German arms giant Rheinmetall and South Korea's LIG Defence & Aerospace plan to set up a joint venture to build guided missiles that can destroy glide bombs at a low cost, the German company said on Monday.
Rheinmetall is set to retain a majority stake in the venture, the firm said at the Eurosatory defence fair in Paris.
Guided missiles are usually sold at the upper end of the five-figure euro range, meaning they are cheaper than larger missiles, which can cost over €1 million ($116 million) and have been used to defend against glide bombs because there are no other options so far.
Joint venture could help Ukraine
Russian glide bombs have caused massive destruction in the more than four-year-old war in Ukraine.
Russian aircraft transport them to the border or the front line, where they are released and glide the final stretch through the air.
As they have no heat signature, they are difficult for air defences to detect and surface-to-air missiles are ineffective against them.
The guided missiles envisaged by Rheinmetall can mitigate this threat and at least partially balance the cost-benefit ratio.
LIG D&A, based in Yongin, achieved an annual turnover equivalent to €2.5 billion in 2025 with a workforce of around 6,000, up by about a third compared to the previous year.
Rheinmetall posted a turnover of around €10 billion in 2025. The Dusseldorf-based company employs 34,000 people worldwide.
The South Korean firm specializes in missiles, sonar systems and unmanned surface vehicles.
Its order books are full, in part due to demand from the United Arab Emirates.
Rheinmetall mainly manufactures ammunition, tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft guns, while its previously secondary business in drones and satellites is becoming increasingly important.
Market demand driving joint venture
The new joint venture aims to "meet the market's immediate needs and future challenges," and offer a "highly complementary portfolio of ground-based air defence solutions," Oliver Dürr, chief executive of Rheinmetall's Air Defence division, was quoted as saying in a press release
"We, LIG D&A and Rheinmetall, are putting our strengths together to establish a defence powerhouse in Europe for air defense missile solutions and beyond," said LIG D&A chief executive Ickhyun Shin.
"Europe is entering a new era of defense modernization, and we believe this is the right time to deepen cooperation with a trusted European partner, like Rheinmetall, for a long-term strategic partnership in Europe."
