Mr. Kim Dong-hyun, head of Hanwha Aerospace’s land systems business group, and Ms. Adriana Ștefan, director general of INCAS, at the signing of an R&D contract. Image courtesy of Hanwha.

Hanwha Aerospace has entered into a research and development contract with Romania’s Elie Carafoli National Institute for Aerospace Research (INCAS).

The contract was formalised on 22nd May 2024, in Bucharest, Romania, with Mr. Kim Dong-hyun, head of Hanwha Aerospace’s land systems business group, and Ms. Adriana Ștefan, director general of INCAS. The agreement, signed on the first day of BSDA 2024, aims to enhance bilateral cooperation in weapons systems research and development.

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As Romania and other post-Soviet states look to modernise their legacy inventories, partnerships with Korean companies that bring indigenous manufacture to Europe could act as a gateway, bringing critical knowledge sharing and allowing indigenous production in Romania. A similar pattern has been witnessed in Poland, where Korean companies have established offset agreements and laid essential foundations for a larger customer base in Europe. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Hanwha Aerospace and INCAS will conduct joint research activities, including wind tunnel tests of precision-guided missiles. The collaboration extends to the aerospace sector, with the potential for synergies in aerospace engineering beyond land systems.

Hanwha Aerospace has expressed its intent to cooperate with Romania across various domains, including air, land, sea, and space, through joint projects.

 Hanwha Aerospace is also looking to initiate industrial partnership programmes in Romania, focusing on the local production and maintenance of combat vehicles to support the modernisation of the Romanian military and industry.

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INCAS, with a 75-year history in aerospace engineering, flow physics, and applied aerodynamics, is a prominent research establishment in Romania. It has participated in significant national aeronautical projects for both civil and military sectors and plays a significant role in EU policy-making for research and development under the FlightPath 2050 vision and the Horizon Europe programme.

Ștefan expressed optimism about the collaboration, stating, “We’re very happy to be collaborating with Hanwha Aerospace, and we hope to move forward to a next level based on this contract.”  Mr. Kim highlighted the importance of this partnership, describing it as a key milestone for future strategic projects.

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