Hanwha Aerospace and KAI Join Forces on Long-Range Missile for KF-21

Hanwha Aerospace and Korea Aerospace Industries have agreed to cooperate on a domestically developed long-range air-to-air missile and its future integration with South Korea’s KF-21 fighter jet, expanding an industrial partnership around the country’s flagship combat aircraft program.

Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on missile development and support integration with the KF-21 after development is completed. The goal is to give the South Korean fighter the ability to operate a locally produced long-range weapon, reducing reliance on foreign systems while strengthening the domestic defense supply chain.

KAI manufactures the KF-21, while Hanwha affiliates already provide several major components. Hanwha Aerospace supplies engines, landing gear and flight-control equipment, and Hanwha Systems supplies radar, targeting equipment and the mission computer. That existing role gives the group a broad presence across the aircraft’s propulsion, avionics and weapons ecosystem.

The new cooperation follows two agreements reached earlier this year. In February, the companies agreed to work together on overseas marketing for Korean aircraft and to share supplier networks. They later signed a separate agreement at the World Defense Show in Riyadh covering aircraft-weapons integration and joint export marketing.

Hanwha Aerospace has also been building technology relevant to the missile itself. The company is participating in a government-led effort to develop aircraft-to-missile interface design technology by the first half of next year. Since 2021, it has taken part in five of six research projects involving solid-fuel ducted ramjet propulsion, a technology intended for the planned weapon.

The partnership comes as Hanwha seeks a role in South Korea’s 1.9 trillion won, or approximately $1.4 billion, long-range missile development program. The Agency for Defense Development is expected to select a contractor by the end of this year. A rival team formed by Hyundai Rotem and LIG Defense & Aerospace is also competing for the project.

The current schedule calls for development to be completed by November 2033, followed by mass production beginning in 2035. For Hanwha and KAI, successful integration would add a Korean-made weapon to the KF-21 platform and could strengthen the fighter’s appeal in overseas markets where buyers increasingly weigh supply security, weapons compatibility and long-term local support alongside aircraft performance.