Hanwha Aerospace
About
About Hanwha Aerospace
Hanwha Aerospace combines aircraft engines, space systems, land weapons and defence electronics within a listed Korean industrial group. Its ground-robotics work includes Arion-SMET, a 6×6 electric unmanned vehicle developed for infantry support, logistics, casualty evacuation and reconnaissance, alongside a broader roadmap for light, medium and heavy unmanned ground systems.
Arion-SMET has completed South Korean Army trials and a US Marine Corps Foreign Comparative Test in Hawaii. Hanwha is preparing a dedicated assembly area at Changwon Plant 2 for deliveries planned from 2027, while its 2030 six-platform roadmap remains a forward-looking target. The company also works with Milrem Robotics on Romania's unmanned-ground-vehicle programme.
Products
Operations
Facilities & manufacturing
- Production setup
2026-09-17 - Hanwha plans a dedicated Arion-SMET assembly area at Changwon Plant 2 in 2027, with Army and Marine Corps deliveries scheduled to begin that year. Its roadmap calls for six common UGV platforms across light, medium and heavy classes by 2030. - Hanwha UGV roadmap
Source
Operating milestones
- Operating metric
2026-09-17 - Hanwha reports that more than 98% of Arion-SMET components are sourced in South Korea through approximately 40 domestic suppliers. Supplier names are not disclosed; no individual supply edge is inferred. - Arion-SMET component sourcing
Source
Supply
Supply chain relationships
- Advanced Navigation
Inbound - Navigation - Hanwha Defence Australia ordered 138 Advanced Navigation Boreas D70 inertial-navigation units in an A$8.7 million deal
Source - Milrem Robotics
Inbound - Oem Builders - Milrem sold two THeMIS platforms to Hanwha Aerospace for initiatives in South Korea and Australia
Source
Financials
- 012450.KS - KRX - KRW
Team
- Jaeil Son - President and Chief Executive Officer - Leads the listed aerospace and defence company across propulsion, land systems and autonomous ground-vehicle programmes.
Timeline
Events
- 2026-10-07 - Partnership - Milrem Robotics and Hanwha expand THeMIS cooperation across Asia-Pacific
The South Korean vehicle will support research and development projects evaluating unmanned and autonomous ground capabilities. The regional framework covers marketing, prospective local production, sales, sustainment, payload integration and development of an Australian supply chain. An option allows future integration of Milrem's MIFIK autonomy kit with Hanwha manned and unmanned vehicles.
Source - 2026-09-21 - Partnership - Hanwha Aerospace signs drone-production MOUs with 43 Korean companies
The agreements were signed at Hanwha's Changwon Plant 1 and span airframes, parts, materials and mission equipment. For the GA-ASI Mojave STOL programme, Hanwha plans Korean R&D and production infrastructure with a domestic-production target above 70% at the mass-production stage. Hanwha plans to pair smaller military drones with existing K9 and Chunmoo systems in overseas sales proposals.
Source - 2026-05-18 - Partnership - Hanwha Aerospace and Milrem team for Romania UGV programme
The agreement was signed during BSDA 2026 in Bucharest. Hanwha proposed ARION-SMET and GRUNT while Milrem would contribute the tracked THeMIS platform. The framework includes localised production and industrial participation in Romania.
Source - 2024-09-23 - Commercial Order - Hanwha orders 138 Advanced Navigation Boreas D70 systems
Advanced Navigation will supply 138 Boreas D70 inertial navigation systems. The systems are part of Australia’s LAND 400 Phase 3 programme. The DFOG-based units support navigation where GNSS is degraded or unavailable.
Source - 2024-01-04 - Demonstration - Arion-SMET completes US military field testing
The physical vehicle was tested from 14 to 22 December 2023 at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows in Oahu. Exercises covered packed sand, soft sand, clay and rutted-road terrain after operator training. The exact 6×6 vehicle carried its 550 kg payload rating, 100 km range and multiple remote or autonomous control modes into the evaluation.
Source
Relations
Relationships
- Milrem Robotics
Partnership Counterparty - Milrem and Hanwha cooperate on Romania's UGV programme and have expanded their THeMIS framework to South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Context
Comparable profiles
- Overland AI
comparable profile - Autonomous Tactical Ground Vehicle Builder
- Ground Robotics
comparable profile - Autonomous Tactical Ground Vehicle Builder
- Digital Concepts Engineering
comparable profile - Autonomous Tactical Ground Vehicle Builder
- EINSA
comparable profile - Autonomous Tactical Ground Vehicle Builder
Context tags
- Autonomous tactical ground vehicle builder - Peer Group - https://www.hanwhaaerospace.com/eng/media/newsroom/view.do?seq=362 - reviewed source supports this bounded company context.
- Defence-prime integration layer - Stack Layer - https://www.hanwhaaerospace.com/eng/whoweare/about.do - reviewed source supports this bounded company context.
- Defence ground robot builder - Peer Group - https://www.hanwhaaerospace.com/eng/media/newsroom/view.do?seq=362 - reviewed source supports this bounded company context.
Commercial
- Hanwha orders 138 Advanced Navigation Boreas D70 systems
2024-09-23 · Order / contract · Hanwha Defence Australia selected Advanced Navigation for an A$8.7 million navigation-system order.
Source