For South Korea, artillery and especially self-propelled artillery was the optimal choice for its mountainous terrain
It can be much more responsive, efficient and cheaper than air power; react quickly to a potential border adversary, the North Korea
K9 Thunder is currently considered Korea's best self-propelled howitzer
and is the main export weapon product of Samsung Techwin - a subsidiary of Samsung
specializing in the production of weapons and high-tech equipment for war
The K9 Thunder was developed in the late 1980s to replace the M109A2K, also known as the K55, to meet 21st century requirements
Key operational requirements included a higher rate of fire, longer range, better accuracy and faster into and out of action times
This artillery system entered service in 1999
K9 Thunder has a weight of 47 tons, a length of 12 m, a width of 3.4 m, a height of 2.73 m
A standard crew includes 5 men: Commander, Driver, Gunner, and 2 Loaders
K9 is welded with 20 t of MIL-12560H armor steel developed by POSCO for K2 Black Panther project
which can withstand explosion pressure and fragments from 155 mm HE rounds, 14.5 mm armor piercing rounds
and anti-personnel mines all around
The vehicle can protect crews from CBRN warfare using air purification system
The power pack consists 1,000 hp STX-MTU MT881Ka-500 MTU engine licensed by Ssangyong Heavy Industries
and is installed on state of the art hydropneumatic suspension chassis
The vehicle has max speed of 67 km/h, and is capable of operating in various terrain conditions including desert, snow, jungle, and mountains
The main armament is CN98 155 mm 52 calibre artillery gun manufactured by Kia Heavy Industry
Maximum range of fire is 30 km with standard HE projectile and 40 km with rocket-assisted projectile
The K9 Thunder is resupplied form the K10 ammunition resupply vehicle.
It is based on the K9 chassis
The reloading process is fully automated and can be performed without exposing the crew under enemy fire or in the contaminated areas
Assisted by semi-automatic feeding system and fire control system
the vehicle can achieve the maximum rate of fire from burst of 3 rounds in 15 seconds
with a choice to land shells in multiple rounds simultaneous impact mode
followed by 6 to 8 rounds/min for the first 3 minutes, then 2 to 3 rounds/min for sustain fire
The vehicle can shoot-and-scoot by ready to fire in 30 seconds when stationary or 1 minute during move
then relocated to different position in 30 seconds to increase survivability from enemy counter battery attacks
South Korea ordered a total of 1,136 of these howitzers.
Finland ordered 48 of these howitzers for delivery in 2017
India ordered 100 of these artillery systems
In 2018 at least 25 units were reportedly delivered to the Indian Army
Estonia ordered 18 of these artillery systems
Deliveries began in 2020 and are planned to be completed in 2023
Norway ordered 24 of these artillery systems. Egypt was also evaluating this system
Priced at about $4 million per gun, the K9 Thunder is considered the main self-propelled gun in the South Korean military's payroll today
and also its main export lethal weapon product