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India's Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity on October 26, 2026 to a tracked self-propelled gun system covering more than 300 additional K9 Vajra-T howitzers, the Indian-built 155mm/52-calibre version of the Hanwha Aerospace K9, as part of a Rs 2.12 lakh crore (~KRW 29.5 trillion) package for the Army, Navy and Air Force of which about 82 percent is to be sourced from Indian industry. The ministry statement gave no quantity or cost; ThePrint and Business Standard reported 300 to 335 guns at over Rs 20,000 crore (~KRW 2.8 trillion, ~$2 billion), to be built by Larsen & Toubro at Hazira with more than 70 percent indigenous content. India bought 100 K9 Vajra-T in 2017 and a second 100 in December 2024, so the new batch would take cumulative orders past 500. Hanwha said a contract still requires bidding, technical evaluation, field trials, commercial negotiations and Cabinet Committee on Security approval. The Army fielded a full regiment of winterised K9 Vajra in eastern Ladakh after the 2020 standoff with China, and the new guns may carry high-altitude winterisation kits. The same meeting cleared VSHORADS, counter-UAS systems, long-range kamikaze drones and 24 VVIP transport helicopters.
|Seoul Economic Daily / ThePrint / Business Standard
Hanwha Systems reported preliminary consolidated third-quarter 2026 revenue of 831.6 billion won, up 30.1 percent year on year, and operating profit of 99.1 billion won, up 60.5 percent, on October 27, 2026, driven by defense exports including multifunction radars for the Cheongung-II batteries supplied to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Net profit fell 97.5 percent to 3.8 billion won because results of Hanwha Philly Shipyard, which the company has decided to sell, were booked as discontinued operations. Nine-month revenue reached 2.3637 trillion won and operating profit 302.4 billion won, up 29.0 and 64.7 percent, and the order backlog stood at 8.8653 trillion won, of which 8.3956 trillion won is defense. On the earnings call the company said its September 2026 term sheet with EDGE Group for a UAE integrated air defense network would be its first export of a full defense system rather than individual weapons, that a local joint venture is under consideration with contract size and terms not yet fixed, and that radar revenue from the UAE, Saudi and Iraq programs will ramp in 2027. Exports made up 22 percent of Q3 defense revenue, with Iraq the largest Middle East contributor. Borrowings fell by more than 1 trillion won in the quarter, most of the roughly 13 million Hanwha Ocean shares monetised in April have been sold, and spending priorities are satellite-centred space business and defense AI.
|Seoul Economic Daily / NewDaily / Asia Business Daily
Hanwha Ocean reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of 3.4139 trillion won, up 12.9 percent year on year but down 37.3 percent from the second quarter, and operating profit of 485.7 billion won, up 67.6 percent year on year, on October 27, 2026. Higher-priced LNG carrier construction drove the gain, while fewer working days over the summer and Chuseok holidays, a weaker won and the prior quarter's one-off offshore revenue recognition explained the sequential drop; operating profit fell short of the roughly 532 billion won market consensus and the naval and special-ship business posted widening losses. Nine-month revenue was 12.067 trillion won, up 28 percent, and operating profit 1.6629 trillion won, up 81 percent. The commercial backlog at end-September was 39 vessels worth $7.72 billion (about 10.2 trillion won), roughly three years of work, including 18 VLCCs, eight LNG carriers and six container ships. The company said naval revenue should rise as work on the second Jangbogo-III Batch-II submarine and the fifth and sixth Ulsan-class Batch-III frigates accelerates, warned that fourth-quarter profitability could weaken on a lump-sum labour settlement and annual bonuses, and said expanded hedging since June should reduce currency effects. SK Securities cut its target price from 110,000 to 90,000 won on October 28, calling for new offshore and naval orders.
|Seoul Economic Daily / Korea Herald / Asia Business Daily
Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin told the Dewan Rakyat during the budget debate on October 26, 2026 that the Royal Malaysian Air Force will receive its first two FA-50M Block 20 light combat aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries on Friday, October 30, strengthening Malaysia's air combat capability. The jets are the first deliveries under the 4 billion ringgit (about 1.3 trillion won) contract for 18 aircraft signed with KAI in May 2023; six are to arrive by the end of 2026 and the remaining 12 by March 2028. Kuantan Air Base in Pahang will be the main operating base, with some aircraft stationed at Labuan in Sabah for air defense duties. Malaysia is reported to be weighing a second purchase of 18 more FA-50Ms under its CAP55 modernisation plan, with negotiations expected to open, and KAI has offered beyond-visual-range air-to-air capability including AMRAAM integration to expand the aircraft's combat role.
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