Northrop Grumman joins forces with Hanwha on South Korea’s MCH program

US defense company Northrop Grumman has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Korean Hanwha to work on the Republic of Korea’s Mine Countermeasures Helicopter (KMCH) program.

As disclosed, under the agreement, Hanwha will support the manufacturing of airborne laser mine detection system (ALMDS) hardware components.

This MoU follows Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) 2023 contract for Northrop Grumman to provide ALMDS solutions and technical support for the engineering, manufacturing and design phase of the Republic of Korea’s KMCH program.

“Industry collaborations with companies such as Hanwha and KAI are key to Northrop Grumman’s approach to technology development across the globe. Our team is committed to delivering advanced solutions to meet the security needs of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense,” Janice Zilch, vice president, multi-domain command and control programs, Northrop Grumman, said.

Northrop Grumman’s AN/AES-1 ALMDS detects, classifies and locates floating and near-surface moored mines. Mounted onto a variety of helicopter platforms, the system is capable of untethered day or night operations, which allow it to attain high area search rates.

ALMDS also provides accurate target geo-location to support follow-on neutralization of the detected mines. 

Last year, Northrop signed an MoU with defense company Genohco to support KMCH program. Under the agreement, Genohco will support the manufacturing of ALMDS hardware components.

To date, Northrop Grumman has delivered ALMDS units to the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).