The Moon Jae-in government's K-self-propelled artillery exports all use Australian steel for the construction of local factories and joint production, so most of the down payment is returned to Australia.
At the time of the announcement of the 1 trillion won export of the K9 self-propelled howitzer, which was signed at the summit meeting with President Moon Jae-in in Australia in December of last year, “It is equipped with a 1,000 horsepower diesel engine and has a maximum speed of 67 km/h. It has improved survivability as it has protection against heavy machine guns and anti-personnel mines, and has the ability to respond to CBRN.” However, Australian media reported that the Australian contract was 'local production' and the entire supply was supplied by Australian steel company Visalo Steel.
A representative of Hanwha Difes said, “We will procure steel for the K9 and the redback vehicle that are exported not only to Australia but also to Europe and other international markets. There is,” he said on February 16 in the Steel Metal Newspaper.
Posco’s bulletproof steel ‘MIL-12560H’, which will be used for the K self-propelled artillery, is expected to be applied only to the South Korean military.
Hanwha Defense started construction of the Hanwha Armored Vehicle Center of Excellence (H-ACE) in Geelong, Victoria, Australia on the 8th. It plans to produce 30 AS9 'Huntsman', an Australian model of the K9 self-propelled howitzer, and 15 AS10 armored ammunition carriers and deliver them to the Australian Army by 2027.
As for the Australian contract, Hanwha Defense, a 100% subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, will produce the K-9 self-propelled artillery in Australia after receiving 93 billion won in export money for K-9 self-propelled artillery and product support. Most of the 1 trillion won in the down payment will be returned to Australia as the technology fee is completely exempted from the Research Institute of Science (ADD).
The details of Hanwha Defense’s K9 self-propelled howitzer sale in Australia are as follows: Hanwha Defense Australia’s Australian subsidiary signed a contract with the Australian Ministry of National Defense for the K9 self-propelled howitzer for 794.1,4791,497 won and K9 self-propelled artillery support for Australia at 137.8718.66756 million won, and 30 K9 self-propelled howitzers. · Announced the supply of 15 K10 ammunition carriers from March 12, 2026 to March 12, 2033.
The contract, announced today as an Australian export contract, was signed during a bilateral summit between President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Capitol in Canberra.
The contract for 'joint production' of K self-propelled artillery with Egypt is a condition in which the Korean government borrows 80% of its funds from the Export-Import Bank of Korea at a long-term low interest rate without guarantee.
The Defense Science Research Institute developed the K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer, which mimics the M101A2 105mm howitzer supplied by the United States to the world, and on October 12, 1998, the Joint Chiefs of Staff determined it to be 'combatable' in the test and evaluation of the K9 prototype.
The K self-propelled howitzer stated in the following encyclopedia, “The United States has been producing the M109A2 since 1978, and Samsung Heavy Industries (currently Hanwha Ground Defense) has produced a 155mm self-propelled howitzer named K55 since 1985. are doing The difference from the existing US-made M109A2 is that it has been improved in about 10 places, including adding an NBC system and installing a Halon fire extinguisher, but the overall performance is similar to that of the M109A2.”