![Canadian Minister of State for Defense Procurement Stephen Fuhr, center, and Canadian Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lafortune pose for a photo after visiting a Hanwha Aerospace facility on Feb. 3. [Photo=Hanwha Aerospace]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/02/03/20260203170449303051.jpg)
Hanwha Aerospace said Fuhr, a delegation of Canadian company representatives and others — about 30 people — visited its Plants 2 and 3 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang province, on Feb. 3.
The group toured production lines for the K9 self-propelled howitzer, the K10 ammunition resupply vehicle and the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system. They also watched mobility demonstrations of the K9, the Redback infantry fighting vehicle and the K21 armored vehicle, and rode in key equipment to experience performance firsthand.
Hanwha said the visit was aimed at assessing South Korea’s defense capabilities ahead of Canada’s large-scale military modernization effort, the Indirect Fire Modernization (IFM) program.
Canada plans to introduce about 250 infantry fighting vehicles into its army by 2030, six years earlier than scheduled.
Hanwha Aerospace said it proposed an integrated “firepower-and-mobility solution” linking the K9, Chunmoo and Redback — systems it said are operated in more than 10 countries, including six NATO members. The company also proposed a partnership to help build a local defense industrial ecosystem in Canada, beyond simply supplying equipment.
The company said the approach is intended to meet Canada’s priorities for local production and supply-chain security, while expanding cooperation in North America and NATO markets with Canada as a hub.
“We will be the best partner for Canada’s military modernization, based on Hanwha’s decades of accumulated technology and our ability to meet delivery schedules,” Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il said.
Fuhr said Hanwha’s modern production facilities and high level of technology were “very impressive and surprising,” adding that the visit would be an important opportunity to make bilateral defense cooperation more concrete.
Fuhr visited Hanwha Ocean the previous day, where he looked at a model of the Jang Yeong-sil ship and requested cooperation in the automotive sector. At Hyundai Rotem, he reviewed production processes for major defense systems including the K2 tank.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.