Hanwha Aerospace’s Redback infantry fighting vehicle

India has previously been heavily dependent on Russian arms. But now the nation has emerged as a new export destination for the Korean defence industry.

According to industry sources on July 4, Hanwha Aerospace plans to participate in the Indian Army’s Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) Project. The FICV Project aims to replace the Indian Army’s 2,600 aging Soviet-made BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).

Hanwha Aerospace will partner with Indian defence contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in producing the Redback. The Korean defence contractor also collaborated with L&T on the export of K9 self-propelled howitzers in 2017. With technical support from Hanwha, L&T locally produced K9 Bajiras, an Indian version of the K9 self-propelled howitzer, and supplied them to the Indian Army.

On top of that, Hanwha Aerospace will also participate in the Indian Army’s light tank program with K21-105 light tanks. K21-105 light tanks are based on the body of the army’s K21 infantry fighting vehicle and have turrets made by Belgium’s John Cockerill Defence. The tank’s 105 mm main gun has a maximum range of 4 kilometers and can fire not only smart shells but anti-tank missiles.

India has become one of the world’s largest arms importers, making it a new export market for the Korean defence industry. Historically, India has relied on Russia for half of its arms, but the war in Ukraine has made it difficult for India to get Russian-made parts. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India imports 45 percent of its weapons from Russia. Korea came in fourth at 3 percent, exporting K9 self-propelled howitzers and more. Over the past five years, India has imported US$13 billion (16.6 trillion won) worth of Russian weapons.

India is also expanding its military spending. Earlier, the Indian government scaled up its defence budget for fiscal year 2023 to Rs. 5.94 trillion (93.9 trillion won), a 13 percent increase from the previous year. India’s defence spending is the third largest in the world after the United States and China and its arms imports are the largest. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was also the largest importer of arms from 2018 to 2022, accounting for 11 percent.

Rising tensions along its border with China and Pakistan has been pushing up India’s defence spending. Global defence companies, including those of the United States, see India as a new market and are looking to expand sales there. India has recently negotiated arms deals with Germany, France, and other countries. But the Indian market is not an easy market for defence contractors. India applies its core policy of Make-in-India to its defence industry as well. This means that Indian factories must account for a portion of total production, including hiring Indian workers and transferring technology to Indian companies.

Nevertheless, Korean defence industry insiders agree that India is an attractive market for Korean defence contractors. Hanwha Aerospace is actively seeking to export lithium-ion batteries for submarines to India. India is positive about Hanwha Aerospace’s record of exporting K-9 self-propelled guns to the country. Other Korean defence companies like KAI and Hyundai Rotem also consider India a major market.