Elodie Collins 
South Korean company Hanwha has committed to investing $1 billion to build an automated factory that would produce American-made Modular Charge Systems, or MCS, for 155mm Howitzer ammunition by 2030, Breaking Defense reported.
The company is currently looking for potential sites, with construction expected to start in 2026.
What Will Hanwha’s US Munitions Factory Offer?
According to the company, the upcoming facility will be based on its ammunition plant in Yeosu, South Korea. It will manufacture nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin and process wetted nitroguanidine that will be turned into triple-base propellants, which are packed into combustible cartridge case modules, with multiple modules assembled into MCS units like the Modular Artillery Charge System, or MACS, used in the U.S. Army’s 39 caliber 155 millimeter howitzers and the 52 cal. howitzers the service is currently under its Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization program.
Hanwha’s Yeosu plan produces 1.2 million modules per year, with plans to scale manufacturing to up to 1.6 million modules in 2028.
“Our goal is to bring this vertically integrated, fully automated production capability to the United States,” said Lee Woo Jin, manager at the Yeosu plant.
How Is Hanwha Growing Its Presence in the US Market?
Hanwha’s planned munitions factory is part of the company’s effort to transform its U.S. subsidiary, Hanwha Defense USA, into an American defense company.
In August, the company announced a $5 billion investment to add two docks and three quays to its Philly Shipyard, a move that is expected to increase the site’s production capacity to up to 20 vessels annually.
Hanwha Defense USA also recently made investments in Texas-based energetics and propulsion maker Firehawk Aerospace to boost the U.S. development and production of solid rocket motor technology.
