Majority to be Built in Egypt After Initial Imports
After having secured a $1.7 billion order to provide K9-series self-propelled howitzers (SPH) and support vehicles to Egypt, Hanwha Defense has signed a follow-up contract with the Ministry of Military Production in Cairo to enable local manufacturing of most of these platforms, following the import of an initial batch.
The deal, signed on 24 February, will see “hundreds” of K9A1EGY SPH, K10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles (AARV), and K11 fire direction control (FDC) vehicles manufactured jointly at Military Factory 200 in Helwan, outside Cairo, noted the company. A spokesperson told Military Technology that the K9A1EGY is a localised variant of the K9A1 model, while the K11 will be a new FDC vehicle to be developed for the Egyptian military using the K9 chassis, adding that the contract is proceeding smoothly.
The company will deliver an initial batch from South Korea by 2024, after which joint local production will commence under technology transfer, he added. Cairo is known to have ordered almost 200 K9s for the Egyptian military, as well as an undisclosed number of K10s and K11s.
Egypt signed the $1.7 billion deal for the SPHs on 1 February after years of negotiations, marking the first order by an African country of the 155mm 52-calibre tracked artillery system, as well as Hanwha Defense’s largest K9 export order to date. The deal also features a variety of support programmes, including user training as well as field and depot maintenance.
Excluding South Korea, Egypt is now the eighth country to procure the K9-series SPH or localised variants, following Turkey, Poland, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Australia.
The 47t K9, which has been in service with the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) since late 2019/early 2000, has a maximum range of 40km, depending on the ammunition, and can fire 6-8rpm for three minutes, with a sustained rate of fire of 2-3rpm for one hour.
Gabriel Dominguez in Singapore for MON
