South Korea’s Hanwha Defense USA has made a strategic investment in Firehawk Aerospace, aiming to accelerate the transition toward serial production of solid rocket motors (SRM) built through additive manufacturing (AM). Financial details were not disclosed, but the deal follows Firehawk’s recent $60 million funding round, signaling continued momentum in developing resilient allied propulsion supply chains.
3D Printing and Advanced Propulsion Design
Firehawk’s core technology leverages 3D-printed propellant charges and custom internal geometries based on thermoplastic formulations designed for extended range. Compared with conventional casting, AM offers faster, safer, and more flexible production, allowing engineers to rapidly adjust thrust profiles for different missile classes.
Supported by U.S. Air Force TACFI funding, Firehawk’s work focuses on optimized propellant blends and grain structures, shortening the cycle from design to hot-fire testing. The company has also demonstrated SRM test units in the Javelin and Stinger size categories, showing readiness for tactical applications.
A Strategic Win for Both Sides
Hanwha’s stake in Firehawk aligns a U.S. propulsion innovator with a Korean defense powerhouse seeking durable U.S. industrial footholds. The partnership strengthens energetics availability, reduces dependence on single-source suppliers, and creates joint opportunities for missile integration across allied programs.
For Firehawk, the investment provides capital, industrial scalability, and stronger access to defense primes. For Hanwha, it represents a strategic entry into the U.S. propulsion ecosystem, a segment under strain since 2022 due to heightened consumption in Europe and Ukraine.
Building Allied Industrial Resilience
This collaboration fits into a broader reconfiguration of the Western defense industrial base, where demand surges have exposed vulnerabilities in propellant and explosive supply chains. By introducing a reconfigurable, additive-manufactured propulsion pipeline, Firehawk and Hanwha aim to shorten replenishment cycles and enhance interoperability within NATO frameworks.
As Hanwha expands its transatlantic footprint through land systems and missile programs, this partnership with Firehawk signals a pragmatic convergence on energy resilience and propulsion depth — key elements for sustained deterrence and rapid fielding of next-generation munitions.
