South Korea to build new wheeled howitzers for U.S. Army

Hanwha Defense USA has won a U.S. Army contract to deliver six prototype K9 Mobile Howitzers (MH) for the Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program, with an option for 12 more, the company announced Tuesday. It is Hanwha’s first major U.S. Army contract.

The award follows a public campaign Hanwha has run for nearly a year to position the wheeled howitzer for the Army. The company first pitched the system, then called the K9A2 wheeled configuration, at the AUSA exposition in Washington in October 2025, describing it as an 8×8 solution built around an automated loading turret and a modular propellant charge system. A wheeled variant was later spotted on South Korean roads in February, ahead of planned shipment to the United States for evaluation, the Defence Blog previously reported. The vehicle mounts the K9 artillery module on an 8×8 off-road chassis built by Czech manufacturer Tatra, replacing the tracked platform used on earlier K9 variants.

Hanwha has said the automated ammunition handling and loading system raises the platform’s sustained rate of fire from the roughly six rounds per minute typical of legacy systems to more than nine rounds per minute under ideal conditions, while reducing crew exposure during firing. The Army’s evaluation is expected to include live-fire demonstrations, integration with standard U.S. ammunition, and compatibility testing with American fire-control and communications systems, with a final program decision originally projected for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027.

Hanwha has fielded more than 2,500 K9 Howitzers globally. The company is establishing a Phase I integration and test facility in Opelika, Alabama, and has signed a three-year lease there as part of what it calls a localization strategy for domestic production and support.

“We’re honored that the U.S. Army has selected Hanwha’s K9 Mobile Howitzer to fulfill its Mobile Tactical Cannon requirement,” said Mike Smith, Hanwha Defense USA’s chief operating officer and president of land systems. “The K9MH is the total artillery solution and will be the centerpiece of Army Fires’ transformation into a more modern, more lethal force. The U.S. Army’s selection is a testament to our track record of delivering devastating capability at speed, at scale, on cost and onshore. As the wheeled variant of the K9, the K9MH provides an expansion path towards a tracked capability with designed-in margin for the future fight. And with such a capability, that fight will not be a fair one.”

The K9MH is compatible with the Army’s existing suite of 155mm munitions. Hanwha has separately pushed to localize a Modular Charge System for 155mm ammunition in the U.S., saying the move would secure NATO-standard compatibility and reduce reliance on single-source propellant suppliers following shortages that emerged as the war in Ukraine strained existing 155mm inventories. Hanwha said the new contract brings the U.S. into a global industrial network of nearly a dozen allied nations that already operate or produce K9 variants, including Australia, Egypt, Poland and Romania.

“Hanwha’s global supply chain and local production experience in Australia, Egypt, Poland and Romania demonstrate a proven commitment to local execution we’re excited to bring to the U.S.,” said Michael Coulter, Hanwha Defense USA’s chief executive officer. “Localization is central to Hanwha’s global business model, leveraging our global leading industrial technology and process in Korea to create sovereign industrial strength in the U.S., whether it be in shipbuilding, munitions or combat vehicles.”

“This award reflects Hanwha’s enduring commitment to the United States and to strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base,” said Alex Wong, Hanwha Group’s chief strategy officer. “We are not simply delivering a system, we are building an American manufacturing enterprise, transferring technology and creating a lasting foundation for broad industrial collaboration. Hanwha is invested in America for the long term.”

“We’re focused on creating a U.S.-anchored K9 Mobile Howitzer manufacturing network, with Opelika, Alabama, as the current phase I launch point, that can deliver advanced Mobile Tactical Cannons at the speed and scale the U.S. Army needs,” said Jason Pak, Hanwha Defense USA’s head of land systems for artillery.

The Army currently operates the tracked M109A7 Paladin as its primary self-propelled howitzer. Reporting on the program earlier this year indicated the Army had narrowed the Mobile Tactical Cannon competition to wheeled platforms, with a requirement that any candidate match or exceed the M109A7’s protection levels while improving strategic mobility. Hanwha has not disclosed the value of the new prototype contract or a delivery schedule for the six systems.