Hanwha Systems is joining hands with Italy's Leonardo to conquer the global AESA radar market, accelerating the joint development of a light attack aircraft AESA radar with technological advantages and price competitiveness.

Hanwha Systems (CEO Sung-chul Eo) announced on the 19th that it signed a 'Head of Agreement for the Export of a Preliminary Model of AESA Radar for a Light Attack Aircraft' with Leonardo SpA, a leading defense company in the European Union (EU), at the Paris Air Show, an international aerospace exhibition.

A Head of Agreement (HOA) is a document in which the parties to a contract agree on the main terms and conditions prior to entering into the main contract.

With this agreement, Hanwha Systems plans to jointly develop a 'light attack aircraft AESA radar' with Leonardo that has both technological superiority and price competitiveness, and to aggressively attack the global AESA radar market.

Hanwha Systems can secure an initial export market by seizing the opportunity to enter the performance improvement market of the mechanical radars for hundreds of fighter jets that Leonardo has already supplied to the European market, while Leonardo can secure an initial export market by providing products with export competitiveness in the global light attack aircraft market.We expect to be able to strengthen our position in the market.

AESA radar is a cutting-edge radar that determines the survival of fighter jets and the outcome of battles in modern air combat. It is a core piece of equipment for future fighter jets that performs various missions, including detection and tracking of air and ground targets.

By electronically controlling a number of small transmit/receive integrated modules mounted on the front of the radar, rapid beam steering is possible, enabling wide area detection, multi-mission performance, and simultaneous engagement of multiple targets.

“Through this agreement, we hope to secure an export model of AESA radar and quickly establish ourselves in the global radar export market,” said Eosungcheol Oh, CEO of Hanwha Systems. “In the future, we will secure a product line that can be applied to various aircraft, continuously expand export channels, and demonstrate to the world the excellence of Korea’s radar technology.”

Meanwhile, Hanwha Systems, together with the Agency for Defense Development, jointly developed an AESA radar to be installed on the Korean fighter jet (KF-21). Recently, it became the first and only Korean company to receive a "provisional combat suitability assessment," opening up the possibility of replacing foreign mechanical radars on not only the Korean fighter jet but also domestically produced fighter jets, including the FA-50, with a domestically produced radar.

Leonardo is a European Union (EU) multinational corporation specializing in aerospace, defense, and security. It is a global defense company that develops and provides aircraft platform solutions, including rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, as well as aircraft radar and avionics equipment.