South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace expands European K239 Chunmoo momentum with Croatian order.

Croatia officially signed a €411.8 million contract with South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace on September 10, 2026, to procure 18 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launch systems. The agreement includes precision-guided munitions, resupply vehicles, and Topaz command-and-control integration via Poland's WB Group. This procurement establishes a second modern rocket artillery fleet alongside Croatia's existing HIMARS order, expanding operational strike ranges from 30 to 300 kilometers.

The multi-year defense package spans delivery timelines through 2030 and significantly increases the Croatian Army's long-range artillery depth. The K239 MLRS utilizes dual independent pods capable of firing mixed configurations of guided rockets and tactical ballistic missiles.

Related topic: Croatia to buy 18 K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers from South Korea over extra U.S. M142 HIMARS

On September 10, 2026, Croatia signed a €435.2 million procurement for 18 K239 Chunmoo launchers, becoming the fourth European Chunmoo customer (after Poland, Estonia, and Norway), alongside eight M142 HIMARS. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

On September 10, 2026, Croatia officially signed the purchase of 18 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) from the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace, and separately contracted Poland's WB Electronics to deliver and integrate the Topaz command-and-control equipment, creating a second modern rocket artillery fleet alongside eight M142 HIMARS already on order. The Croatian procurement totals €435.2 million excluding VAT (€544.05 million including VAT), while Hanwha values its portion at €411.8 million because the Croatian total also covers elements outside its contract. The package includes launchers, guided ammunition, ammunition trucks, fire direction vehicles, simulators, missile test equipment, training, initial spares and logistics support, rather than 18 rocket launchers alone. Implementation runs from 2026 to 2029, with 85% of the package due in 2028, while Hanwha's delivery schedule extends through 2030. Croatia also becomes Europe's fourth Chunmoo operator after Poland, Norway, and Estonia, increasing the procurement across the continent to 333 K239 launchers.

The €435.2 million total divided by 18 would mathematically equal €24.18 million per launcher, but this cannot be treated as the K239L vehicle price because ammunition, support vehicles, C2, training, and sustainment are included. Croatia expects roughly 100 personnel for the 18-launcher force, or 5.56 personnel per launcher across the force, while each K239L itself carries a crew of three. Initial training is planned for roughly six weeks, beginning in South Korea and continuing in Croatia with Hanwha instructors. With 85% of deliveries concentrated in 2028, Croatia will have to qualify crews and establish missile storage, maintenance, reload procedures, and TOPAZ connectivity during the same fielding period. Eighteen launchers would mathematically support three six-launcher firing units, although Croatia has not specified its final battery structure or the number of K239T ammunition vehicles.

At roughly 31 tonnes, the K239L is 14.75 tonnes (91% heavier than the American M142 HIMARS. Its 450 hp DV11K diesel also produces 14.5 hp/tonne, for a maximum road speed of 80 km/h and a road range of roughly 450 km, against 94 km/h and 480 km for the HIMARS. However, the K239's main advantage is the use of two independent ammunition pods rather than the single pod carried by the HIMARS: subsequently, 12 CGR-080 guided rockets, eight CTM-MR missiles, or two CTM-290 missiles can be carried per launcher. Mixed loading permits six CGR-080 plus four CTM-MR, or six CGR-080 plus one CTM-290, without changing vehicles. Across 18 launchers, maximum ready loads therefore reach 216 CGR-080s, 144 CTM-MRs or 36 CTM-290s, compared with 48 six-round rockets across Croatia's eight HIMARS, while offering two engagement bands on one vehicle.

The Chunmoo ammunition family will expand Croatia's rocket artillery reach from roughly 20 km with the M92 Vulkan to five distinct target categories: the K33 131 mm guided rocket reaches roughly 36 km, the KM26A2 227 mm unguided rocket reaches 45 km, the CGR-080 guided rocket reaches 80 km, the CTM-MR tactical missile reaches 160 km, and the CTM-290 tactical ballistic missile reaches 290 km. A six-launcher element could consequently begin with 72 CGR-080s, 48 CTM-MRs or 12 CTM-290s, while the complete 18-launcher fleet triples those figures. For instance, the CTM-290's roughly 9 m CEP and 290 km range permit the engagement of fixed command facilities, airfields, logistics sites, fuel storage, and transportation nodes at operational depth. For the Croatian Army, the shift from the Vulkan to the Chunmoo represents a 14.5-fold increase in nominal range, while the corresponding geometric radius expands from 1,257 km² to 264,207 km², before accounting for borders, firing positions, terrain, or target availability. Croatia has not yet disclosed missile quantities by type, so these figures currently measure the launcher capacity rather than available salvo numbers.

The number of K239T ammunition vehicles will determine how Croatia sustains firing after the first salvo. A K239T carries four pods, enough for two complete reloads of a K239L, whose two pods can be replaced in roughly seven minutes before accounting for movement, security, and resupply. With the CGR-080, one launcher carries 12 rockets and one fully loaded K239T another 24, giving 36 rounds per launcher-reload pair. A hypothetical force with one K239T per launcher would therefore hold 216 CGR-080s on 18 firing vehicles plus 432 on 18 reload vehicles, or 648 rounds before replenishing the K239Ts. With the heavier CTM-290, the equivalent figure is two missiles on each launcher plus four on each K239T, or six per pair and 108 missiles across 18 pairs. As Croatia has not disclosed K239T numbers, spare pod quantities, or ammunition allocations, sustained fire capacity cannot yet be calculated from the order, but it will radically improve the strength of the Croatian Army.

The HIMARS comparison shows why ammunition depth matters more than launcher numbers alone. Croatia has ordered 394 80 km-class rockets for eight HIMARS, equal to 49.25 rockets per launcher, 65.7 six-round fleet salvos, or 8.21 complete loads for every launcher if distributed evenly. Eight HIMARS carry 48 rockets simultaneously, whereas 18 K239s loaded with CGR-080s carry 216, giving the Chunmoo fleet 4.5 times as many ready rounds, even if Croatia is only buying 2.25 times as many launchers and each carries twice the rocket load. Combined, all 26 launchers could hold 264 roughly guided rockets with a range of 80 km at once. The HIMARS nevertheless has a known stock of 394 rockets, whereas the Chunmoo missile inventory remains undisclosed, preventing calculation of how many fleet salvos Croatia could sustain. The Chunmoo's additional significance is therefore measurable in both payload and range: 12 ready 80 km rockets rather than six per launcher, plus 160 km and 290 km ammunition categories absent from Croatia's disclosed HIMARS purchase.

Croatia's 18 K239 MLRS increase European Chunmoo procurement from 315 to 333 launchers, as Poland previously ordered 290, Norway 16 and Estonia nine. Poland represents 87.1% of that fleet, Croatia 5.4%, Norway 4.8%, and Estonia 2.7%. Poland's Homar-K uses Chunmoo launch modules on Jelcz 8×8 trucks with TOPAZ; Croatia retains the K239 vehicle but adopts the same C2 family, creating a notable common fire-control element between the two fleets. Poland's procurement includes roughly 23,000 missiles, equal mathematically to 79.3 missiles per launcher, while a Polish CGR-080 production line could provide a European replenishment source. Estonia, like Croatia, is acquiring both HIMARS and Chunmoo, while Norway has 16 Chunmoo launchers scheduled for 2028-2029 with missile deliveries extending into 2030-2031. Croatia therefore enters a European Chunmoo fleet whose scale is dominated by Poland but increasingly shares C2, ammunition and sustainment links. Croatia's entry also comes immediately before the formal creation of the Chunmoo User Club, which Hanwha Aerospace plans to launch in South Korea in 2027. This will follow the first Chunmoo User Workshop held in Tartu, Estonia, on September 3, 2026, alongside the fifth K9 User Club.

Explore More Defense News

• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.