Hanwha Defense has signed a contract to provide a package of self-propelled howitzers and support vehicles to the Egyptian Armed Forces, the company writes in a press release. The contract is valued around US$1.7Bn for hundreds of the K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer, K10 ammunition resupply vehicles and K11 fire direction control vehicles.
Under the contract, Hanwha Defense is scheduled to deliver the first batch of K9A1 EGYs before 2025. The remainder will be produced at the state-run Military Factory 200 in Egypt through technology transfer. In addition, Hanwha Defense is to provide a variety of support programmes, including user trainings and organisational/field/depot maintenance. The deal marks the first export of a naval K9 variant. The Egyptian Navy had long sought to acquire the K9 as an anti-access/area denial weapon system. The K9 proved its access denial capability by hitting targets precisely at sea during tests and evaluations in 2017, the company emphasises.
K9 Self-Propelled Howitzers Background
The K9 SPH was developed in 1998 by state-run Agency for Defense Development and Hanwha Defense. Since 2001, it has been adopted by seven nations:
- Turkey
- Poland
- India
- Finland
- Norway
- Estonia
- Australia
The K9 is equipped with the 155mm/52-calibre gun designed to meet the tactical concept of “Shoot & Scoot.” In layman’s terms, Shoot & Scoot means a gun moves to a firing position, completes a mission and then leaves the position before an enemy can counter it.
The 47-ton artillery system has a firing range of 40km and can move as fast as 67 kilometres per hour. Using automatic fire control system, the howitzer can fire within 30 seconds from a stationary position and 60 seconds while on move. It has a maximum rate of fire from six to eight rounds per minute. The K10 ammunition resupply vehicle is an automated robotic ammunition carrier, carrying a total of 104 rounds. The K11 fire direction control vehicle will be developed for the Egyptian military. Using the K9 chassis, it is planned to be equipped with a range of high-tech sensor and communication equipment in accordance with operational requirements of the Egyptian Army and Navy.
JH
