Hanwha unveils drone-guided K9 howitzer concept in Estonia

Hanwha Aerospace showed off a new K9 howitzer operating concept built around fire-guidance drones this week, unveiling the plans at the fifth K9 User Club gathering in Estonia.

The three-day forum, hosted by the Estonian Defence Forces at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu from September 2 to 4, drew more than 200 military and industry representatives from seven K9 operator nations: South Korea, Estonia, Poland, Norway, Finland, Romania and Australia. Spain and Sweden sent observer delegations.

“The K9 has established itself as an outstanding and highly capable artillery system. Its performance, reliability, and operational capabilities have earned the trust of a growing number of NATO allies and partner nations,” said Major General Viktor Kalnitski, Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces.

“The K9 User Club brings together commanders, artillery officers, operators, technical specialists, and representatives of industry. It provides an opportunity to exchange practical experience and to discuss the challenges that each of us faces.”

The centerpiece of Hanwha’s presentation was an operating concept that pairs the K9 with a vertical take-off and landing drone for target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Hanwha said the drone detects and tracks targets, generates coordinates and transmits them to the K9’s fire-direction system, then stays over the target area to observe impacts and assess results after the engagement. The company said the approach is meant to shorten the time between spotting a target and firing on it, while reducing the need for forward observers in exposed positions.

Hanwha also presented wheeled artillery concepts that apply technology from the tracked K9A2, including its automated turret, to wheeled platforms. The company said the wheeled concepts are meant to offer greater mobility and deployment flexibility than the tracked K9 while drawing on the same underlying technology base.

The presentations follow a contract Hanwha Defense USA won from the US Army last month. On August 18, the Army awarded the company an Other Transaction Agreement worth $100.3 million initially, with a cumulative value of up to $262.9 million if all options are exercised, to build prototypes for the Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program. The deal covers six prototype wheeled self-propelled howitzers based on the K9 design, with an Army option for 12 more, and marks Hanwha Defense USA’s first major US Army contract. If the Army moves forward with fielding, the Mobile Tactical Cannon is intended to replace M777 towed howitzers in some formations.

Hanwha also used the Estonia forum to promote its TOMMS sustainment platform, a digital system for spare-parts procurement and logistics. The company said TOMMS combines requests for quotation, purchase orders and delivery tracking in one system and includes a catalog covering 700 to 800 frequently requested spare parts. Hanwha said it plans to link TOMMS to a spare-parts warehouse in Poland to support European K9 operators, and eventually use maintenance data to forecast parts demand before shortages occur.

“The K9 User Club has become much more than an annual gathering. It is a collaborative platform where users, operators and industry work together to transform operational experience into future capability development,” said Peter JK Bae, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of the MRO Business Division at Hanwha Aerospace. “Every lesson learned in the field helps shape the next generation of K9 capabilities, from new operating concepts and mobility solutions to smarter sustainment.”

More than 2,400 K9 family systems have been ordered by more than 10 countries across Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, according to Hanwha. The company’s roadmap for the platform includes the digitalized K9A1, the K9A2 with its automated turret, a future K9A3 designed for autonomous and uncrewed operation, and the wheeled artillery concepts shown this week.

Australia will host the next K9 User Club in 2027.