South Korea has become one of the world's fastest-growing arms exporters. Large framework agreements signed with Poland in 2022 covered K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light combat aircraft and Chunmoo rocket launchers, and follow-on contracts have been signed since. Interest has spread to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other parts of Europe.
The listed exporters each own a product line: Hanwha Aerospace (K9 howitzer, Chunmoo, engines), Korea Aerospace Industries or KAI (FA-50, KF-21 fighter), Hyundai Rotem (K2 tank), LIG Nex1 (guided missiles and air defense such as the Cheongung/M-SAM system), Hanwha Systems (radars and electronics) and Poongsan (ammunition). Hanwha Ocean builds naval ships and submarines.
Export orders are disclosed on DART as supply contract filings, usually on the day of signing, with the contract value and its ratio to the previous year's revenue. Because framework deals are often signed first and executed in tranches, it is worth reading which stage a filing refers to. This page lists those filings and the news flow for each company.
How to read this page
A defense contract filing shows the counterparty (often a foreign government or its procurement agency), the amount in won, the delivery period and the share of revenue. Multi-year delivery periods mean revenue is recognized over several years, not at once.
Information only — not investment advice. Headlines and filing titles are machine-translated from Korean; each links to the original Korean source. Updated: