Hanwha Aerospace lands $173.4M deal to supply air taxi parts

Representatives from Hanwha Aerospace and Vertical Aerospace pose for a photo during a signing ceremony for a supply deal at the Seoul ADEX in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [HANWHA AEROSPACE]

Hanwha Aerospace clinched a 235.6 billion won ($173.4 million) deal to supply air taxi components to Vertical Aerospace, a British aircraft developer.

With the signing of the contract, Hanwha will supply tilting and blade pitch systems for Vertical Aerospace’s VX4, a four-seater electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, through 2036.

The deal was signed Wednesday during the six-day Seoul Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, or ADEX 2023, which runs through Sunday.

A tilting and blade pitch system, as Vertical Aerospace calls it, is an essential component in an aircraft that transmits the force from a motor to a propeller and controls the flight direction and thrust of the aerial vehicle.

Hanwha Aerospace previously signed a $165 million deal with Vertical Aerospace in August last year, to supply actuators for the VX4.

Vertical's VX4 is currently under development with the aim of market release by 2026. The company has so far secured preorders of more than 1,450 units of VX4.

“The additional orders for the tilting and blade pitch systems, which followed the supply contract for actuators, is a recognition of Hanwha's capabilities in developing and manufacturing core components for UAM[urban air mobility] vehicles for a global company,” said Moon Seung-hak, head of the e-propulsion business at Hanwha Aerospace.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]