Hanwha breaks into US Army market with K9 prototypes

Hanwha Aerospace said Wednesday it has won a US Army contract to supply prototypes of its K9 self-propelled howitzer, marking a major breakthrough for the Korean defense industry in the world’s largest defense market.

Hanwha Defense USA, the US subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, signed an agreement with the US Army on Tuesday to deliver prototypes of K9 Mobile Howitzers for the army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program, which seeks to replace aging M777 towed howitzers with a highly mobile 155 mm artillery system.

Hanwha will deliver six Mobile Tactical Cannon prototypes, with an option for an additional 12 systems. The initial contract is valued at $100.3 million, and could reach up to $262.9 million, according to a separate US Army statement.

This award is Hanwha Aerospace’s first major contract with the US Army, according to the company. Hanwha was selected through a competitive process after evaluating artillery systems offered by major global defense companies.

The army plans to acquire up to 18 wheeled self-propelled howitzer systems for rapid prototyping, testing and soldier experimentation over an estimated four-year period, it said.

“Soldiers will use these platforms in a series of operational experiments to assess performance, reliability and supportability in realistic combat conditions,” the army said, adding that the results will be used to determine whether the system should move into full-scale fielding.

If selected for deployment, the MTC would replace M777 towed howitzers in selected US Army formations, giving those units greater mobility and survivability on modern battlefields.

Industry estimates in South Korea put the potential production requirement at around 500 systems, worth about 10 trillion won ($7.14 billion). The US Army has not yet finalized procurement numbers or contract value.

Hanwha offered the K9MH, the wheeled artillery system developed from the K9 self-propelled howitzer platform. Unlike the original tracked K9, the K9MH boasts greater strategic and tactical mobility thanks to its wheeled chassis.

The latest deal is seen as a payoff from a yearslong push by Hanwha Group Chair Kim Seung-youn and his eldest son, Executive Vice Chair Kim Dong-kwan, to break into the US defense market.

Kim Seung-youn has long viewed the defense industry as closely tied to national security, and has urged the group to “secure technology without fear of failure.” He has also stressed that Hanwha’s defense business should expand beyond the domestic market to be globally competitive.

Kim Dong-kwan has continued that strategy, making expansion into the US defense market one of the group’s key priorities.

Since the early 2020s, the US Army had centered on a tracked self-propelled howitzer equipped with a 58-caliber gun under its Extended Range Cannon Artillery program. But as demand grew for forces and weapons systems that could be deployed rapidly over longer distances, the army began focusing on highly mobile artillery systems, including wheeled platforms.

Hanwha said Kim Dong-kwan foresaw that shift and directed the company to prepare for growing US demand for a new generation of highly mobile self-propelled artillery.

After spotting a wheeled artillery program in the army’s March 2024 budget proposal, Hanwha Aerospace began developing the K9MH that December to be ready for any potential opportunities.

Hanwha has also paired its product development efforts with a localization strategy in the US.

In April, Hanwha Defense USA signed a three-year lease for a manufacturing site in Opelika, Alabama, which will serve as the US integration and test facility for K9MH. The move reflects Hanwha’s commitment to “invest in the US artillery system supply chain, enhance America’s combat vehicle industrial base and serve as a long-term artillery modernization partner to the US Army.”

The deal also carries symbolic significance for South Korea, which leaned on US military support during the 1950-53 Korean War. More than seven decades later, a South Korean-developed artillery system is now being considered for the US Army’s firepower modernization push.

“This contract represents a meaningful achievement as the K9 enters the world’s largest defense market,” a Hanwha Aerospace official said. “It also marks a new chapter in the South Korea-US alliance, with a South Korean weapons system contributing to the defense of the US.”

The agreement further expands Hanwha’s growing K9 export portfolio, which has already been exported to 10 countries, including NATO members Poland, Romania, Norway and Finland.