Hanwha Systems signs MOU with Northrop Grumman for collaboration on air defense systems
The agreement focuses on enhancing technological collaboration in air defense command and control systems and exploring new business opportunities in Korea, according to Hanwha Systems.
Northrop Grumman is the developer of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, regarded as one of the most advanced air defense command and control platforms in the world.
IBCS integrates radar and interceptor systems across land, sea and air to build a dense and flexible air defense network, enabling coordinated responses to a range of threats.
It is currently being deployed by the US Army and evaluated for expansion in Europe and other regions.
Hanwha Systems emphasized that the partnership will combine Northrop Grumman's expertise in air defense technologies with its own advanced command and control capabilities, such as the Korea Air and Missile Defense Operations Center, for more advanced air defense solutions.
The partnership will also play a pivotal role in helping Hanwha Systems develop next-generation air defense solutions, further bolstering its capabilities in the global defense market, the company added.
"Hanwha is undergoing a bold transformation to become a leading global defense company," said Park Sung-kyun, vice president and business director of the defense electronics division at Hanwha Systems. "Our partnership reflects our ambition to lead the development of next-generation weapon systems and strengthen our position in the global market."(Yonhap)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
08-08-2025
- Korea Herald
Defense shares lose steam amid rising hopes for Russia-Ukraine truce, overvaluation fears
Shares of South Korean arms makers dropped sharply Friday amid expectations that the upcoming US-Russia summit would include talks on a potential cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Concerns over valuation also contributed to the decline. Shares of Hanwha Systems, a major defense affiliate of Hanwha Group, stood at 53,200 won ($39) as of 11 a.m., down 6.35 percent from the previous trading day. During intraday trading, the share price of the defense firm with a roughly 10 trillion won market capitalization fell to as low as 52,800 won, marking a near 20,000 won drop from how it stood at the 52-week high of 70,200 won on June 18. Other defense stocks also traded lower, with LIG Nex1 down 14.59 percent, Hanwha Aerospace down 5.15 percent, Hyundai Rotem down 5.29 percent and Korea Aerospace Industries down 3.42 percent. LIG Nex1 shares plunged the day despite being added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International's Korea Index. 'The company is expected to achieve strong profit growth going forward. However, due to the recent sharp rise in the stock price, the short-term upside potential is limited,' analyst Jeong Dong-ho from Mirae Asset Securities said, following the brokerage firm's decision to downgrade the investment rating to neutral. The shares dropped on expectations that US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold a summit as early as next week and possibly discuss truce for the Russia-Ukraine war. The plunge also comes amid concerns on overvaluation. Major defense stocks have surged between 70 percent and 300 percent since the beginning of this year. While the projected price-to-earnings ratio for Lockheed Martin, a top US defense company, for this year stands at 19.6, major domestic defense stocks have been trade at significantly higher multiples, signaling a potential overvaluation. Hanwha Systems posted a PER of 61, LIG Nex1 44.1, Korea Aerospace Industries 37.1, Hanwha Aerospace 32.1, and Hyundai Rotem 23.5, according to the Korea Exchange Thursday. High PER suggests a potential overvaluation compared to industry peers. After a strong buying spree earlier this year, foreign investors have shifted to a net selling stance on defense stocks this month. From Aug. 1 to 7, they offloaded 152.8 billion won worth of Hyundai Rotem shares, 71.2 billion won of Hanwha Aerospace, 65.9 billion won of Hanwha Systems, 49.5 billion won of LIG Nex1, and 3.3 billion won of Korea Aerospace Industries.
Korea Herald
06-08-2025
- Korea Herald
LG CNS to build Korea's first overseas AI data center in Jakarta
LG CNS, a Korean information technology solutions provider under LG Group, announced Wednesday it will construct a 100 billion won ($72 million) artificial intelligence data center in Jakarta, Indonesia. This marks the first time a Korean company has established an AI-focused data center overseas. The project will be carried out through a joint venture with Indonesia's third-largest conglomerate, Sinar Mas Group. The joint entity, LG Sinarmas Technology Solutions, secured the deal with local data center developer Kuningan Mas Gemilang. The planned facility will be an 11-story structure with a gross floor area of 46,281 square meters, capable of housing more than 100,000 servers. It is slated for completion by the end of 2026. The project will initially support 30 megawatts of power, with plans to scale up to 220 megawatts — making it the largest AI data center in Indonesia. KMG, a joint venture between Sinar Mas Group and Korea Investment Real Asset Management, has been leading efforts to develop AI data center infrastructure in the region. Recognizing the potential of data centers and cloud services as future growth engines, Sinar Mas selected LG CNS as its strategic partner due to the Korean firm's proven expertise in the sector. Last year, the company delivered consulting and design services for the project, which helped secure its role in the main construction phase. LG CNS plans to implement an integrated "One LG" solution, incorporating technologies from affiliates such as LG Electronics' cooling systems and LG Energy Solution's battery platforms. To address soaring AI computing demand across Indonesia and Southeast Asia, the center will feature specialized infrastructure for graphics processing unit farms. A hybrid cooling system will be deployed to manage heat from high-performance graphics processing units, along with an environmentally friendly heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that automatically controls temperature and humidity. The facility will also support network neutrality, allowing tenants to freely choose telecommunications carriers. Located in Menteng, central Jakarta, the site is expected to offer strategic access to national backbone networks and submarine cable systems, positioning it as a future digital hub. 'Leveraging this project, LG CNS aims to expand our AI data center business across Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia,' said LG CNS CEO Hyun Shin-kyun. LG CNS brings to the table over three decades of experience in operating and constructing data centers, including nine domestic and overseas facilities. The company also holds top-tier certifications such as the ISO 22301 for business continuity and ISO 50001 for energy management, along with Korea's disaster risk reduction certification.
Korea Herald
03-08-2025
- Korea Herald
Ruling party faces backlash on tax code revision
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is facing backlash amid speculation that Friday's sharp drop in the Korea Exchange's main board Kospi may be associated with the Lee Jae Myung government's push to impose taxes on a wider scope of investors to address the tax revenue shortfall. On Sunday, Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party said in a statement that the ruling bloc has "waged war against individual investors out of nowhere" through the proposed tax code revision, which he blamed for the Kospi's fall by 3.88 percent on Friday from the previous day's close, marking the sharpest decline in four months. About 99.17 trillion won ($71.36 billion) of market cap evaporated solely on Friday from 850 listed companies on the Kospi combined, according to the Korea Exchange, a day after the liberal administration on Thursday introduced a tax code revision to broaden the tax base. Also, over 90,000 people as of Sunday afternoon had signed an online petition posted just three days earlier Thursday to call on the ruling bloc to slam the brakes on the tax bill revision ― meeting the requirement of 50,000 signatures within 30 days for the matter to be brought to a parliamentary review. The proposed revision of the Income Tax Act indicates that those identified by year-end as stock investors holding at least 1 billion won in a listed company's shares will be levied a capital gains tax of at least 20 percent upon taking profits from selling shares until the end of the company's business year that follows. The same investor's losses in another company's stocks cannot be used to offset capital gains taxes from his or her profits, under South Korea's tax code. The online petitioner warned of a situation in which investors rush to sell off securities as the end of the year approaches ― even at a loss ― to offset capital gains tax, which it said would stymie the moderate rise of Kospi. "Is it realistic (to predict) that you'll be holding 1 billion won worth of shares (of a company by the year-end)? Most investors will begin selling shares when their stock holdings of a company begin to value about 700 or 800 million won," read the petition. Currently, those holding shares worth 5 billion won or more are imposed capital gains tax for their sales of securities. This follows the former administration's move by disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol to raise the bar for investors in South Korean companies to become a "major stockholder" under the Income Tax Act. In December 2023, the minimum threshold for a stock investor to be classified a "major stockholder" for capital gains taxation was raised to 5 billion won, up from the 1 billion won mark set in April 2020. "Am I paying (more taxes) because I'm holding a greater amount of stocks, not because I took bigger gains? If so, I'll surely exit the South Korean stock markets and turn to ones in the United States," the petition also read. The proposed tax code revision ― predicted to collect 35.6 trillion won in taxes ― also suggests that the securities transaction tax rate be raised from 0.15 percent to 0.2 percent. Na Jeong-hwan, a strategist at NH Investment & Securities, said in a note to investors Friday that fears of tax code changes "sparked questions about the government's policy to boost the stock market." The ruling bloc appears to have mixed views over the new tax code proposal. Democratic Party Rep. Jin Sung-joon, who leads the party's policymaking process, downplayed concerns that the tax code changes could stoke a bear turn in the stock market. Referring to an underperformance in domestic stocks under the Yoon administration, despite the eased capital gains tax rule, Jin said via Facebook on Saturday, "Many investors and experts are saying that if we change who is to be levied capital gains by rolling back (the tax relief of the Yoon administration) our stock market could experience a collapse, but precedents suggest otherwise." Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung also played down a connection between the fluctuation in the stock market and the tax code revision announcement, saying in a briefing Friday that a cause-and-effect analysis on Friday's stock slide "must be carried out more delicately." However, before Friday's plunge, Rep. Lee So-young of the Democratic Party in a Facebook post Thursday raised doubts that those holding 1 billion won of stocks of a company should be deemed a major stockholder for capital gains taxation, adding that the move could disrupt investors, while the degree of increase in the tax revenue from the changes remains unclear. Rep. Kim Han-kyu of the Democratic Party also said Saturday that striking fairness in taxation schemes is important, but now is the time to focus on the Lee administration's campaign pledge for the Kospi to reach 5,000. The Kospi stood at 3,119.41 points at Friday's close.
