22 Nov 2023

Babcock and Hanwha Aerospace sign partnership agreement MOU

Babcock has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hanwha Aerospace to offer enhanced capabilities across land, air and sea domains by bringing together the companies’ combined skills through a collaborative range of products, services and integrated solutions.

Under the agreement, which was signed during the President of Korea’s recent visit to the UK, the companies will work together to pursue global business development opportunities, with an initial focus on opportunities to cooperate on conventional submarines.

This new partnership will benefit from Babcock’s long-standing experience supporting defence programmes in countries such as Canada and Poland, as well as its expertise in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), alongside Hanwha Aerospace’s extensive expertise in global aerospace and defence equipment.

Babcock CEO, David Lockwood, said: “This announcement builds on our longstanding relationship with Hanwha in both the defence and energy sectors. This is an exciting venture that will see our organisations bring together complementary skills and expertise to forge innovative solutions for our current and future customers across the globe”.

Jae-il Son, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, said: “This Memorandum of Understanding deepens our already strong connection with Babcock, as well as our dedication to Korea-UK defence ties as we work together to address global defence challenges,” said “As we move forward, we are keen to leveraging the synergies of this partnership to strengthen our product offerings and give exceptional value to our customers around the world.”

Babcock is currently working with Hanwha on its Weapon Handling System for the Korean submarine programme and has strong existing relations with Hanwha Ocean through joint work on global opportunities, including the  Poland and Philippine submarine projects.

In June 2023 Babcock Canada and Hanwha Ocean Signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement enabling both companies to share their respective capabilities in shipbuilding and submarine sustainment in support of the CPSP and the current Victoria In Service Support Contract (VISSC).