Cheap drones are changing the economics of air defense, and South Korea’s Hanwha Systems is trying to turn that shift into an overseas business.
The South Korean defense electronics company is preparing to export Cheongwang, a laser based air defense system already deployed by the South Korean military, while developing mobile versions for international customers. Hanwha Systems has completed a prototype mounted on an armored vehicle and plans to begin mass production by the end of 2027.
The export push comes as militaries face a widening cost problem. Inexpensive drones can be deployed repeatedly and in large numbers, while traditional air defense depends on ammunition that must be replaced after every engagement. That imbalance is creating demand for systems that can protect military units and critical infrastructure without imposing the same recurring ammunition burden.
Hanwha Systems sees that change as an opportunity to expand beyond South Korea’s domestic defense market. Cheongwang was originally developed to protect fixed facilities from small drones. The company is now broadening the product into mobile versions that can be repositioned with military units, opening a larger potential market among countries looking to strengthen drone defenses.
Cheongwang gives Hanwha a relatively simple economic argument. The system operates primarily on electricity rather than conventional ammunition, and South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has estimated the cost of each use at about $1.50.
That figure matters because the competition in drone defense is increasingly about economics as well as technology. A country may be able to stop an individual drone with an existing air defense system, but repeated attacks can consume ammunition and strain military inventories. Systems with substantially lower recurring costs could become an additional layer of defense rather than a replacement for traditional missiles and guns.
Hanwha Systems is also trying to position Cheongwang as an export platform rather than a single domestic program. Last month, the company displayed the system alongside an armored version and a smaller tactical vehicle model at MSPO 2026 in Kielce, Poland, one of Europe’s major defense exhibitions.
The European appearance is significant because Hanwha is presenting the technology directly to overseas military buyers at a time when drone defense has become a larger procurement priority. Instead of waiting for foreign demand to emerge around the existing Korean system, the company is adapting the product into configurations that can serve a wider range of military operations.
South Korea has already provided Hanwha with a domestic reference point. Development of Cheongwang began in 2019 under the Agency for Defense Development, South Korea’s government defense research organization, with Hanwha Aerospace participating in the program. About $65 million was invested in development before the system entered South Korean military service in December 2024.
Hanwha Systems is also increasing the share of components produced in South Korea. A domestically developed core laser component is expected to replace imported equipment in future production, raising the system’s localization rate by value from 76% to 90%.
Greater control over the supply chain could become increasingly important if the company begins receiving overseas orders. Exporting defense equipment requires more than delivering the initial system. Manufacturers must also be able to provide replacement parts, maintenance and future upgrades over years of operation.
South Korea’s government is continuing to invest in the program as well. Its proposed 2027 defense budget includes additional spending on the existing system and research and development funding for a more mobile successor.
Hanwha Systems is therefore entering the overseas counter drone market at a moment when military buyers are reconsidering how much they can afford to spend against increasingly inexpensive aerial threats. Cheongwang is the company’s attempt to turn South Korea’s investment in laser defense into a broader export business built around one increasingly important proposition, making drone defense cheaper to sustain.
