Hanwha suggests participation of Polish shipyards in building submarines of ‘Orka’ programme
A vice president of Hanwha extols submarines to the Polish president. The Korean industrial conglomerate is bidding for a share in the Polish ‘Orka’ submarine project, worth around US$2.3 billion. Poland has so far bought trams (for Warsaw), howitzers and Chunmoo rocket launchers, among others, from Hanwha.
Shipyards owned by Hanwha have been involved in the production of ships for the navy for a long time, but quite recently, they were taken over by Hanwha and renamed Hanwha Ocean. Before that, they were known as DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering).
Hanwha Group vice-president Kim Dong-kwan has stepped up his efforts to win a contract for – as The Korea Economic Daily describes it – “a high-profile Polish submarine project with an estimated value of $2.3 billion”, promoting the group’s latest submarine model in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda last Tuesday at the International Defence Fair in Kielce.
Kim, the heir to the chemical and defence industrial conglomerate in South Korea, introduced the ‘Jang Bogo-III Batch-II’ class submarine with a displacement of 3,000 tonnes during the Polish president’s visit to the Hanwha stand at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce. It showcased the ship’s capabilities and its multi-purpose vertical launcher.
Hanwha is one of about ten bidders in Poland’s ‘Orka’ submarine programme, under which Poland plans to purchase three to four new submarines armed with long-range cruise missiles to attack land targets.
Guiding President Duda through the land, sea, air and space weapons systems displayed at the exhibition stand, Kim suggested providing technological support to manufacture weapons with Polish defence companies jointly and use shipyards in Poland and maintenance, repairs and operations (MRO) services.
It was not specified what the possible participation of Polish shipyards would consist of or what scope it would have.
“Hanwha’s comprehensive solutions for the army, navy and air defence will improve the friendship and technological cooperation between the two countries,” – Kim Dong-kwan (Dong Kwan Kim) said in an interview with the Polish president.
During the fair, held from 5-8 September, Hanwha signed an agreement with the Polish Armament Group (PGZ) to offer MRO services for decades after the state-owned company purchased Hanwha’s weapon systems.
Last year, Hanwha Aerospace Co. won orders worth several billion dollars to supply Poland with K9 self-propelled howitzers and Chunmoo multi-missile rocket systems (MLRS). It is now seeking to win another round of howitzer orders.
Kim is the eldest son of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn and the third-generation descendant of the family controlling the conglomerate. Kim oversees the group’s defence and solar power units.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
