In what will be a significant boost to the South Korean defence industry, Australia has decided to acquire South Korea’s prized K-9 self-propelled howitzers. In light of China's increasing assertiveness, the Australian Army is undertaking a massive military modernization project. The K9 Howitzer was selected as the sole preferred bid, owned and manufactured by Hanwha Defense. The K9, nicknamed ‘thunder’ is a self-propelled howitzer system designed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Samsung Aerospace Industries.
Hanwha Defense, one of South Korea’s leading arms makers, said it expects to export 30 K9 howitzers and 15 K10 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles (ARVs) under a contract valued at around $960 million to Australia. A final deal will be signed after prices are negotiated with the Australian government following its review of the company’s bid. The Australian military will decide whether to make a final offer on the Korean-made vehicles by late 2022, after testing them between November and August 2021.
The deal also includes local manufacturing benefits for Australia. Their Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said, “Through this project, this Government is delivering the capability Army needs while creating local jobs in and around Geelong that will grow our highly skilled workforce.” According to Hanwha, production will start as early as 2024 in the city of Geelong.
Seoul’s K9 howitzer is known for its enhanced firepower and mobility to operate in snowy fields and the desert. The K9 so far has been successfully exported to six countries including India, Turkey, Estonia, Norway, Finland and Egypt. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the K9 Thunder accounted for 48 per cent of the global self-propelled howitzer market between 2000 and 2017.
In addition to the K9 howitzers, Hanwha has already shipped two Redback infantry fighting vehicles in July to the Australian Army for testing, as part of a project worth roughly 5 trillion won. Canberra is strongly focused on modernising its military, as was outlined in the Australian Defense Ministry’s 2020 white paper, released in July. Explaining the change in its security landscape, the white paper states, “While the drivers of change identified in the 2016 Defence White Paper persist, they have accelerated faster than anticipated. Australia now faces an environment of increasing strategic competition; the introduction of more capable military systems enabled by technological change; and the increasingly aggressive use of diverse grey-zone tactics to coerce states under the threshold for a conventional military response.”
Seoul’s defence industry is also set to grow further with its Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It has already announced that it will unveil, early next year, a prototype of the country’s first locally built fighter jet, the KF-X. The KF-X project will be the largest undertaking ever by the Korean military, with $15 billion earmarked for investments until production.
In light of Australia cancelling its earlier major defence deal with South Korea in 2010, this new deal marks an important landmark in bilateral relations.