South Korea’s Hanwha showed off a prototype of a new engine, one it says will eventually power the KF-21 domestic fighter jet. The company says the prototype is a 15,000lb.-thrust-class turbofan engine. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
UPDATED 7/27/24 at 1:25 pm ET with new information on the engine.
FARNBOROUGH 2024 — South Korean defense firm Hanwha unveiled this week a prototype engine design it says could be ready to power the KF-21 fighter and unmanned systems within the decade.
The engine, a model of which was on display at the Farnborough Airshow, has only recently completed its conceptual design. If the company can get from concept to production, it will have achieved a challenging technical feat: the creation of a dauntingly complex, domestically produced military jet engine.
Hanwha is comparing the engine to the General Electric F414 engine, used on the Boeing-made F/A-18 and the KIA KF-21, Korea’s domestically produced fighter. The goal is for the F414 to be swapped out of the KF-21 and replaced with this domestic engine, which the company believes could be ready in under a decade with the help of potential international codevelopment.
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An official from Hanwah told Breaking Defense that the engine has a six-stage compressor, one less than the F414, and sits in the range of 15,000-18,000 pounds of thrust, with up to 24,000 pounds if an afterburner is engaged. The official also said that while there was no 3D printing used for the engine prototype, but that would be something to consider in the future.
Interestingly, a company exhibit showed off the engine not just on aerospace systems, but as part of the powerplant for naval vessels. The core technology of the engine, according to the official, should be portable into ships in the future, should the technology work out.
The official did not discuss the possibility of exporting the engine in the future, but if the company can make the system work, it will likely have interest abroad — and defense exports have become a major boost for Hanwha in recent years.
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According to company literature, Hanwha’s major weapon systems have now been purchased by Poland, Norway, Turkey, Finland, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia, among others. Perhaps the most notable have been the massive sale of weapons — including K9 howitzers, Chunmoo MRLS and parts of the T/FA-50 trainer — to Poland since 2022, and the decision by Australia to purchase the Redback infantry fighting vehicle in 2023.
