Hanwha to Export K9 Self-Propelled Artillery to Romania.

Hanwha Aerospace, a prominent South Korean defense contractor, has successfully expanded the market for its K9 self-propelled artillery to Romania. With this agreement, Romania becomes the tenth country to adopt the K9, further cementing its reputation as a standard artillery system among Western nations.
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K9s previously sent to Poland by South Korea (Picture source: Polish MoD)

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense announced on June 19, 2024, that Hanwha Aerospace was selected as the preferred bidder for Romania's self-propelled howitzer project. This selection follows a summit between South Korea and Romania in April. To finalize the negotiations, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited Romania to discuss with Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar.

The deal includes 54 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 36 K10 ammunition resupply vehicles, marking Romania's largest arms acquisition in the past seven years. The contract is valued at $920 million. As a NATO member, Romania has been modernizing its armed forces since 2023, aiming to replace its outdated towed artillery systems. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has heightened Romania's concerns about potential threats from Russia, prompting this modernization effort.

The K9 is a self-propelled artillery system designed in South Korea, equipped with a 155 mm main gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. Designed for robust protection, it can withstand armor-piercing projectiles of 14.5 mm caliber and 152 mm artillery shell fragments. This 46,300 kg vehicle is used by several countries, including Australia, Egypt, Estonia, India, Finland, Norway, Poland (using the K9 chassis), South Korea, and Turkey.

The K9 stands out with a maximum speed of 67 km/h and a range of 360 km, making it highly mobile on the battlefield. In terms of protection and survivability, it is equipped with a CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) protection system, a heater, internal and external communication systems, a manual fire suppression system, and an automatic fire control system.

The vehicle requires a crew of five to operate effectively. In terms of dimensions, the K9 measures 7.44 meters in length, 3.4 meters in width, and 2.73 meters in height at the turret. These characteristics make the K9 an essential tool for modern armed forces, capable of providing powerful and mobile fire support while ensuring significant protection for its crew.

This acquisition brings the total number of countries using the K9 to ten, including Finland, Norway, Estonia, Poland, Australia, India, Turkmenistan, and Egypt. Russia and its neighboring Eastern European countries are also actively adopting next-generation self-propelled guns.