Hanwha Defense completes K9 SPH deliveries to South Korean military

Hanwha Defense has completed deliveries of K9 Thunder 155 mm/52 cal self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to the South Korean military, according to a 13 November statement by the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The agency did not reveal how many K9s have been delivered to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Army and RoK Marine Corps but Janes understands that an estimated 1,300 of these tracked systems have been handed over to the country’s military since 1999.

A K9 Thunder SPH. DAPA announced on 13 November that K9 deliveries to the South Korean military have been completed. (Hanwha Defense)

The K9 family of armoured SPHs was designed and initially manufactured by Samsung Techwin to provide a modernised system that would be better suited to counter the threats posed by North Korea. The K9 was first deployed in 1999 to the western border islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong.

According to Janes Land Warfare Platforms: Artillery and Air Defence, the 46.3-tonne K9 is designed to provide an armoured force with the indirect fire required to defeat conventionally equipped opponents. The range of the system using standard ammunition is 18 km, but this can be extended to 30 km through rocket assisted projectiles, or to 40.6 km using advanced base-bleed ammunition.

The K9 family includes upgraded variants, such as the K9A1, and support vehicles such as the K10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicle (AARV). The K9A1 was designed to perform the same roles but has been fitted with modernised control systems to maximise the advantages provided by developments in computer science.