K9 delivery remains undaunted amid COVID-19 crisis

A K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer / Courtesy of Hanwha Defense

By Kang Seung-woo

• Published Apr 9, 2020 1:45 PM KST
• Updated Apr 9, 2020 9:46 PM KST

By Kang Seung-woo

Defense companies are among the many industries that have been hit hard by the global coronavirus pandemic, as factories around the world have had to close down, leading to delayed deliveries and incomplete contracts.

While the Korean government is striving to cushion the virus shock, the country's defense manufacturer Hanwha Defense remains undaunted by the COVID-19 global impact, according to the company, Thursday.

One such example is the planned delivery of K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers to Norway. The European country signed a contract with the firm in 2017 to acquire 24 K9s and six K10 automatic ammunition resupply vehicles by the end of 2020.

“The main production facility for the K9, located in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has been operating as normal without any delay to deliveries,” a Hanwha official told The Korea Times. “The artillery is in full production and the first batch of the K9s is set to be shipped to Norway in May.”

Since last November, two K9 guns have been undergoing test trials, along with one K10 vehicle, he added. Starting in May, the remaining vehicles on order are scheduled to be handed over to the Norwegian Army by October.

A couple of Hanwha's artillery experts were dispatched to Europe to help train Norwegian technicians to use the advanced artillery system.

“We are pleased that the construction of the artillery and the rest of the project is still going according to plan,” Nils Inge Træen from the Norwegian Defense Material Agency was quoted as saying by a local engineering magazine on April 6.

Hanwha Defense has exported about 600 K9 guns to foreign countries, including Turkey, Poland Estonia and India. The K9 accounts for nearly 50 percent of the self-propelled howitzers being operated in the world.