"The Drone Finds Them, the K9 Fires"—Hanwha Aerospace Presents Future Self-Propelled Artillery Concept

[Financial News] Hanwha Aerospace presented a future artillery operating concept that links drones with K9 self-propelled howitzers, connecting target detection, strikes and battle-damage assessment. The company also proposed ways to improve artillery-system efficiency, including expanding K9’s core technologies to wheeled self-propelled howitzers and establishing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based logistics support system.
Hanwha Aerospace announced on the 3rd that the K9 User Club opened in Tartu, Estonia, on the 2nd local time. The fifth annual event was attended by about 200 military and industry officials, including representatives from the seven K9-operating countries—South Korea, Poland, Norway, Finland, Romania, Australia and another country—as well as observer delegations from Spain and Sweden. It was the largest gathering in the event’s history.

This year’s event focused on new self-propelled artillery operating concepts and directions for developing artillery systems in response to changing battlefield conditions, going beyond the sharing of experience in operating and maintaining K9 systems.
Hanwha Aerospace presented an operating concept that links a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) “fire-direction drone” with K9 self-propelled howitzers. The drone detects and tracks targets from the air and generates their coordinates, which the K9 then receives and uses to conduct a strike. After firing, the drone observes the impact point and performs battle-damage assessment. The company explained that this approach could shorten the “sensor-to-shooter” time from target detection to an actual strike and improve responses to moving or urgent targets.
The company also presented the K9 platform’s potential for expansion. A representative example is the wheeled self-propelled howitzer K9MH (Mobile Howitzer), which was recently selected as a prototype for the U.S. Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon program. K9MH combines the fully automated turret developed for the K9 with a wheeled platform. During the U.S. Army’s performance verification evaluation, it demonstrated the ability to automatically fire nine rounds in less than one minute.
Hanwha Aerospace plans to expand the firepower and automation technologies proven on the K9 to various platforms, including wheeled as well as tracked vehicles. The goal is to supply artillery systems tailored to the operational environments and mobility requirements of customer countries.

Hanwha Aerospace also unveiled a digital logistics support system designed to increase K9 availability. A key example is the TOMMS Sustainment Portal (TSP). The system manages in one digital environment tasks previously handled through email and manual processes, from requesting parts quotations to placing orders and checking delivery information. The company plans to link the TSP with a parts warehouse to be built in Poland, shortening parts-supply times for K9 operators across Europe. In the long term, it aims to develop the system into a predictive logistics-support platform that uses AI and data analytics to assess parts consumption and maintenance and operational data, enabling demand to be forecast in advance.
Hanwha Aerospace is also expanding the cooperation model established through the K9 to the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher. The company held a Chunmoo User Workshop as a side event of the K9 User Club that day. About 40 military, government and industry officials from Chunmoo-operating countries, including South Korea, Poland, Estonia and Norway, attended and shared experience in deployment, operation and maintenance, education and training, and parts and spares management.
Chunmoo has recently expanded its user base, particularly among North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states. Poland has adopted the locally adapted Homar-K and is pursuing local production of guided missiles, while Estonia and Norway are also expanding their acquisition of Chunmoo systems. Starting with this workshop, Hanwha Aerospace plans to hold the first official Chunmoo User Club in South Korea in 2027. Next year’s K9 User Club will be held in Australia.

[email protected] Won-il Jeong Reporter