The project carried out by LX Pantos, commissioned by Korea Aerospace Industries (047810) (KAI), involved importing from France the air-to-air missiles needed for the development of a domestic amphibious attack helicopter system for the Marine Corps, a program being pursued by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
The missiles were loaded exclusively onto an LX Pantos chartered aircraft at Châteauroux Airport in France and transported to Incheon Airport. They were then moved by land and delivered to their final destination, the Marine Corps unit in Pohang.
LX Pantos deployed the chartered aircraft because the missiles are special cargo classified under explosives hazard grade "Class 1.2E" and required the highest level of security management.
Air transport of hazardous materials such as defense goods must meet both the regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the safety standards of each country's aviation authorities. For this transport, LX Pantos secured airspace transit approvals from 14 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including France. It also leveraged its multimodal transport capabilities linking air and land, along with its own overseas network, including local subsidiaries in Europe.
Since earning a superior grade in the 2024 security assessment by the Defense Counterintelligence Command, LX Pantos has been actively expanding its defense logistics business. While accumulating project experience with defense operators such as KAI, it also strengthened its logistics security management capabilities by obtaining "AL3," the highest evaluation level of global information security certification.
The defense logistics market continues to grow. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global defense logistics market was estimated at about $182.5 billion (approximately 252 trillion won) last year. The market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.3% to reach $344.3 billion (approximately 476 trillion won) by 2034.
An LX Pantos official said, "We successfully carried out a defense logistics project that required advanced safety and security management capabilities and logistics expertise," adding, "We will support the logistics of leading domestic defense firms and expand our role as a logistics partner for K-defense."
