Egypt to buy K9 self-propelled howitzers from South Korea

Africa, Asia-Pacific, News February 2, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Egypt signed a $1.7 billion agreement with South Korea’s Hanwha Defense to purchase K9 self-propelled howitzer and other support vehicles, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on February 1.

The South Korean weapons manufacturer Hanwha Defense and the Egyptian Ministry of Defense signed the largest K9 export deal at the Artillery Factory in Cairo.

According to the DAPA statement, the deal includes production of the K9 howitzer in Egypt and technology transfer.

Although the DAPA did not disclose further details of the agreement, according to a person familiar with the matter said about 200 K9 artillery systems and dozens of support vehicles, such as K10 ammunition supply vehicles, would be provided to the Egyptian military under the deal.

The DAPA chief Kang Eun-ho said, “It is an achievement made through a combination of technological cooperation, collaboration in terms of localized production and pan-government support, which goes beyond just the transactional relationship between the two nations.”

The self-propelled artillery system is NATO compliant, and it can be deployed in a wide range of environments, including snowy and desert terrains.

*^{South Korea’s Hanwha Defense K9 Thunders. (Image Credit: South Korean MND Defense Media Agency)}*

The 47-ton weapon system is equipped with a 360-degree swivel turret that has a range of 40 km and a movement speed of up to 67 km/h. It has a firing range is 18-50 km depending on ammunition, and its also equipped with an automatic fire control system and can fire within 30 seconds from a stationary position and 60 seconds while moving, with a fire rate of 6 to 8 per minute.

The K9 system accounts for about 50 percent of the global self-propelled artillery market in the past five years, which makes the system the world’s best-selling artillery.

The latest agreement will make Egypt the eighth foreign nation to adopt the K9 system. Other countries that have opted for this system are Poland, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Turkey, India, and Australia.