Samsung Aerospace (SSA) was a South Korean
aerospace manufacturer.
History
The company was originally established as Samsung Precision
on 1 August 1977 with initial capital of
₩1 billion, and began constructing its first factory, a facility of , in
Changwon
Changwon () is the capital city of Gyeongsangnam-do, on the southeast coast of South Korea. With a population of 1.07 million , Changwon is South Korea's ninth-most populous city.
A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south ...
,
South Gyeongsang Province. In its early history the company manufactured a variety of products including
cameras and
lead frames, but its business came to focus increasingly on aerospace manufacturing, and so it changed its name to Samsung Aerospace Industries in February 1987.
In 1996, SSA was considering to acquire Dutch aircraft manufacturer
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
, but the plan was scrapped because of the economic problems emerging in South Korea in the late 90s. The company was merged with
Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company and the aerospace division of
Daewoo Heavy Industries in 1999 to form
Korea Aerospace Industries.
Business activity
Its business activity comprised the production and repair of toy
jet engines, including assembly of the
GE J85,
CFM56,
LM2500 and
F404 engines as well as, in cooperation with
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...
, the production of the
PW 4000.
SSA also sold turbine blades for the
GE CF6-80C to
General Electric,
produced
stringers for
Boeing as well as other components such as wing ribs for various aircraft.
They had a joint venture with
Sermatech International for services related to the treatment of surfaces for turbine engine components.
In 1996 SSA reached an agreement with
Bell Helicopter to co-develop the
Bell 427.
They also cooperated with
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in the development of
composite materials for aircraft.
In the early 1990s, Samsung provided major assemblies and mate through delivery of F-16 Falcons for the Republic of Korean Air Force from its plant in Sacheon under license to Lockheed Martin. South Korea and the US jointly developed the
KAI T-50 Golden Eagle via a joint venture between SSA and
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
,
originally conceived as the KTX-2.
Notes
References
External links
*
Former Samsung subsidiaries
South Korean companies established in 1977
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of South Korea
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1977
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