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(Photo = Hanwha Aerospace) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Hanwha Aerospace and Doosan Enerbility have embarked on the development of next-generation fighter jet engines. Doosan will manufacture the turbines for the engines, which Hanwha Aerospace will integrate with other core components to assemble the final engines. If successful, South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to possess domestically developed fighter jet engines.
According to defense industry sources on July 1st, Hanwha and Doosan recently completed the "concept design" phase for advanced engine development ordered by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and are soon to begin the "basic design" phase. The completion of the concept design confirms the feasibility for commercialization, paving the way for full-scale research and development (R&D). Over the next decade, the two companies, in collaboration with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), plan to invest a minimum of 3 trillion won to develop engines capable of producing 15,000 pounds of thrust, similar to those used in the KF-21, South Korea's domestically produced fighter jet engine which entered production last month.
Only six countries in the world currently independently develop aviation engines, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Ukraine, and China, designated as strategic assets due to their potential for use in fighter jets. Leading companies such as Pratt & Whitney, General Electric (GE) in the United States, and Rolls-Royce PLC in the United Kingdom dominate 80% of the global market for such engines.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
