New contract with Hanwha Aerospace to procure long-range precision fires

The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) on Friday, 30 January signed a contract with South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace for the procurement of land-based long-range precision fires for the Norwegian Armed Forces. Deliveries will commence in 2028, and the system will be fielded by a new rocket artillery battalion to be established by the Norwegian Army.

The long-range weapon system K239 Chunmoo from Hanwha Aerospace consists of mobile launchers capable of launching high-precision missiles at ranges of up to 500 kilometres, thereby introducing a new capability to the Norwegian Army.

“This is a strategically important investment that will strengthen our national defence and provide the Norwegian Army with significantly enhanced combat power. Long-range precision fires serve as a deterrent due to their ability to strike targets deep inside an adversary’s territory, if necessary,” said Norwegian Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik.

The systems delivered from Hanwha Aerospace will constitute the core of the Army’s new rocket artillery battalion. The total cost of the investment project to establish the new battalion, including the contract with Hanwha, is approximately NOK 19 billion.

The contract with Hanwha Aerospace includes mobile launchers, a substantial number of precision-guided missiles, training and logistical support. Through a combination of various missile types, the system will both supplement today’s K9 tube artillery while also providing the ability to engage targets out to 500 kilometres.

“Based on the bids we received, our assessment is that Hanwha’s Chunmoo system provides the Norwegian Armed Forces with the best combination of performance, cost and ability to deliver. We greatly appreciate the transparency and competence Hanwha Aerospace has demonstrated throughout this process,” said Gro Jære, Director General of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.

“Our work on this procurement has demonstrated that acquiring a complete system with launchers and missiles from a single supplier is faster, less expensive, and entails significantly lower risk than if we were to take on this responsibility ourselves. We are very satisfied with the overall solution that Hanwha will deliver, and we look forward to continued cooperation with them,” Jære added.

“Long-range precision fires is a very important weapon system for the entire Norwegian Armed Forces, and I am very pleased that this agreement is now in place. This procurement significantly increases the Army’s combat power and strengthens both deterrence and defence capability, especially in the North. Together with new tube artillery, new main battle tanks, more air defence and drones, this means we are well on our way to tripling the Army’s combat power,” said Major General Lars Lervik, Chief of the Norwegian Army.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very good work done in the Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency and the Norwegian Army, which means that this weapon system can be introduced earlier than planned,” said the Chief of the Norwegian Army.

Through the industrial cooperation agreement that has been negotiated with Hanwha, the company has identified a number of potential cooperation projects with both small and large Norwegian partners across several technology competence areas.

“Through this contract, Hanwha Aerospace plans to further strengthen its partnership with Norwegian industry, including through cooperation on local testing and joint development,” said Jae-il Son, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace.