Korea delivers K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam in $245 million deal

Korea’s leading defence manufacturer, Hanwha Aerospace, has successfully exported its flagship K9 self-propelled howitzers to Vietnam, marking the company’s expansion into Southeast Asia and a new milestone in supplying a country with a socialist political system.

Industry sources reported on August 14 that Korea signed a government-to-government contract in July to provide Vietnam with 20 K9 howitzers for $245 million, as per Korean media.

The deliveries will be carried out by Hanwha through the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, a state-run trade support organisation, and are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

With Vietnam’s adoption, the K9 has now been supplied to 11 countries worldwide. The howitzer is already in service in India, Australia, Romania, Poland, Finland, Türkiye, Egypt, Estonia, Norway, and Korea, with more than 1,300 units sold globally since its introduction in 1999. Many of these customers are US allies, particularly NATO members, who value the system’s interoperability with US and European-made weapons.

The Vietnam deal is also significant because it represents the first instance of the K9 being exported to a country with longstanding ties to the Russian defence industry, historically rooted in Cold War-era cooperation.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Vietnam obtained more than 80 per cent of its weapons from Russia between 2000 and 2023.

Beyond the sale, Korea and Vietnam are seeking closer collaboration in the defence sector. On Monday, President Lee Jae Myung and To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, issued a joint statement announcing the resumption of the Korea–Vietnam Defence and Military Cooperation Committee, which had been dormant for 17 years, and pledged to strengthen connections between defence companies from both nations.

“The export of K9 carries symbolic significance, reflecting the overcoming of historical divisions between former adversaries in defence trade,” said Choi Ki-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University. “It also appears to mark a starting point for Korea to pursue broader and more routine arms exports worldwide.”

By Tamilla Hasanova