Hanwha Defense USA has secured its first major US Army contract, worth an initial US$100.3 million, to deliver six K9 Mobile Howitzer prototypes, with options for 12 more. The wheeled systems will be tested over four years under the Mobile Tactical Cannon program as the Army considers a more mobile, survivable replacement for selected M777 towed howitzers.
Hanwha is establishing an integration and test site in Opelika, Alabama, as the first phase of a domestic manufacturing and support network. That localisation strategy mirrors Hanwha’s approach in Geelong, where its Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence manufactures AS9 Huntsman howitzers and AS10 ammunition vehicles with Australian workers and suppliers. Geelong’s experience provides a proven model for technology transfer, sovereign capability and regional defence-industry growth in the United States.
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