South Korea’s Hanwha and Poland’s WB Group agree to guided missile joint venture in Poland

The first combat missile firings from Polish Homar-K systems were carried out at the Central Air Force Training Range in Ustka December last year. (Poland’s MND)

WARSAW — Today in Warsaw, representatives of the Polish private company WB Group and the South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to manufacture missiles for the Chunmoo multiple rocket launch system in Poland.

The agreement for CGR-080 missiles was signed by Piotr Wojciechowski, chairman of WB Group, and Billy Boo-hwan Lee, head of Hanwha Aerospace PGM Business Group, in the presence of senior Polish government officials as well as the Korean ambassador to Poland.

Under the agreement, Hanwha Aerospace will hold a 51 percent majority stake in the new entity, with WB Electronics (a WB Group subsidiary) holding the remaining 49 percent. The joint venture will begin operations following approval from Poland’s Antimonopoly Committee, and also plans to market the missiles to other European customers.

“In 2024, we signed a second agreement for 72 Homar-K [Chunmoo] systems […]. This is the first stage of transferring the production technology of Chunmoo launchers to Poland,” Secretary of State at Poland’s Ministry of National Defense Paweł Bejda said at the ceremony. “The next stage is the production of ammunition, specifically missiles for these Chunmoo launchers. We have an assurance that within three years the first missiles will come off the production line of the company, which has already been established by WB Electronics and Hanwha Aerospace.”

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Boo-hwan Lee said, “With this term sheet agreement, we have just taken the most important step toward establishing our joint venture with WB Group. We believe the joint venture will contribute to the growth of Polish industrial capability, as well as to the modernization of the Polish Armed Forces. Thanks to this endeavor, our industries will also gain the opportunity to jointly enter new European markets with competitive, combat-proven missile technologies.”

Wojciechowski added that the agreement “shows a clear roadmap for building a missile production site in Poland.

“The cooperation 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,” he said. “The factory will increase Poland’s independence in ammunition production and provide huge potential for industrial and economic growth.”

Poland has ordered a total of 290 Homar-K systems, which consist of a K239 launcher module, a Jelcz P882.57 TS T45 8×8 truck chassis and a national Topaz combat management system, manufactured by WB Group. The launchers were ordered in two batches — 218 in November 2022, and another 72 in April 2024 (12 of the latter batch will be manufactured in Korea, and 60 in Poland). Systems were purchased together with a logistics package, training and ammunition supplies. There are already 90 Homar-Ks in Poland, and deliveries of all systems for the Polish Army are to be completed by 2029.

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In December, the MND’s Armament Agency signed a contract worth over 499 million PLN ($131 million USD) with the WB Group for the delivery of force protection systems designed for aerial reconnaissance and air coverage of the operational areas of the Homar-K-equipped Polish Army battalions. The force protection includes a several hundred FlyEye and X-Fronter drones, as well as the FP-Spectre electronic reconnaissance system, integrated with the Topaz CMS.

The new agreement covers equipping vehicles with IT systems, personal and vehicle-mounted radios from the WB Group and the Perad family, along with specialized artillery equipment and software. The systems will be installed on the launchers and other vehicles of the Homar-K battalions, supporting artillery and specialized vehicles. The agreement also includes a training and logistics package. The system deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2025 and 2028.