By: Jens KastnerHanwha’s K9A2 self-propelled howitzer. Photo from HanwhaThe South Korean arms-maker Hanwha Aerospace last week broke ground on a production facility in Romania, marking its first defense manufacturing base in Europe. Initially tasked with the production of self-propelled howitzers and automatic ammunition resupply vehicles, Hanwha plans for scalable expansion to infantry fighting vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles and precision-guided weapons systems.“Hanwha is embedding itself within Europe’s defense industrial base as a permanent, long-term industrial partner — contributing to sovereign capability, supply resilience, and regional security,” Hanwha says on its website, adding that the new facility will be “reinforcing NATO’s Eastern Flank industrial resilience.”Since the invasion of Ukraine, the “Zeitenwende”— its rearmament drive that marks a historic reversal of Germany’s previously cautious arms procurement policy – has presented European governments with challenges beyond merely pushing up defense budgets. The arms industry is grappling with production bottlenecks, delayed delivery schedules and limited scalability, hindering its ability to meet urgent capacity needs and long-term NATO commitments. The manager of a German defense industry supplier, after visiting a factory where armored wheeled vehicles for Germany’s previously cautious arms procurement policy, told Asia Sentinel most of the workers he met were near-retirement age, counting the days until they can mothball their work overalls for good.“The company wants to increase that plant’s output from one vehicle per month to 10, but to me it’s unimaginable that those guys would be putting up with all the new training courses and overtime hours needed for that,” the manager said.With the US shouldering the bulk of European defense for nearly 70 years, the domestic industry is faced with its most significant expansion since the Cold War, driven by an urgent need to support Ukraine and enhance security. But, as the German defense industry manager acknowledged, it faces severe logjams. The industry is largely fragmented among 27 smaller, often protectionist domestic markets, limiting economies of scale and leading to higher costs per unit compared to the US with its behemoth “Big Five” prime contractors—Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Boeing.Enter South Korea, which has emerged as a key partner. Driven by the persistent threat from North Korea, the South Koreans have developed a high-scale, export-ready defense sector optimized for maximum output and rapid deployment. The country is aiming to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter by next year, with annual export contracts projected to have reached US$24 billion in 2025, a significant jump from US$14 billion in 2023. The combined order backlog for major firms like Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem and KAI, with key exports including the K9 Thunder howitzer, K2 Black Panther tank, FA-50 light combat aircraft, and Cheongung II (MSAM) air defense systems, surpassed W111.9 trillion [US$80.7] billion last year.The first European country choosing Korean arms-makers for major deals was Poland, which since 2022 has been in the process of acquiring up to 1,000 K2 Black Panther tanks from Hyundai Rotem to modernize its land forces. Poland is also buying the Chunmoo rocket launcher system from Hanwha and has signed a contract with the Koreans for local missile production. In December the Chunmoo system was sold also to Estonia. It marked Estonia’s second major defense procurement from Hanwha, following the successful acquisition of K9 self-propelled howitzers.Analysts say Estonia’s decision to procure Hanwha’s Chunmoo over the US’s HIMARS, and Germany’s KNDS and Rheinmetall wasn’t a surprise against the backdrop of political tensions between Trump’s US and European capitals.“EU and US relations seem changed, and solid partners are now looking for ways to work together in the future,” said Ramil Lipp, an Estonian defense expert and former manager at the Estonian Center of Defense Investments, which handles the country’s military procurement. “Economically, Chunmoo for sure has a competitive price tag, even if we do not know the exact prices that were offered to Estonia.”Lipp added that delivery times for rocket artillery from different producers are quite long and that the Estonians were told publicly that Hanwha will invest into Estonia’s defense industry, which, he said, “is a highly valued perspective in a world that is becoming more complex and has tense logistical constraints. “Norway, for its part, ordered the Chunmoo in early February. “The Chunmoo and its associated missiles, from open sources, is a tier 1 system with comparable attributes to the other competitors but Hanwha won across the totality of criteria, including platform quality, cost, delivery times and support,” said Ian Bowers, Professor of International Security at Norwegian Defense University College (FHS). “Further, the European system was not yet ready, particularly with the 500km missile range that Norway specified, and HIMARS was probably expensive and would likely take a longer time to deploy.” Norway’s deal confirms that Hanwha is now a major player in Europe’s land domain arms market, Bowers added.Germany, which is striving to build Europe’s largest conventional forces, is also open to Korean offers.“Recent arms deliveries to European countries show that South Korea offers Germany a realistic option to quickly bridge capacity deficits, such as artillery systems, ammunition or armored vehicles,” Eric Ballbach, a fellow of the Korea Foundation at the Foundation for Science and Politics (SWP), wrote in a recent opinion piece in the German daily Handelsblatt. “The country can thus fill exactly those gaps that the German and European arms industries cannot close for the foreseeable future. To Poland, South Korea delivered the first K2 tanks and K9 howitzers just 15 weeks after signing the contract.”To a query by Asia Sentinel, a Hanwha spokesperson said the company is continuing its efforts to expand its footprint in Europe and is seeking to build strategic partnerships in Germany through strategic investments.“We can provide comprehensive solutions across land, sea, air, and space domains, and are ready to establish various forms of cooperation tailored to customer needs,” the spokesperson said. “Among these areas, Hanwha is initially exploring business opportunities related to air defense, energetics, and deep-strike capabilities.”