5 days ago
Hanwha's K9 Howitzers break new ground with Vietnam export
Korea's leading defense company Hanwha Aerospace exported its flagship K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam, expanding its export markets to Southeast Asia.
The deal also marks the company's entry into a country that maintains a socialist political system.
According to industry sources Thursday, Korea signed a contract to supply 20 units of K9 howitzers to Vietnam for $245 million as part of a government-to-government agreement reached in July.
The howitzers will be delivered from Hanwha through the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, a state-run trade support organization, by the end of 2025.
With Vietnam's adoption, Hanwha Aerospace has now supplied the K9 to 11 countries. The howitzer is already in service in India, Australia, Romania, Poland, Finland, Turkey, Egypt, Estonia, Norway and Korea, with more than 1,300 units sold worldwide since its debut in 1999.
Many buyers are US allies, particularly members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which value the system's compatibility with US and European-made weapons.
This is the first time the K9 has been adopted by a country with longstanding ties to the Russian defense industry, rooted in historical cooperation during the Cold War.
Vietnam sourced more than 80 percent of weapons from Russia between 2000 and 2023, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
However, Vietnam has shown interest in the K9 for years, attracted by its strong firepower and mobility at a relatively competitive price of around $12 million compared with similar-performance howitzers.
In 2024, Major General Nguyen Hong Phong, commander of Vietnam's artillery corps, told Korea's Ministry of National Defense that the K9 could be deployed to Artillery Brigade 204 near Hanoi. His remarks were made during a visit to the brigade by then–Vice Minister Kim Seon-ho.
That same year, Vietnamese personnel joined soldiers from six countries in the Korea Army International Course program to study the strategic operation of Korean artillery, including the K9 howitzer and K2 tank, both already in service or under consideration for purchase.
'Exports of weapon systems are generally made to allies or friendly nations, as they lead to high-level security cooperation such as interoperability and joint operations beyond the simple transfer of arms,' said Ban Kil-joo, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
'Vietnam is a communist country, which makes that level of security cooperation difficult. However, we have found that standalone weapon systems with low interoperability requirements, such as the K9, can still be exported.'
Korea and Vietnam are planning to further collaborate in the defense industry.
On Monday, President Lee Jae Myung and To Lam, the general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, released a joint statement saying that the two countries will resume the Korea–Vietnam Defense and Military Cooperation Committee — which had been inactive for 17 years — and strengthen connections between their defense companies.
'The export of K9 carries symbolic significance, as it reflects the overcoming of historical divisions between former adversaries in defense trade,' said Choi Ki-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University.
'It seems to be a starting point for Korea to pursue broader and more routine arms exports worldwide.'
