7OCT

Hanwha buys two Milrem THeMIS robots

2 min read

12:59UTC

Hanwha Aerospace has bought two THeMIS ground robots from Estonia's Milrem Robotics and will bid with it in Australia, New Zealand and Romania, a month after Korea ordered its own robot into production.

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Key takeaway

Hanwha Aerospace backs its own robot at home and Milrem's THeMIS in export bids.

Hanwha Aerospace has bought two THeMIS ground robots from Milrem Robotics, one for Korean research and development and one for its Australian marketing, local production and sustainment work, Milrem said on 7 October⁠¹. Milrem is Estonian and owned by the Emirati defence group EDGE. The two firms also widened their partnership to cover marketing, local production, support and supply chain in Australia and New Zealand, and will bid together for Romania's unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) programme. Milrem gave no figures.

Hanwha Aerospace had signed a mass-production contract on 4 September with Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) for its own Arion-SMET robot, with deliveries to Army and Marine Corps infantry from 2027⁠². Hanwha says the Arion-SMET is more than 98% Korean-made, from about 40 domestic suppliers, and carries a 7.62mm remote weapon station.

The Arion-SMET's local content is its selling point at home, while THeMIS carries Milrem's European user base into Australian and Romanian competitions. Milrem already builds THeMIS in the Netherlands for Ukraine. At the MSPO defence show in Kielce on 10 September it signed weapons and optics agreements with ZMT and PCO, units of Polish state arms group PGZ⁠³.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

A ground robot here means an unmanned vehicle that drives on land and can carry cargo or a weapon. THeMIS is one made by Milrem, a company based in Estonia. Hanwha Aerospace, a South Korean firm, has bought two to test and to show customers in Australia. The two companies will also team up to bid for a Romanian ground-robot programme. Hanwha builds its own robot as well.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

Hanwha has its own ground robot, the Arion-SMET, and is also buying THeMIS. One reading is a time gap: the Korean robot is entering mass production for the home Army, with deliveries from 2027, while THeMIS already has users abroad.

Milrem is owned by EDGE Group of the United Arab Emirates. Its partnership with Hanwha gives it a route into Australia, New Zealand and Romanian competitions through a firm with local production experience.

What could happen next?

Opportunity
A joint Romanian bid pairs Milrem's field record with Hanwha's local-production offer.
Risk
Selling a partner's robot while building its own could strain the arrangement if the two designs compete for the same buyers.

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: Hanwha's K9 howitzer won Australian orders and brought local assembly to Geelong. That shows Hanwha's playbook: win a customer, then build and support near it. The Milrem deal applies the playbook to robots.

Counter-parallel: No close precedent is known in the material reviewed for Hanwha selling another maker's ground robot beside its own.

Milrem gave no figures. Two robots is a small purchase, so the value sits in what it unlocks: shared marketing, local production and a joint bid in Romania.

The material reviewed gave no value for the Arion-SMET contract. Hanwha says the robot is more than 98% Korean-made, which is a home-market selling point and not a feature of the joint offer.

First Reported In

Update #13 · US Navy orders 30 robot boats from 3 yards

Milrem Robotics· 7 Oct 2026

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