In April, 2024, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense expressed its intention to purchase the K9 howitzers from South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace for the People’s Army of Vietnam. During the “11th Korea-Vietnam Defense Strategy Dialogue” held in Hanoi, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien announced the acquisition plan and expressed a desire to enhance defense industrial cooperation, including integrating the K9 SPH into the People’s Army of Vietnam.
Additionally, both parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as maritime security, cybersecurity, and logistics. They also decided to expand their defense and defense industry collaboration by adding new areas to their 2010 bilateral defense cooperation agreement.
The K9 self-propelled howitzer is equipped with a 155 mm cannon and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. It is designed to withstand 14.5 mm armor-piercing rounds and 152 mm artillery shell fragments, providing robust battlefield protection. The K9 can reach a top speed of 67 km/h.
Several countries, including Australia, Egypt, Estonia, India, Finland, Norway, Poland, South Korea, and Turkey, use the K9. Each unit weighs about 46,300 kg, can accommodate a crew of five, and measures 7.44 meters in length, 3.4 meters in width, and 2.73 meters in height to the roof turret.
The K9 is equipped with various systems to enhance its operational effectiveness, including CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) protection, heating, internal and external communication systems, a manual fire suppression system, and an automatic fire control system. It has a range of up to 360 kilometers, enabling extended missions without immediate refueling.
Vietnam aims to modernize its artillery by replacing its aging M114 155 mm howitzers and M101 105 mm howitzers, planning to acquire 108 units of the 155 mm howitzers.
(Source: Army Recognition)
