Doosan Enerbility, LIG D&A join forces on guided-weapon engine development

Doosan Enerbility announced Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A) to jointly develop engines for guided weapons.

The signing ceremony was held Monday at Bundang Doosan Tower in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with Son Seung-woo, head of Doosan Enerbility's Power Service business group, and Park Tae-sik, head of LIG D&A's missile systems business division, among the attendees. Under the agreement, the two companies will work to secure domestic capabilities for next-generation guided-weapon engine development and strengthen technological self-reliance and competitiveness in South Korea's defense industry.

LIG D&A will lead guided-weapon system development, while Doosan Enerbility will handle engine development for those systems. The two companies also agreed to build a close cooperation framework covering the entire process — from engine development applicable to guided-weapon systems through testing, evaluation and certification.

As global demand for long-range precision-strike systems surges, securing high-performance engines has emerged as a key competitive advantage in the defense market. Localizing engine production is expected to reduce dependence on foreign technology and remove constraints on exports.

"This agreement is significant in that we have established a long-term cooperation framework with LIG D&A, which holds the country's top guided-weapon system development capabilities," Son said. "We will contribute to the technological localization of K-defense by combining the core technologies of both companies to compete in the global market."