Hyundai Rotem signs defense deal with Norway’s Kongsberg

South Korean arms maker Hyundai Rotem Co. has clinched a strategic partnership with Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS to jointly develop next-generation battle tanks.

Hyundai Rotem said on Wednesday the two companies signed an initial cooperation agreement on the sidelines of the DX Korea 2022, an international defense exhibition, last week.

Kongsberg is Norway’s largest supplier of defense and space-related systems and weapons.

Under the partnership, the two defense companies will jointly develop unmanned turrets and drone attack protection systems to be installed in Hyundai Rotem’s next-generation tanks and wheel-type armored vehicles.

The two companies also agreed that Kongsberg’s products such as remote-controlled weapons systems and digital integration systems will be supplied to Hyundai Rotem for use in its main battle tank, the K2 Black Panther, and K808 wheeled armored personnel carriers.

Through the partnership, Hyundai said it expects to strengthen its platform for ground weapons systems, including tanks and armored vehicles.

PARTNERSHIP TO HELP HYUNDAI’S NORWEGIAN BID

The partnership comes as Hyundai Rotem aims to add Norway to its list of major clients for its K2 battle tank.

Earlier this year, the Korean company conducted a winter field test for the K2 Black Panther in Norway.

Norway’s next-generation battle tank project is estimated at $1.7 billion.

In July, Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) and Hanwha Defense Corp. clinched export deals worth 20 trillion won ($15.2 billion) with Poland.

Under the deal, Hyundai Rotem will supply 180 K2 tanks to Poland by year's end.

The Hyundai Motor Co. subsidiary is also eyeing tenders for weapons exports to Australia, Malaysia and Colombia.

Korea aims to become one of the world’s top three defense exporters within the next five years, up from its 10th-place rank in 2021.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.