Hanwha Group Vice Chairman vows to open new aerospace era

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, left. [Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace]

South Korea’s Hanwha Group will open a new chapter for the aerospace industry, with exclusive technology and an independent value chain, according to its Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan on Wednesday.

Kim’s remarks were made during his visit to the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2023 (Seoul ADEX 2023) at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

According to Hanwha Aerospace Co., a defense unit of Hanwha Group, Kim visited the company’s booth at the exhibition on Wednesday and viewed the F414, the enhanced performance engine installed in Korea’s homegrown fighter jet KF-21.

Hanwha Aerospace has been manufacturing the F414 engine under a licensing agreement with U.S. General Electric Co.

Kim also highlighted the importance of developing next-generation engines for fighter jets. During his tour of the company’s booth display, Space Hub Zone, he said the company should play an essential role in providing civilian services based on space technology.

Hanwha Group has earlier set an ambitious goal to build the country’s first value chain that spans communication satellites and space exploration as well as the launch of space vehicles.

The goal suggests the company’s commitment to creating a so-called super-connected society that connects future vehicles, such as urban air mobility (UAM) and autonomous vehicles, to one another and offering services that use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the data obtained from space satellites.