A South Korean arms company once considered a dinosaur now produces howitzers twice as fast as its Western competitors.

• Once presented as a relic that only manufactured conventional weapons, Hanwha Aerospace is returning to the forefront.

• Bloomberg reported that the South Korean company builds howitzers three times faster than its competitors.

• The outlet's rise in arms exports underscores a global drive to revive the manufacturing of older weapons.

A South Korean arms maker traditionally specializing in older, less advanced weaponry is seizing on demand for 155mm howitzers by producing them faster than the West.

Hanwha Aerospace can build its K9 self-propelled howitzer in about six months at $3.5 million apiece, Bloomberg reported, estimating the company is two to three times faster than its competitors.

For comparison, it was estimated that it would take French supplier Nexter around 30 months to deliver its Caesar self-propelled howitzer. However, in early January it was reported that the waiting time had been cut in half.

This matches estimated production times for other Western companies restarting howitzer manufacturing, although other factors, such as material supply, may cost them additional time.

The United States uses the M777 howitzer, built by the British company BAE Systems. In January, the company announced that it planned to reopen production of the artillery platform for new orders from the U.S. military and would deliver a first tranche next year.

German manufacturer KNDS Deutschland is also expected to resume production of its PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer, with parts from Rheinmetall. In June, it announced that it would deliver the first howitzers by mid-2025.

Bloomberg reported that Hanwha's advantage comes from a streamlined production process it continues to implement as large Western defense contractors shift to more advanced weaponry years ago.

Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, told Bloomberg: “We focus on medium-duty, self-propelled guns, armored vehicles and tanks. In these areas, we are already globally competitive.”

This class of weapons “is what Lockheed Martin and Boeing don't do,” Yoon Sukjoon, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Military Affairs, told the outlet.

South Korean law prohibits defense contractors from exporting weapons to active combat zones. But Hanwha finds business outside Ukraine.

Its customers include Poland, which placed an order for 679 K9 howitzers in July 2022, and Romania, which in April was reportedly exploring its first defense contract with South Korea for $725 million.

According to Bloomberg, Hanwha's annual revenue from arms exports has jumped 11 times to $1.1 billion since the start of the war in Ukraine.

In September, workers at the Hanwha factory in Changwon told Agence France-Presse that the factory had increased production threefold after the Russian invasion.

The growth underscores a global drive to revitalize conventional weapons manufacturing as global tensions escalate and major militaries send their stockpiles to kyiv.

The United States, for example, has begun increasing production of its 155mm rounds, from 10,000 rounds per month to a target of 100,000 per month by 2025.

South Korean defense contractors have become significant industrial players, making the country the world's 10th largest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

According to SIPRI, the country had a 2% share of the global defense export market from 2019 to 2023, about 12% more than the previous five years.

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