Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Korean defense big 4 make global Top 100, led by Hanwha at No. 16
Hanwha Aerospace's K9 self-propelled howitzer / Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace
By Lee Gyu-lee
Four major defense companies have secured spots among the world’s top 100 defense companies, with Hanwha climbing six spots to No. 16 on sharply higher defense revenue.
According to this year’s Top 100 ranking released by U.S. magazine Defense News on Monday (local time), Hanwha, LIG Defense & Aerospace (D&A), formerly known as LIG Nex1, Hyundai Rotem and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) were all ranked on the list for a second consecutive year.
The annual ranking is based on defense revenue generated in the previous year.
Hanwha Group ranked 16th, with about $10.44 billion in defense revenue in 2025, up from $6.82 billion a year earlier, according to Defense News. Its defense revenue rose about 53 percent year-on-year, marking the largest increase among the four Korean companies in the ranking.
The company moved up from 22nd in last year’s ranking, with defense revenue accounting for 20 percent of its total revenue of $52.60 billion in 2025.
Hanwha Group has been expanding its presence beyond its established markets in Europe, while seeking a broader foothold in the United States. Hanwha Aerospace recently signed a deal with Spanish defense company Indra Sistemas to export K9 self-propelled howitzers.
In the U.S., Hanwha Defense USA was recently selected by the U.S. Army to develop prototypes for the new Mobile Tactical Cannon program based on its K9 mobile howitzer. The contract covers six initial prototypes, with an option for 12 additional systems, and could be worth up to $262.9 million.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard was also selected to build two missile range instrumentation ships for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency under a project valued at about $2 billion. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2030 and is expected to support U.S. missile defense missions, including the Donald Trump administration’s Golden Dome initiative.
Graphic by Cho Sang-won
LIG D&A ranked 52nd, up one spot from 53rd last year, with defense revenue of $3.03 billion in 2025. The company’s defense revenue accounted for 100 percent of the its total revenue, unchanged from the previous year.
Hyundai Rotem climbed six places to 61st, up from 67th a year earlier, as its defense revenue rose to $2.46 billion from $1.74 billion.
Meanwhile, KAI slipped to 74th from 62nd. Its defense revenue fell to $1.86 billion in 2025 from $1.94 billion a year earlier.
The four companies’ strong showing in the ranking comes as domestic defense exports have gained momentum, particularly in Europe, where systems such as the K9 howitzer and K2 battle tank have secured major orders.
However, the global ranking remained dominated by U.S. defense companies, with Lockheed Martin retaining the top spot with $72.14 billion in defense revenue, followed by RTX, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman. Britain’s BAE Systems ranked fifth, while Boeing came sixth.
China’s Aviation Industry Corp. of China made its debut in the ranking at No. 7, followed by U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies, Italy’s Leonardo and France’s Airbus.