
The corporate is concentrating on Won25tn in complete gross sales of its personal engines by 2050. The engines are anticipated for use in upgraded variations of the nation’s first homegrown fighter jet, the KF-21, which Korea Aerospace Industries plans to mass produce within the second half of 2026.
Hanwha is at present assembling the F414 turbofan engines used within the KF-21 underneath licence with GE. “We are going to develop engines which are just like GE’s F414 class however have significantly better thrust and gas consumption,” mentioned Lee.
He admitted that it was a troublesome endeavor. “There may be quite a lot of scepticism over whether or not Ford can meet up with Ferrari, however you’ll be able to’t obtain something with out attempting,” mentioned Lee, referring to the US carmaker’s battle to develop a race automotive rivalling the Italian group.
Solely six international locations have indigenous engines to energy probably the most trendy fighter jets: the US, the UK, France, Russia, Ukraine and China.
Japan’s industrial group IHI offered an engine prototype when the nation needed to independently develop its personal fighter jet. However it’s now working alongside Rolls-Royce underneath the trilateral World Fight Air Programme to construct a supersonic jet with the UK and Italy.
After years of delays, the Indian authorities is collaborating with GE to develop its Kaveri engines. Turkey has additionally held talks with Rolls-Royce to co-develop engines for its fighter jet.
France’s Safran, Russia’s UEC-Aviadvigatel, Ukaine’s Ivchenko-Progress and China’s AECC additionally produce plane engines.
Hanwha is constructing a $30mn plane engine manufacturing unit in South Korea and plans to triple the variety of its home engineers to 600. It plans to arrange abroad analysis centres within the US and Europe and is contemplating collaborating with different firms for its personal engine undertaking.
The corporate expects the South Korean air drive to purchase the upgraded KF-21s with its personal engines and hopes to ultimately promote them to international locations within the Center East, south-east Asia and jap Europe.
“We are going to goal those that can’t purchase fighter jets from the US for geopolitical causes or those that can’t afford to purchase costly US jets,” mentioned Lee.
Douglas Barrie, senior fellow on the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research, mentioned Hanwha had the “technical industrial base to at the least give it a very good go, however it is best to nonetheless not underestimate the challenges concerned on this”.
Kim Ho-sung, professor of superior defence engineering at Changwon Nationwide College, warned that the know-how was troublesome to develop.
“Growing a jet engine is probably the most complicated technological feat, because the supplies want to resist combustion warmth past 2,000 levels Celsius,” mentioned Kim. “Even China had bother overcoming the technological challenges till just lately.”
South Korea produces high-quality arms for much less cash, making them enticing to consumers in rising markets. However Kim cautioned towards Hanwha utilizing the identical technique for the plane engine market, predicting that it will be troublesome for the corporate to realize economies of scale.
“Nations can simply purchase the [US-made] F-15 with confirmed security and superior efficiency. Why would they trouble to purchase the KF-21 with Korean-made engines at related costs?” mentioned Kim. “Will probably be troublesome to safe price competitiveness with out economies of scale. World collaboration may very well be a greater choice for Korea.”
Further reporting by Sylvia Pfeifer in London
