Hanwa Breaks Into U.S. Army Market with K-Defense: Look at the K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer Contract Value

Hanwha has achieved a historic milestone by exporting self-propelled howitzers to the United States, the world's largest defense market, for the first time with a domestically developed weapon system.

Following this achievement, attention is focused on whether K-defense can overcome previous concerns regarding entry barriers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) market and accelerate its globalization.

The U.S. Army announced on August 18 (local time) that it has signed a contract with Hanwha Defense USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, for the development of prototypes for the "Mobile Tactical Cannon" (MTC) program.

Hanwha's K9 wheeled self-propelled howitzer was exclusively selected in the prototype development stage of the U.S. Army's modernization project to introduce next-generation self-propelled howitzers.

Hanwha Aerospace also released a press release today (August 19) stating that it has signed a contract with the U.S. Army to supply six prototypes of the K9 wheeled self-propelled howitzer.

With this contract, Hanwha Aerospace has successfully entered the global market for wheeled self-propelled howitzers, following its track-type models.

The U.S. Army explained, "Through this competitively awarded contract, we plan to provide the Army with up to 18 self-propelled howitzer systems over a performance period of approximately four years for rapid prototyping, testing, and soldier-led operational experiments."

The contract value amounts to $100,302,961 (approx. 141.7 billion won), with a cumulative face value of $262,903,274 (approx. 371.5 billion won), according to the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Army stated that this contract specifies the rapid delivery of six MTC prototype systems and includes an option to order an additional 12 units.

Future mass production is estimated to reach approximately 500 units, with a project cost of around 10 trillion won.

Hanwha Aerospace's K9MH contracted this time is a model featuring an automated turret.

With the goal of introducing a next-generation self-propelled howitzer, the U.S. Army has commissioned major global defense companies to build new self-propelled howitzer prototypes since early this year.

Companies participating in this bidding include Elbit America—which partnered with U.S. defense startup Anduril and Oshkosh Defense—Italy's Leonardo, Germany's Rheinmetall, and the UK's BAE Systems.

The U.S. Army explained, "This contract was awarded following an intensive market research and broad industry participation process, which included multiple supplier demonstration events held in the United States and overseas."

U.S. soldiers will use the mobile tactical cannon platform in a series of operational experiments to evaluate performance, reliability, and maintainability under actual combat conditions.

Typically, the U.S. military proceeds to sign a final mass-production contract after such customization if there are no special defects or disqualifying factors.

The U.S. Army stated, "Data and insights gained from these experiments will directly inform senior leadership decisions regarding future fielding. Upon fielding approval, the MTC will significantly enhance the lethality, mobility, reliability, and survivability of select units on the modern, transparent battlefield, replacing the M777 towed howitzer system."

(Photo provided by Hanwha Aerospace, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.