According to Korea Times news agency, south korea’s defense manufacturer Hanwha Defense remains undaunted by the COVID-19 global impact. One such example is the planned delivery of K9FIN Moukari self-propelled howitzers to Norway. The artillery is in full production and the first batch of the K9s is set to be shipped to Norway in May. The European country signed a contract with the firm in 2017 to acquire 24 K9FIN Moukari s (Finnish variant of the K9 with APU) and six K10 automatic ammunition resupply vehicles by the end of 2020. The main production facility for the K9, located in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has been operating as normal without any delay to deliveries.
Since last November, two K9 guns have been undergoing test trials, along with one K10 vehicle. The artillery is in full production and the first batch of the K9s is set to be shipped to Norway in May. The remaining vehicles on order are scheduled to be handed over to the Norwegian Army by October. A couple of Hanwha’s artillery experts were dispatched to Europe to help train Norwegian technicians to use the advanced artillery system. Hanwha Defense has exported about 600 K9 guns to foreign countries, including Turkey, Poland Estonia and India. The K9 accounts for nearly 50 percent of the self-propelled howitzers being operated in the world.
The K9 Thunder is a South Korean self-propelled 155 mm howitzer designed and developed by the Agency for Defense Development and Samsung Aerospace Industries (now Hanwa Defense) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and is now manufactured by Hanwha Defense. K9 howitzers operate in groups with the K10 automatic ammunition resupply vehicle variant. With a claimed range of 75 km, it offers greater mobility, longer range, higher rate of fire, and increased battlefield survivability, as it can quickly be brought into action, open fire, and come out of action. It is less likely to be engaged by counter-battery fire, by relying on shoot-and-scoot. The unit also supports full CBRN protection.
