During the NATO Summit in Ankara, which brought together Allied leaders, government representatives, defence industry leaders and expert communities, Hanwha Aerospace actively participated in the debate on the future of the European defence industry and transatlantic cooperation. The event is taking place on 7–8 July 2026.
Hanwha Aerospace was represented by Jacek Cyrek, President of Hanwha Aerospace Europe, who participated in a closed discussion session of the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum dedicated to industrial cooperation between NATO countries, partners from the Indo-Pacific region and Ukraine.
The industrial session was held under the Chatham House Rule, enabling an open exchange of views on the key challenges facing the defence industries of Allied countries. The discussion focused on strengthening the European defence industrial base, developing joint production ventures, securing supply chains, cooperation with Ukraine and Indo-Pacific partners, as well as the growing importance of new technologies and counter-UAS capabilities.
The forum highlighted that strengthening NATO’s deterrence requires not only increasing weapons production, but above all building long-term industrial capabilities through localisation of production, technology transfer, development of national competences and resilient supply chains.
Hanwha Aerospace’s cooperation model is fully aligned with this direction. Its most advanced example in Europe remains Poland, where cooperation that began with the delivery of K9 chassis in 2014 contributed to establishing domestic production capabilities for the Krab self-propelled howitzer. The next stages include deliveries of K9PL self-propelled howitzers, development of the HOMAR-K programme, further localisation of industrial cooperation and the potential production in Poland of future generations of artillery systems, including solutions based on the K9A2 platform.
A similar model is also being developed in Romania, while Hanwha Aerospace continues to expand industrial partnerships in the Nordic countries and Estonia, strengthening interoperability and the resilience of the European defence industrial base.
The forum also addressed lessons from the war in Ukraine, which are shaping the development of next-generation weapon systems. Participants pointed to the growing importance of automation, artificial intelligence, sensor integration, counter-UAS systems and solutions that reduce crew size while increasing combat effectiveness. Hanwha Aerospace is responding to these needs with solutions such as the K9A2 self-propelled howitzer, equipped with an automatic loading system and reducing the required crew from five to three soldiers.
The importance of new European initiatives supporting the defence industry, including the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the SAFE programme, was also discussed as a means of fostering joint industrial projects, production investments and the development of new capabilities across Europe.
On Tuesday evening, as a side event of the NATO Summit, Hanwha Aerospace co-hosted, together with the Munich Security Conference and the Atlantic Council, an official reception attended by representatives of NATO institutions, Allied governments, the defence industry, expert communities and international media.
Opening the event, Jacek Cyrek, President of Hanwha Aerospace Europe, underlined the importance of industrial cooperation as a foundation of Allied security.
“National resilience is not determined solely by the number of weapon systems a country possesses. It is built by an industry capable of producing, maintaining, modernising and rapidly regenerating capabilities in times of crisis. That is why the future of European security is based on trust, partnership and the development of lasting industrial capabilities through localisation of production, technology transfer and joint ventures with European industry,” said Jacek Cyrek.
During the NATO Summit in Ankara, President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and later presented the concept of “Korea–NATO Defence Industry Partnership 2.0” during the NATO Defence Industry Forum. The initiative assumes the development of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and NATO countries in joint research, technology development, co-production and long-term industrial partnerships. His remarks highlighted the growing importance of South Korea as an industrial partner for Allied countries and provided a broader strategic context for Hanwha Aerospace’s presence at the NATO Summit in Ankara.
Photos: Jeff Sung (Hanwha Aerospace); NATO.
