Hanwha Aerospace wins 10,000-pound-thrust engine development project worth W177.3b

Hanwha Aerospace announced Friday it has been selected as the preferred negotiating partner for the "10,000-pound-class high-bypass turbofan engine development" project led by the Agency for Defense Development.

The project is valued at 177.3 billion won ($133 million), with development running through October 2031.

The project aims to develop, using entirely domestic technology, a turbofan engine producing more than 10,000 pounds of thrust for use in low-observable reconnaissance drones. The engine is designed for a long service life of thousands of hours or more, with a goal of achieving the highest turbine inlet temperature ever realized domestically.

Hanwha Aerospace will handle the full scope of the project — from detailed engine design and core component manufacturing to assembly, production of four complete engines and performance testing. The company plans to oversee the entire development cycle from design through production to testing, strengthening its aircraft engine capabilities in the process.

The project carries added significance because it draws on core engine technology from the 5,500-pound turbofan engine being jointly developed by the Agency for Defense Development and Hanwha Aerospace. The core engine is the central component of an aircraft engine, comprising the high-pressure compressor, combustor and high-pressure turbine.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to build on that existing core engine technology to expand thrust beyond 10,000 pounds while advancing high-temperature heat-resistance and long-life technologies. The company expects this work to establish its capability to develop derivative engines that extend core technologies across a range of thrust classes.

"This project is an important milestone that will elevate the thrust and performance of domestically developed aircraft engines to the next level, while securing the critical technologies essential to the phased development of advanced aircraft engines," a Hanwha Aerospace official said. "Drawing on the aircraft engine development capabilities we have built up over the years, we will contribute to achieving technological self-reliance in aircraft engines and strengthening the competitiveness of South Korea's future aviation industry."