€640 Billion Chunmoo Export Contract Signed with Croatia

[Financial News] The K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher will be exported to Croatia.
According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on the 10th, Hanwha Aerospace and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia officially signed a €410 million contract in Zagreb for the export of 18 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers. The contract is worth approximately ₩640 billion.
This is South Korea’s first defense export to Croatia. Croatia has become the fourth European country to import the K239 Chunmoo. Poland, Estonia, and Norway have decided to introduce the system.
The two countries plan to use the Chunmoo export as an opportunity to strengthen their defense and defense-industry cooperation framework. Croatia requested long-term cooperation with South Korea’s defense industry. Accordingly, the contract was designed as a medium- to long-term “security supply chain partnership,” including industrial cooperation with local defense companies, follow-up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) support, and the establishment of a joint maintenance network.
The deal is the result of high-level security diplomacy built over several years by the government and the defense industry. Lee Yong-cheol, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, attended the Chunmoo signing ceremony, which was directly presided over by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, together with Ahn Gyu-back, Minister of National Defense. They reaffirmed the defense partnership between the two countries.
The fact that Minister Ahn attended the prime minister’s meeting in Croatia despite being on the verge of leaving office is being interpreted as a political move intended to demonstrate the continuity and credibility of defense diplomacy to the outside world.
Defense-industry experts forecast that securing another European “Chunmoo operator” through this contract will lead to additional export opportunities in Balkan countries.
Meanwhile, the K239 Chunmoo is a key system used by South Korea’s military for counterfire operations against North Korean multiple rocket launchers and long-range artillery in the event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula. It has a maximum range of 80 km and can fire high-explosive guided rockets and cluster-guided rockets.
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