President Yoon Suk-yeol has appointed a new minister to lead the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the agency responsible for South Korea’s military purchases and direct offsets. During his inauguration ceremony, new Minister Eom Dong-hwan highlighted the importance of transparency and due process in Korea’s defence acquisitions. Within days of taking office, Eom hosted his first group meeting about localisation and SME engagement, and signed an export strategy deal with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).
Poland is looking to buy 980 K2 tanks from Hyundai Rotem, 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft from Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), and 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers from Hanwha Defense. Amid Poland’s surging defence demands, Seoul is preparing to send another military attaché for defence industry cooperation and localisation.
The United States is taking steps to streamline industrial cooperation with historical allies. Speaking at a joint AIA-ADS event on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show on 21 July, representatives from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) announced a pilot programme for open general export licenses (OGELs) for Canadian, British, and Australian suppliers.
Peru’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Juan Barranzuela, is in talks with Argentine authorities to jointly design and implement satellite connectivity projects. During a meeting with Daniel Filmus, Argentina’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Barranzuela emphasised transfer of technology as a condition of cooperation.
Saudi Arabia came out in force at the Farnborough Air Show on 18–22 July. The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) hosted the “Invest Saudi” pavilion together with SAMI, the kingdom’s leading defence conglomerate, and World Defense Show (WDS) administrators. Both GAMI and SAMI finalised several offset agreements and hinted at upcoming opportunities for Saudi SMEs.