Hanwha Aerospace Bets 3 Trillion Won on Arkansas to Build Ammunition Hub

[Financial News] Hanwha Aerospace will invest approximately 3 trillion won to establish an ammunition production hub at a U.S. Army base in Arkansas. The company is accelerating its push into the U.S. ground defense market by developing two main pillars: a self-propelled artillery hub in Alabama and an ammunition production facility in Arkansas.
Hanwha Aerospace announced on the 22nd that its U.S. subsidiary, Hanwha Defense USA, held an opening ceremony for its local office at Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA) in Arkansas on the 21st (local time).
Pine Bluff Arsenal is a military logistics facility operated by the U.S. Army. Hanwha Defense USA was selected in January as the lessee for the site through a U.S. Army bidding process. The office opening marks the start of full-scale work to establish a local ammunition production facility. Hanwha Aerospace plans to build facilities there to produce 155mm artillery shell components and propellant charges. The new site will feature an integrated manufacturing system with vertically integrated processes ranging from raw-material input to finished-product manufacturing, while automation will be applied throughout production.
The company plans to invest a total of $2.2 billion (approximately 3 trillion won) over the next seven years to establish the Hanwha Advanced Manufacturing Campus. It also plans to create approximately 400 local jobs. Arkansas worked closely with Hanwha during the site-selection process, including by visiting potential sites across the state over the past 18 months, meeting with company executives during visits to Korea, and holding discussions at the Paris and Farnborough air shows.
The investment is aimed at responding to the need to expand ammunition production capacity in the United States and modernize its aging production infrastructure. With demand for ammunition, particularly 155mm artillery shells, growing, the strategy is to strengthen Hanwha's position in the U.S. defense supply chain by securing local production capacity.
Hanwha Aerospace is also accelerating the expansion of its U.S. ground defense business. Last month, it signed a contract with the U.S. Army to supply a prototype K9 Mobile Howitzer (K9MH), a wheeled self-propelled howitzer, for the Mobile Tactical Cannon program. The company is also establishing a facility in Opelika, Alabama, for prototype assembly, integration and testing.
Hanwha Aerospace plans to expand its U.S. production base by linking its self-propelled artillery hub in Alabama with its ammunition hub in Arkansas.
Michael Coulter, CEO of Hanwha Defense USA, said, "We are following through on our commitment to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base by generating investment and jobs based on Hanwha's manufacturing capabilities. We will actively contribute to expanding defense cooperation between the two countries while taking the capabilities of the U.S. ammunition industry to the next level."
[email protected] Jung Won-il Reporter