TSAMTO, September 15th. The Croatian Ministry of Defense announced the signing of a contract with the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace for the supply of the country's armed Forces with 18 MLRS K239 Chunmoo, as well as precision-guided munitions.
The contract was signed on September 10 at the residence of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. The ceremony was attended by senior government and defense industry representatives from Croatia and the Republic of Korea.
The agreement also includes transport and loading vehicles, fire control vehicles, support vehicles, technical documentation, simulators, missile testing equipment and an initial set of spare parts, training of personnel and long-term logistical support. In addition, the package will include precision-guided missiles and multiple types of rocket ammunition designed to hit targets at medium and long ranges (from 30 to 300 km).
On the same day, an agreement was signed with the Polish company WB Group to equip the purchased jet division with the TOPAZ combat control system and the FONET communication system, and a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation was signed between the Croatian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.
The TOPAZ command and control system (C2) developed by the Polish company WB Electronics will ensure the integration of all elements of the K239 Chunmoo complex of the Croatian Armed Forces.
The value of the sale of MLRS is 641.1 billion. won (about 411.8 million euros). Deliveries will be carried out in the period 2026-2029. The total purchase price is 435.2 million euros. Full deliveries will be realized within 24-36 months. At the same time, 85% of the system components will be delivered to Croatia in 2028.
Hanwha Aerospace also intends to develop cooperation in the field of production localization in the medium and long term, in particular, by creating a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) system together with Croatian enterprises.
The agreement was the first contract signed by Hanwha Aerospace with Croatia in the defense sector. It expanded the geography of K239 Chunmoo MLRS customers in Europe. The Croatian Armed Forces joined the Armed Forces of Poland, Estonia and Norway, which had previously chosen the South Korean system. Hanwha Aerospace stated that the existing production facilities will allow the company to deliver MLRS on time as demand in the region increases.
According to Billy Boo-hwan Lee, head of Hanwha Aerospace, the signing of the contract marks the beginning of Hanwha Aerospace's long-term defense partnership with Croatia. The Croatian company Koncar will participate in the implementation of the project.
The South Korean company also plans to officially establish the "Chunmoo User Club" in 2027. This initiative will be a continuation of the workshop for users of Chunmoo systems, held in Estonia on September 3.
As reported by CAMTO, the K239 Chunmoo universal MLRS developed by Hanwha Defense is mounted on an 8x8 wheelbase chassis from Doosan Infracore and equipped with a protected cabin. The MLRS is equipped with an artillery unit with two transport and launch containers, each of which can accommodate six 239-mm CGR-080 guided missiles with a range of up to 80 km, or four 280-mm CTM-MR missiles (range up to 160 km), or one 600-mm CTM tactical missile.-290 (flight range up to 290 km).
