Hanwha Aerospace recently announced on the 3rd that it has signed a second mass production contract with the Defense Agency for the 225.4 billion won air-to-ground guided missile “Sky Sword” for small armed helicopters (LAH).
Last year, Hanwha Aerospace secured a total mass production volume of 387.7 billion won, including the first mass production contract for the celestial sword worth 162.3 billion won. The second mass production volume will be delivered to the military by 2028. The Radiation Agency is also promoting the installation of celestial swords on landing attack helicopters currently under development, so additional projects are expected.
The celestial sword is Korea's first independently developed air-to-ground missile. The Defense Science Research Institute (ADD) oversaw the research and development, and Hanwha Aerospace participated as a prototype to complete the development in 2022. The celestial sword is a dual-mode explorer that can be operated day and night, and is not affected by enemy jamming attacks by applying a wired data link. Since targets can be modified even after launch, missions can be carried out according to changes in the battlefield.
Hanwha Aerospace is diversifying launch platforms so that the celestial sword developed to be mounted on helicopters can also be used in manned and unmanned ground vehicles. In addition, a compact and lightweight “Sky Sword-L” is also being developed so that it can be mounted on turrets of infantry armored combat vehicles, tanks, etc., or directly operated by infantry.
An official from Hanwha Aerospace said, “We will support the stable mass production of Cheon Gum and diversify platforms to contribute to diversification of Korean military power and actively promote customer-tailored exports.”
