On Friday, January 30, 2026, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (Forsvarsmateriell) of the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway signed its first contract with South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace for the delivery of 16 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers under the LLPI (Long-Range Precision Fires) program. This followed approval granted on January 16 by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) by a majority vote, after consultations within the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. The contract is valued at approximately 922 million USD.
Photos: Hanwha Aerospace, FMA
The contract, in addition to the launchers, includes a package of precision-guided munitions (a significant number of various types, although the exact quantity has not been specified – editor’s note) as well as an integrated logistics support package. It forms part of a planned procurement budget totaling 19.098 billion NOK, which also includes ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 500 km (South Korea has developed an export missile with such a range, designated CTM-X – editor’s note).
The agreement was signed by Jae-il Son, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanwha Aerospace, and Gro Jære, Chief Executive Officer of FMA, in the presence of distinguished guests, including Hoon-sik Kang, Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic of Korea; Hyun-jong Kim, First Deputy Director for National Security; Min-jung Seo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Norway; Yong-chul Lee, Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) under the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea; Marte Gerhardsen, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence; and Major General Lars Lervik, Commander of the Norwegian Army (Hæren).
“I believe Norway’s selection of the Chunmoo system is a result of the trust built up through the supply of K9 SPH,” said Jae-il Son. “We remain committed to contributing to the long-term security of the Nordic region through close cooperation with Norway and further developing our role as a strategic security partner.”
Hæren operates 155 mm K9 VIDAR (Versatile InDirect ARtillery) self-propelled howitzers, the local variant of the K9A1 Thunder, with 28 units delivered and a further 24 on order.
“This is a strategically important investment that will strengthen our national defence and provide the Norwegian Army with significantly enhanced combat power. Long-range precision fires serve as a deterrent due to their ability to strike targets deep inside an adversary’s territory, if necessary,” said Norwegian Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik.
The systems supplied by Hanwha Aerospace will form the backbone of Hæren’s new rocket artillery battalion.
“Based on the bids we received, our assessment is that Hanwha’s Chunmoo system provides the Norwegian Armed Forces with the best combination of performance, cost and ability to deliver. We greatly appreciate the transparency and competence Hanwha Aerospace has demonstrated throughout this process,” said Gro Jære, Director General of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
“Our work on this procurement has demonstrated that acquiring a complete system with launchers and missiles from a single supplier is faster, less expensive, and entails significantly lower risk than if we were to take on this responsibility ourselves. We are very satisfied with the overall solution that Hanwha will deliver, and we look forward to continued cooperation with them,” Jære added.
“Long-range precision fires is a very important weapon system for the entire Norwegian Armed Forces, and I am very pleased that this agreement is now in place. This procurement significantly increases the Army’s combat power and strengthens both deterrence and defence capability, especially in the North. Together with new tube artillery, new main battle tanks (Leopard 2A8NO – editor’s note), more air defence and drones, this means we are well on our way to tripling the Army’s combat power,” said Major General Lars Lervik, Chief of the Norwegian Army.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very good work done in the Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency and the Norwegian Army, which means that this weapon system can be introduced earlier than planned,” said the Chief of the Norwegian Army.
Thanks to an industrial cooperation agreement negotiated with Hanwha Aerospace, the company has identified a number of potential collaborative projects with both small and large Norwegian partners across several areas of technological expertise.
“Through this contract, Hanwha Aerospace plans to further strengthen its partnership with Norwegian industry, including through cooperation on local testing and joint development,” said Jae-il Son, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace.
The Return of Rocket Artillery to Norway
Between 1999 and 2005, Norway operated 12 heavy M270 MLRS multiple rocket launchers ordered from the United States for 1.5 billion NOK. They served with the Royal Norwegian Artillery Battalion (Artilleribataljonen) of Brigade Nord, based at the Setermoen garrison in Troms County. In June 2021, U.S. M270 MLRS systems trained at Setermoen. In recent years, M142 HIMARS launchers belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) have also been regularly deployed to Norway for exercises.
Following the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Oslo decided to provide materiel support to the United Kingdom, which was transferring its M270A2 systems to Kyiv. On June 29, 2022, the transfer of three decommissioned Norwegian launchers to the UK was announced, followed by a further eight on May 13, 2023 (with one launcher remaining in Norway as a museum exhibit).
K239 Chunmoo
Outside Poland, Estonia became the next European country to decide on the acquisition of the K239 Chunmoo on October 23, 2025 (the number of launchers has not yet been disclosed). Earlier, the system was delivered to the United Arab Emirates (12 units) under a 2017 contract and to Saudi Arabia (number undisclosed, with deliveries confirmed in 2023). The system is currently also being offered in Malaysia, Sweden, and Iraq.
The K239 Chunmoo is equipped with two rocket pods capable of accommodating four types of guided munitions as well as unguided 131 mm rockets (36 rounds). In the case of guided munitions, each pod can carry, depending on the effector used, either six 239 mm CGR-080 guided missiles with a range of 80 km, or one 600 mm CTM-290 guided ballistic missile with a range of 290 km (for the latter, the aforementioned extended-range missile is currently being tested for export purposes).
At ADEX 2025, a modernization concept known as Chunmoo 3.0 was also presented. It is intended to be integrated with new types of munitions, including CTM-MR anti-ship missiles or CTM-ASBM anti-ship ballistic missiles with a range of 160 km, as well as L-PGW100 loitering munitions. During MSPO 2025, an agreement was concluded with Saab Defence and Security regarding the integration of GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb) precision munitions.
On September 11, 2025, Hanwha Aerospace signed an agreement with BAE Systems to integrate British advanced anti-jamming GPS guidance systems (Advanced Anti-Jamming GPS) with South Korean guided rockets from the Deep Strike Capability product line for the Chunmoo system.
Hanwha is also working on a lighter, unmanned version of the launcher, currently designated the Unmanned Amphibious Multi-Rocket Launcher, which is to be autonomous and have a combat weight of 17 tonnes (compared to 31 tonnes for the baseline K239 Chunmoo). In addition, a manned HPRS (High-Performance Rocket System) on a 6×6 chassis is being developed, intended exclusively for CTM-MR and CTM-ASBM missiles.
See also:
- Hanwha Aerospace Highlights Chunmoo MRLS and Tailored Defence Solutions for MENA
- Kongsberg Maritime Joins Norway’s P1118 Multirole Warship Program
- Poland and Norway Sign Memorandum to Strengthen Defense Cooperation
- DSEI 2025: UK and Norway Join the CAVS Program
- Norway: More Test Firings with the Piorun MANPADS