ZAGREB, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Croatia signed a contract with South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace on Thursday to procure 18 Chunmoo K239 multiple rocket launchers worth 435 million euros (about 505 million U.S. dollars).
South Korea will deliver the launchers by 2029.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back attended the signing ceremony in Zagreb.
"This is one of the largest investments in equipping and modernizing the Croatian army since the purchase of multirole Rafale fighter jets," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said before the contract was signed.
He said the acquisition would give Croatia a new strategic capability to respond quickly and accurately at ranges from 30 km to several hundred kilometers.
Hanwha has also sold Chunmoo systems to several NATO members, including Poland, Estonia and Norway.
At a NATO summit in The Hague in June 2025, alliance members agreed to raise defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, with 3.5 percent allocated to core defense needs and 1.5 percent to broader security-related spending.
Plenkovic said Thursday that the Croatian government would continue to invest heavily and systematically in the military.
Croatia reached the target of allocating 2 percent of GDP to defense in 2025, he said, adding that the government plans to raise the figure to 3 percent by 2030 and at least 3.5 percent by 2035. ■