Hanwha Aerospace will take on a development project for a 10,000-pound-class aircraft engine worth 177.3 billion won. It would be the first time an engine of this class is developed in Korea. Looking at the project's value, thrust and prototype schedule in turn, the effort appears aimed at extending the company's homegrown engine technology up by one class.
Hanwha Aerospace said on the 13th that it had been selected as the preferred bidder in a project led by the Agency for Defense Development to develop a 10,000-pound-class high-bypass turbofan engine. The company will develop the 10,000-pound-force (lbf) thrust engine together with the Agency for Defense Development. The completed engine is expected to be installed on a low-observable reconnaissance drone.
The first figure to watch is the project's scale. The value of this project is 177.3 billion won. The company's scope runs across the entire development process, from engine design through parts manufacturing, assembly and testing. Rather than handling only certain processes or specific components of the engine, the company is set to take responsibility from the design stage through to testing to verify performance. Looking at where the money will go, the weight of this project appears to lie less in simple delivery and more in securing the capability to build a complete engine.
The second figure is thrust. Hanwha Aerospace unveiled a 5,500-pound-class turbofan engine in July. The engine to be developed this time is a 10,000-pound class and will be built on the core technology of the earlier 5,500-pound-class engine. The goal is to nearly double thrust on that basis. In effect, the company is reusing technology it has already developed in its existing engine as the starting point for a new one. A feature of this project is that it does not develop an engine of a different class from scratch, but takes a phased approach that adds thrust on top of technology it has already secured.
The third figure concerns schedule and volume. The development timeline has been set at four prototypes by 2031. The target platform has also been predetermined as a low-observable reconnaissance drone. That the platform the engine will be installed in is specified means the development output is structured to connect directly to an actual airframe. With the timing and number of prototype engines presented together, the stage the project must reach has also become relatively clear.
Taken together, these figures reveal the significance of the project. Having unveiled a 5,500-pound-class engine in July and now secured a development contract for a 10,000-pound-class engine, Hanwha Aerospace will expand the range of aircraft engine thrust it can handle independently. Because this class is being attempted in Korea for the first time, the project will serve as a test of whether the engine technology the company has built up can work in a higher thrust range. Because the company will carry out the entire process from design to testing itself, the experience gained during development will also remain within the company.
For now, however, the company has only been named as the preferred bidder. Whether the 177.3 billion won project can lead to the goal of four prototypes by 2031 is expected to be a yardstick for gauging Hanwha Aerospace's homegrown engine capabilities going forward.