Hanwha Aerospace Romania Lino Lim (2-R) poses with Milrem Robotics CEO Kuldar Väärsi (2-L) after signing an agreement to collaborate on Romania’s unmanned ground vehicle program during the Black Sea Defense & Aerospace 2026 exhibition in Bucharest, Romania, on Thursday. Photo by Hanwha Aerospace

SEOUL, May 15 (UPI) — South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it teamed up with Estonia’s Milrem Robotics for Romania’s unmanned ground vehicle, or UGV, program.

Hanwha Aerospace and its Romanian subsidiary signed an agreement with Milrem Robotics on the sidelines of the Black Sea Defense & Aerospace 2026 exhibition in Bucharest, Romania.

The Seoul-based defense company said the three-way contract is intended to build a collaborative framework, combining respective strengths in wheeled and tracked unmanned systems and helping to meet Romania’s requirements.

Under the partnership, Hanwha Aerospace plans to integrate Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS tracked system into its wheeled platforms, including Arion-SMET and GRUNT.

Because of the increasing geopolitical tensions over the past few years, a number of European countries, including Romania, are seeking to introduce UGVs to beef up battlefield capabilities.

Lino Lim, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace Romania, said in a statement that the deal represents an important step toward bringing advanced unmanned capabilities into Romania through localized production.

“By combining next-generation UGV technologies from the two companies, we aim to deliver a flexible and scalable solution tailored to Romania’s operational needs, while contributing to the development of its defense industrial base and strengthening European cooperation,” he said.

Milrem Robotics chief Kuldar Väärsi said that its THeMIS system is one of the first UGVs in Europe to have entered mass production.

“With two established manufacturing sites in Europe and extensive experience in technology transfer, we see strong potential to expand manufacturing capabilities to Romania in cooperation with Hanwha,” he said.

The share price of Hanwha Aerospace declined 6.89% on the Seoul bourse Friday, while the broader KOSPI index plunged 6.12% amid heavy selling by international investors.