Hanwha Aerospace to develop engine materials for military UAVs

South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co. on Wednesday said the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement has named the company the preferred negotiating party for a contract to develop TIT 1800K heat-resistant alloy and coating technology for low-pressure turbofan engines for use in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Hanwha Aerospace will lead R&D with Hansco, a special steel producer, and the Korea Institute of Materials Science for this project, whose budget is 49.7 billion won ($37.4 million) and runs through 2029.

Using cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing, unidirectional solidification precision casting, or the solidification of crystals in a certain direction to boost rigidity, and heat-resistant coating, the goal is to produce heat-resistant alloys for use in ultra-high temperature components of aircraft engines, where temperatures rise up to 1,500 degrees Celsius.

Once development capacity in unmanned fighter engines is secured, the technology can be used not only for making UAVs but also designing civil and military aviation engines like advanced models for manned fighter jets.

Hanwha Aerospace is also developing core materials for aircraft engines. Since January, it has developed long-lasting engine materials usable for over 1,000 hours in core parts of 1,000-horsepower UAV engines. In July, it began pursuing domestic production of Inconel 718, a material for fighter jet engines for which the nation is entirely dependent on imports.

Write to Mi-Sun Kang at misunny@hankyung.com