Poland is procuring at least 364 K9 SPHs. (Ministry of National Defence, Poland)
Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda announced during a press conference on 2 December that Poland has begun implementing the second executive contracts for K9 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and Homar-K (K239 Chunmoo) multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) from South Korea. This was made possible by a credit agreement worth EUR4 billion (USD4.2 billion) with Poland's Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (National Development Bank) on 27 November.
On 1 December 2023 Poland's Armaments Agency (AA) and Hanwha Aerospace signed a second executive contract worth USD2.6 billion for additional K9 SPHs for the Polish army. Bejda said the agreement on the procurement of six more K9A1 SPHs in 2025 and 146 K9PL variants in 2026–27 depended on obtaining financial resources.
He noted that the contract also included training and logistics packages, a service and repair centre, spare parts, and the possibility of establishing the capacity to produce modular charges. It also included several tens of thousands of 155 mm artillery rounds. The logistics package included spare parts and consumables, as well as equipment for operating the SPHs, according to the AA.
After the signing, Hanwha said the contract also included technology transfer to streamline local production of parts to maintain weapon systems, as well as technical support to maintain, renovate, and modernise the Polish defence industry.
K9 contract
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
