South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace is poised to play a key role in the nation’s next aerospace endeavour: the creation of an indigenous fighter engine.
The prospective engine will power the future Block III variant of the Korea Aerospace Industries KF-21 fighter, says Won-Wook Kim, head of Hanwha’s Advanced Aero engine Business unit.
The KF-21 is now powered by two GE Aerospace F414 engines, which will be license produced by Hanwha.
The new powerplant is envisaged with a thrust of 15,000lb (66.7kN), and will need to be more powerful than the GE Aerospace F414s that power six KF-21 prototypes and Block I and II production examples.
Underlining its ambitions, the company unveiled a conceptual Advanced Aero Engine engine at the Farnborough air show.
Seoul has clearly stated its plans for advanced fighter engines. At the end of 2023 the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that it had commenced research into a locally designed fighter engine to increase the nations aerospace and export capabilities.
Kim says that a South Korean engine could also be modified to serve other functions, such as powering KAI’s prospective MC-X medium transport aircraft or powering naval vessels. Longer term, the engine could even have applications in aircraft produced outside South Korea.
Hanwha has extensive experience with engines. In addition to licence producing legacy engines for decades, it builds the F404 that powers the T-50/FA-50 family of trainers and light attack jets. It will also licence produce the F414 that powers the twin-engined KF-21.
In addition, Hanwha is also a key part of the supply chain for major international engine programmes, with a focus on rotating components.
Hanwha has put forward two proposals to the South Korean government about how to develop the engine. The first involves working with a foreign partner, and Hanwha has held early discussions to this end. The second involves producing the engine indigenously.
Hanwha has also carefully looked at the experiences of countries that have struggled to produce indigenous engines. These lessons will be applied to Hanwha’s efforts.
“This is very challenging and very exciting work for anybody in Korea that works in this industry,” says Kim.
“It’s not going to be easy, but I believe that we have the passion, the energy and the best capability to make this successful.”
