I. Executive Summary
"The bottleneck in air defense systems will not be resolved even after the Iran situation ends.
A new arms race cycle has begun, with the world stockpiling air defense."
FACT As of 10:00 AM on March 5, 2026, domestic defense stocks are all soaring. LIG Nex1 (079550) is trading at 733,000 won, up +18.42% from the previous day, and the entire defense sector, including Hanwha Aerospace (+7.71%), Hyundai Rotem (+12.38%), and Korea Aerospace Industries (+15.77%), is rising together. (Source: KIS MCP real-time quotes, 2026-03-05 10:00 KST)
FACT The catalyst for the surge is the US-Israeli coalition's airstrike on Iran. As the Middle East conflict intensified in early March 2026, reports of shelling of the Strait of Hormuz and US military casualties emerged. As a result, demand for global air defense systems and interceptor missiles is soaring, and expectations for orders for K-defense are exploding. (Source: Herald Economy, Financial News, New Daily, 2026-03-03~05)
INFERENCE This report recommends LIG Nex1 (079550) among defense stocks as the stock with the highest potential for continued rapid growth in the future. The reasons are clear: ① Acceleration of Cheongung-II exports due to global air defense system inventory shortages, ② Securing earnings visibility for the next several years with an order backlog of 26.2 trillion won (6 times annual sales), ③ Institutional investors' net buying for 7 consecutive days and foreigners turning to inflows, ④ Hana Securities raised its target price to 710,000 won (March 3).