With over 10,000 engines built, Hanwha Aerospace aims to power US defense ties
CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province — A board stood tall near the entrance of Hanwha Aerospace’s aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday afternoon. On it, a sign in the top right corner read “75 months of zero defects in a row.”
The no-fault duration, which equates to six years and three months, served as a reminder highlighting the reliability and expertise of Hanwha Aerospace’s aircraft engine MRO business over the years.
As the Korean defense company gears up to expand its MRO business beyond the country’s military and aims to contribute to the United States’ initiative to bolster a regional network with allies in the Indo-Pacific region, Hanwha Aerospace opened the doors of its aircraft engine plants to a group of reporters.
A batch of assembled aircraft engines was being prepared for transportation to a testing cell at the engine testing facility, with some engineers working on a few to check their status before going in for testing. Multiple screens filled the monitoring room where a couple of researchers assessed test results, such as vibration, airflow and thrust reverser. According to a Hanwha official, it usually takes about five to six hours to complete the test of a new aircraft engine.
Having celebrated the rollout of its 10,000th aircraft engine in April 2024, Hanwha Aerospace underlined that it has performed more than 5,700 overhauls on a wide range of platforms, including the F-16 and TA-50 fighter jet engines, T700 helicopter engine, and naval propulsion systems since the company began its aircraft engine business in 1979. Based on its expertise, Hanwha Aerospace holds active long-term deals with top-tier global aircraft engine makers General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.
The Changwon plant’s smart factory, which was completed in 2018, has achieved an automation rate of almost 90 as the newer facility took charge of producing aircraft engine parts, according to Hanwha Aerospace. Manpower was little to non-existent during the visit, while robots such as robotic arms and automated guided vehicles, or AGVs, did most of the work.
Showcasing its decadeslong experience of aircraft engine manufacturing, parts production and supply as well as its MRO capabilities, Hanwha emphasized that it has positioned itself as a reliable partner able to fulfill the needs of the US military.
In May last year, the US Department of Defense launched the Regional Sustainment Framework, or RSF, an initiative aimed at establishing distributed maintenance and repair capabilities closer to the point of need, including the Indo-Pacific region. As part of the RSF pilot program, the US Air Force introduced the Global Enterprise Network for Universal Sustainment, or GENUS, in February this year, mentioning visits to Australia, the Philippines, Japan and Korea to assess opportunities for regional sustainment hubs.
Baek Il-seong, senior manager of Hanwha Aerospace’s MRO business group, said US military officials visited the Korean company’s site in March, adding that they had expressed satisfaction with what they saw.
“I think the manpower of our maintenance workers and the level of security we offer met their expectations, so that is why they used the word satisfactory as their impression,” said Baek.
Although the exact timing of the Pentagon’s announcement on selections for the RSF has not been confirmed, the Hanwha official said the list is likely to be revealed sometime this summer as the relevant discussions are being led by the governments.
“We have worked on the F404 and F414 engines, which are widely used in the US fleets,” said a Hanwha Aerospace official.
The Changwon plant is nearing completion of a new smart engine facility that will expand Hanwha’s capacity to produce F414 engines and offer a platform for next-generation propulsion systems by incorporating artificial intelligence-based quality control.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
