Hanwha Systems clinched a symbolic contract to export its fire direction and control systems used for armed vehicles and artilleries to Egypt for the first time among Korean defense firms, the company said.
Hanwha Systems announced on the 27th December 2024, that it will supply command and control systems and firing control systems for 51 K11 command post armored vehicles and 216 K9A1 self-propelled howitzers that it contracted to export to Egypt in 2022. The contract amounts to 30.5 billion won and 44.3 billion won, respectively.
The K11 command post armored vehicle is responsible for commanding and controlling the fire of six K9A1 self-propelled howitzers per vehicle. The command and control system applied to the K11 command post armored vehicle is a key tactical control device that transmits fire-related information such as target identification, real-time location, direction, and speed to the firing control system installed in the K9A1 self- propelled howitzer and issues firing orders. It is a system developed in-house using command and control technology accumulated by Hanwha Systems over many years.
This is the first time that a command and control system developed by a domestic defense company has been exported overseas. Typically, countries that have imported command post armored vehicles, such as Poland and Norway, have equipped them with products from their domestic companies due to differences in national operational concepts.
The company will supply customized fire direction systems to Egypt, as coastal artillery fire capabilities against hostile ships are crucial due to the country’s geographical proximity to the sea.
The K9A1 self-propelled howitzer’s firing control system being exported is a ballistic computation computer that calculates and predicts the future position of a target based on fire-related information received from the K11 command post armored vehicle and aims the howitzer in that direction. This is also the first case of a firing control system being exported to the Middle East.
Hanwha Systems is scheduled to start delivering the initial batch in the first half of next year and will supply K11 command and control systems and K9A1 firing control systems to Egypt by December 2028.
A Hanwha Systems official said, “We are pleased to pave the way for the first export of a command and control system to the Middle East through challenging development,” and added, “We will continue to secure new export items, promote Korean defense technology , and expand our entry into overseas markets.”
Having only aging M109 howitzers in service, Egypt needs a new cannon with improved capabilities and a longer range for both its the land and naval forces. In December 2021, Egypt and South Korea held co-production talks on K2 Black Panther tank and K9 Howitzer. Subsequently, a year later, Egypt inked a deal with South Korea for the joint manufacturing and acquisition of 155 mm K9 self-propelled howitzers, and other support vehicles from Hanwha Defense.
The Egyptian Armed Forces’ spokesperson confirmed the signing on 1 February, and an announcement by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
“The contract is valued around $1.7 billion for hundreds of the K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH), K10 Ammunition Resupply Vehicles, and K11 Fire Direction Control Vehicle,” the Hanwa said. “The K11 Fire Direction Control Vehicle is a new vehicle to be developed for the Egyptian military. Using the K9 chassis, the command-post vehicle will be equipped with a range of high-tech sensor and communication equipment in accordance with operational requirements of the Egyptian Army and Navy.”
Most of the artillery and vehicles are scheduled to be locally produced at Factory 200, a state-run defense manufacturing facility just outside the Egyptian capital, while an initial batch is to be delivered by Hanwha Defense.
By July 2022, Egypt tendered plans for producing the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer locally. Cairo plans to begin production of the K9 howitzer in 2023, and will eventually involve 67% of components being produced locally. Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, the country’s minister of state for military production told reporters in an interview published on 18 June.
Egypt also hopes to sell the K9s to Arab and African countries, as well as meet the needs of its own military. “We have already started bilateral negotiations with a number of Arab and African countries that want to get the K9 because the cannon is the latest in the world,”
In October, 2022, Egypt’s military-owned Arab International Optronics Company signed an agreement with Hanwha Defense Group for the transfer of Technology (TOT), local production of the Automatic Fire Control System (FCS) and other electronic components for the K9A1 Self-propelled Howitzer.
At the time, Hanwha Defense subsequently said a new K11 fire-control vehicle would be developed for Egypt, which will receive an initial batch of howitzers made in South Korea in 2024, with the rest being locally produced.
South Korean company Hanwha, which makes the K9, first showcased the system recently at the Egypt Defence Expo, which ran Nov. 29-Dec. 2.
Egypt expressed interest in updating its artillery systems in 2009, but efforts were postponed for nearly a decade as the country underwent a revolt — part of what was dubbed the Arab Spring, a wave of pro-democratic protests, revolutions and civil wars in the region that began in 2011.
In recent years, Egypt took significant steps to modernize and upgrade its military capabilities. One area of focus has been the enhancement of its artillery, which plays a crucial role in both defensive and offensive operations.
In 2017, there was a strong competition between French Nexter’s Caesar, South Korean K9 Thunder, Russian Koalitsiya-SV, and Chinese PLZ-45 for the Egyptian Armed Forces howitzer contract.
Egypt hosted testing for the systems, he said, with a final competition between the Caesar and the K9, which the latter won.
Egypt’s decision to purchase the K9 howitzer is its securing of a joint production deal.
Locally performed maintenance and production of spare parts play a crucial role in Egypt’s effort to bolster its defense industry, and the K9 deal contributes to this national goal.
In October 2023, in a military inspection of the 4th Armoured Division, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi unveiled Egypt’s 155mm K9 self-propelled howitzer. The impressive display marks the first time the K9 howitzer, along with its associated K10 ammunition vehicle, has been showcased.
The parade, which took place about 40 kilometers northwest of Suez, featured the K9 A1EGY howitzer labeled as such. As the howitzer was towed past the viewing stand on a trailer, it joined other artillery systems currently in service with the Egyptian military. Unlike the operational vehicles, this display unit did not bear any unit markings.
