LIG D&A, Doosan Enerbility team up to develop missile, aircraft engines
Park Tae-sik, right, head of LIG Defense & Aerospace’s missile systems business division, and Sohn Seung-woo, head of Doosan Enerbility’s power service business group, sign a memorandum of understanding at Doosan Tower in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Courtesy of LIG Defense & Aerospace
LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A) and Doosan Enerbility have agreed to jointly develop engines for guided missiles and aircraft, combining the defense firm’s missile expertise with the power equipment maker’s turbine technology, LIG D&A said Tuesday.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday at Doosan Tower in the Bundang area of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The ceremony was attended by the head of LIG D&A’s missile systems business division, the head of Doosan Enerbility’s power service business group and other senior officials.
LIG D&A, formerly known as LIG Nex1, is Korea’s leading maker of guided weapons, which are missiles and other munitions that can be steered toward a target after launch. The company changed its name in March to reflect its expansion into aerospace.
Doosan Enerbility, best known for building power plant equipment, is developing next-generation aircraft propulsion technology based on expertise built up in gas turbines for electricity generation.
Under the agreement, the companies will pair LIG D&A’s capabilities in developing and integrating guided weapons systems with Doosan Enerbility’s engine technology to lay the groundwork for joint research and development. The cooperation aims to improve the performance of guided weapons and secure competitive engine technology.
The two sides said they would pool their core technologies to respond to a rapidly changing security environment and to enter the global defense market. They also plan to identify practical cooperation models that strengthen the technological competitiveness and supply chain stability of Korea’s defense industry.
“This agreement is an important opportunity to bring together expertise in guided weapons development and engine technology to strengthen the competitiveness of next-generation guided weapons systems,” the head of LIG D&A’s missile systems business division said.
“Through technological cooperation between the two companies, we will contribute to advancing domestic defense technology and raising the global competitiveness of Korea’s defense industry,” the official added.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.