Ahead of Canada's late-June final selection for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), Hanwha (000880) has played a new card: support for space launch vehicle technology. Following defense cooperation through a local joint venture, the group is broadening its investment footprint into the space sector in a last-minute push to outpace rival Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).
According to Bloomberg on the 28th (local time), Hanwha Aerospace (012450) — the Hanwha Group's defense, space and aviation affiliate — will sign a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Maritime Launch Services, a Canadian commercial spaceport operator, to bolster Canada's space launch capabilities. Glenn Copeland, CEO of Hanwha Defense Canada, told Bloomberg that "Hanwha will invest in rocket technology to accelerate Canada's domestic launch capability."
Canada currently has no operational launch pads or launch vehicle operators, leaving it reliant on foreign companies such as SpaceX even to put its own satellites into orbit. To address this, the government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney has recently been pushing policies for technological self-reliance, including leasing a commercial spaceport site in Nova Scotia.
Industry watchers see Hanwha's move as squarely aimed at the soon-to-be-announced CPSP. Canada is pursuing a large-scale project to acquire up to 12 vessels to replace its aging submarine fleet, with the K-defense one team of Hanwha Ocean (042660) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) (KSS-III) and Germany's TKMS (Type 212CD) on the final shortlist.
While Copeland drew a line, saying "this investment will proceed regardless of the CPSP outcome," the prevailing view is that it represents Hanwha's last-ditch gambit ahead of the final decision. Hanwha has already pledged that, if selected, it will establish a joint venture with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA) of Canada to produce armored vehicles locally and to purchase steel from Algoma Steel in Ontario, which has been hit by the Donald Trump administration's tariffs. By adding the space launch vehicle investment, Hanwha is seen as effectively targeting the Carney government, which has made technology and supply chain self-reliance a key policy priority.
On the project's progress, Copeland said, "(Canada's) evaluation and scoring have been completed, and it is now going through cabinet approval," adding that "the direction is leaning toward a single order for all 12 vessels rather than a split order."
Germany is also mounting an all-out push in the final stretch. According to foreign media, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a recent Canadian defense expo that "if the German government and shipyards invest in various projects across Canada on the premise of winning the CPSP, it will generate C$86 billion in GDP impact over the life of the contract." Germany reportedly intends to swiftly execute a substantial portion of the initial investment within one to two years of the final decision. The disclosure is unusual given that the German government and TKMS have been reluctant to release specific figures on the economic benefits of their proposal throughout the fiercely contested competition.
Global accounting and consulting firm KPMG estimates that if Hanwha's Canadian investment plan is implemented, it will create an annual average of about 22,500 full-time jobs from 2026 to 2044 and generate a total GDP impact of C$94.1 billion.
