00:00A very interesting scene was captured on a Romanian road.
00:02Korea's K-9 self-propelled howitzer appeared on a Romanian road.
00:05Of course, it's not because our country's army invaded Romania.
00:07We sold the K-9 self-propelled howitzer to Romania,
00:09and it was filmed by local citizens.
00:10As of September 25th, the first K-9 self-propelled howitzer K-10 ammunition,
00:14resupply armored vehicle, and K-22 military support vehicle
00:16that started from Korea have arrived in Romania.
00:18Oredme Hanwa said that after signing the contract in 2024,
00:21they would be able to deliver at the beginning of 2027.
00:23However, the delivery was made earlier than expected in September 2026.
00:27That's an incredibly fast delivery.
00:28Of course, it's not the delivery or deployment of the entire order yet,
00:31but compared to other European defense companies,
00:33this is an exceptionally fast pace.
00:34Korea signed a contract with Romania in July 2024,
00:37worth $1 billion, or about $1.36 trillion won.
00:40So, they decided to introduce 54 K-9 self-propelled howitzers
00:43and 36 K-10 ammunition resupply vehicles, among others.
00:46Hanwa is currently preparing for local production,
00:48along with the initial supply.
00:49The initial batch produced in Korea consists of 18 K-9 self-propelled howitzers
00:53and 12 K-10 ammunition resupply vehicles.
00:55The rest of the vehicles are expected to be produced entirely in Romania.
00:57Currently, Korea's defense industry is growing at an incredible speed.
01:01Since 2022, it has become one of the fastest-growing industries.
01:04Until 2020, the average annual defense export contracts were around $3 billion,
01:09but in 2021, they more than doubled to $7.25 billion.
01:12Despite some fluctuations, they have remained at a high level.
01:15In 2022, it reached $17.3 billion.
01:17In 2023, it temporarily decreased to $13.5 billion,
01:21and in 2024, to $9.6 billion.
01:24But in 2025, it rose again to $15.4 billion.
01:27Compared to 2020, the annual contract volume has grown several times larger.
01:31Especially in 2022, Korea's defense industry export volume reached a whole new level
01:34as large-scale weapon system contracts were signed with Poland in a single year.
01:38The background behind the rapid growth of the defense industry
01:40is the ongoing wars and conflicts around the world.
01:42With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as instability in the Middle East and Asia,
01:45the need for countries to strengthen their military power has increased.
01:48Countries have determined that it is difficult to respond to the changing security situation
01:52with only the weapons they currently possess,
01:54so they have started to acquire new tanks, self-propelled artillery,
01:56fighter jets, air defense systems, and missiles.
01:58Especially as the war has become prolonged,
02:00countries that have already used up their existing weapons and ammunition
02:02have found themselves needing to replenish their stockpiles.
02:04In this situation, South Korea's industrial base has played an important role.
02:07Because South Korea has been in a long-term military standoff with North Korea,
02:11it had to maintain a significant level of military power even after the end of the Cold War.
02:14They had to continuously secure tanks, self-propelled artillery,
02:17armored vehicles, aircraft, missiles, and ammunition domestically for the military.
02:20Instead of producing only a small quantity of a weapon system after its development,
02:24they continued to manufacture the necessary amount for the military,
02:26maintaining production facilities, partner companies, and the parts supply chain.
02:29In this process, Korean defense companies were able to increase production efficiency
02:32by repeatedly manufacturing the same weapon systems.
02:34A domestic supply chain was also established to reliably secure the necessary parts.
02:38As the military operated these systems over a long period,
02:40they gained experience in feeding back any issues that arose into the development and production processes.
02:44As this production experience accumulated,
02:46a foundation was established to respond to large-scale orders from overseas.
02:49In particular, Korea has consistently produced weapon systems based on domestic military demand,
02:54so it's different from situations where production has stopped,
02:56and new facilities must be built from scratch to fulfill sudden overseas orders.
03:00Production facilities, related technologies, and partner companies already existed,
03:03and there was also an industrial base capable of increasing production when necessary.
03:06Additionally, the fact that these are weapons actually operated by the Korean military
03:10became a factor for overseas buyers when reviewing the product.
03:13Price competitiveness is also an important factor here.
03:15Korean defense companies have been able to continue production above a certain scale
03:19by gaining production experience through domestic military demand,
03:22and in the process, they have improved production efficiency.
03:24This is also why Korean-made weapons have attracted attention
03:27when there was a need for large-scale weapons purchases overseas.
03:29In other words, the recent increase in exports can be seen as the result of both
03:32the expansion of international weapons demand,
03:33and the industrial foundation accumulated over a long period of developing and producing weapons domestically.
03:38An even greater opportunity has emerged here, the ammunition market.
03:40As Europe pursues rearmament, not only completed tanks and armored vehicles,
03:43but also the production capacity for ammunition and propellant powder,
03:45which can be continuously used during wartime, are becoming increasingly important.
03:48In Germany, Nitro-Chemie, a subsidiary of Rheinmetall, is expanding its production facilities.
03:52Previously, the annual production was around 1,700 tons,
03:55but there are plans to increase the production of gunpowder to 4,200 tons.
03:59Rheinmetall as a whole is aiming to secure an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons.
04:02The reason why the German government considers this project important is also clear.
04:06During the Ukraine war, the limitations of ammunition stockpiles
04:09and production capacity in various European countries became apparent.
04:12The main issue was not just the shells themselves.
04:14To produce a single shell, you need not only the shell body and explosives,
04:17but also facilities for multiple stages of production
04:19for the propellant charge and propellant powder required for firing.
04:21If the production of even one of these components is insufficient,
04:24the overall ammunition production will inevitably be affected.
04:26After the end of the Cold War, Europe and the United States reduced their ammunition
04:29and gunpowder production facilities,
04:30believing that the likelihood of a large-scale ground war lasting a long time was low.
04:33However, as the war in Ukraine has dragged on,
04:35the situation has changed.
04:37In a war where thousands of shells are consumed each day,
04:39simply having a few precision weapons is not enough.
04:41With artillery being used on a large scale again in the Ukraine war,
04:43the demand for 155mm shells has also increased significantly.
04:46The United States has also pushed forward plans
04:48to greatly expand its existing production capacity,
04:50and European countries are increasing their investments in ammunition production facilities.
04:53While drones and artificial intelligence are emerging
04:55as key technologies on the battlefield,
04:56artillery is not disappearing.
04:57Even if drones are responsible for locating targets,
05:00artillery and ammunition are still needed
05:01to quickly strike wide areas of the battlefield.
05:03What has been confirmed in actual warfare is that,
05:05along with advanced weapons,
05:06a production base capable of continuously supplying
05:08sufficient conventional ammunition is also important.
05:10At this point, Korea's production capacity
05:11has come into the spotlight again.
05:13Korea has been producing ammunition
05:14with large-scale artillery warfare in mind for a long time,
05:17and it still maintains a mass production system today.
05:19While Europe was expanding its production facilities anew,
05:21Korea already had experience in mass producing ammunition
05:23and has an established industrial base for it.
05:25That's the difference.
05:26What European countries need is not just to purchase a few rounds in a short period,
05:29but production capacity that can continuously supply ammunition during wartime.
05:32In this respect, a new market could open up for Korean companies.
05:35Especially as NATO is moving to strengthen ammunition production and supply chains,
05:38opportunities are increasing for Korean companies
05:40to participate in Europe's supply network.
05:42Based on its experience in ammunition production,
05:44Korea is expanding its scope of cooperation with NATO member countries.
05:47As Europe rapidly increases its own production capacity,
05:50how Korea can participate in the supply chain has become an important issue.
05:53Now, what's important in the defense industry market is not just how many weapons you sell,
05:57but how reliably you can produce and supply the necessary materials if the war drags on.
06:01But here, the standards of the defense export market have started to change again.
06:05Previously, what countries looking to buy weapons considered important
06:08was how quickly they could receive them,
06:09and at what price they could purchase them.
06:11Korean defense companies had strengths in these areas.
06:13This is because European and Middle Eastern countries
06:15could receive the weapons they needed relatively quickly,
06:18and Korean companies were competitive when both performance and price were considered.
06:21However, recently countries purchasing weapons have started to demand other conditions in their contract.
06:25It's about securing the ability to produce weapons directly in their own countries.
06:29Especially in Europe, there are growing calls to keep the defense industry
06:32within their own countries and within Europe,
06:33so simply importing finished products from overseas is no longer enough.
06:37As France and other European countries emphasize purchasing European-made weapons
06:40and fostering the European defense industry,
06:42there are increasing cases where countries importing weapons
06:44also demand domestic production facilities or technological cooperation.
06:47These changes have become a new challenge for Korean defense companies.
06:50Now, it's not just about winning contracts,
06:52but also about showing how much production and maintenance can be done locally.
06:56But domestic defense companies didn't just see this demand as a burden.
06:59Instead, they're seeing it as an opportunity to secure long-term markets
07:02by expanding local production.
07:03They're expanding the scope of cooperation by establishing joint ventures with local companies,
07:08building production facilities,
07:09and even handling parts and maintenance locally.
07:11What's even more surprising is that real changes are happening in the US market as well.
07:15In August 2026, HANA Defense USA won a contract to supply the US Army with six K-9 MHC systems
07:21from the K-9 family under its MTC Next Generation Mobile Tactical Artillery Program.
07:25There's also an option to supply an additional 12 units.
07:28It's also significant because this is HANA Defense USA's first major contract with the US Army.
07:33However, what's worth noting is that the effort goes beyond simply sending K-9 systems to the US.
07:38HANA Defense USA is building an integrated testing facility for the K-9 series in Opelika, Alabama.
07:42The testing the equipment locally in the US and laying the groundwork needed to expand production.
07:46This facility is being developed as a base to expand the defense industry production infrastructure
07:50in the US by utilizing local personnel and supply chains.
07:53The company's US expansion also extends to ammunition production.
07:56HANA Defense USA announced plans to build a new ammunition production campus
07:59at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas.
08:00They are pushing forward with a plan to invest about $2.2 billion
08:03and create around 400 jobs over seven years.
08:06In particular, this facility plans to produce propellant charges
08:08and base bleed devices used in 155mm shells.
08:11This is also connected to the expansion of ammunition production in Europe that we looked at earlier.
08:16Looking at it this way, you can see that Korean defense companies' ambitions in the US market
08:19extend beyond selling just one type of weapon.
08:21They're simultaneously working on testing equipment in the US,
08:24establishing local production bases, and even setting up structures to produce ammunition.
08:28The US Army's MTC project is also still in the prototype supply and testing phase,
08:31so it's not yet confirmed whether it will actually be adopted in large quantities.
08:35However, the fact that Korean defense companies are now directly competing within the US procurement system
08:38and have reached the stage of establishing a local industrial base
08:41can be seen as a significant change from the past.
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